Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are painfully common in rugby. Rehabilitation can last 9 to 12 months and even with accelerated rehabilitation, it can take 6 months to return to previously attained levels of performance. Having been on the receiving end of ACL reconstructive surgery, I ...
Paralysis by analysis by Dr Neha Malhotra
Coaches will often equip their players with rules and instructions about how to carry out the ‘ideal’ pass or kick. These rules gradually get packaged as a pool of verbal knowledge in our memory, serving as training wheels guiding us when we are beginners. Sometimes, elite athletes re-visit these ...
No room for error: Learning skills implicitly
Learning a new skill in sport is always challenging. Beginners often learn by observing their coaches perform a kick or tackle effortlessly. But when they begin to try it out themselves, it’s effortful and erroneous - like my first few months playing rugby! If the first pass is too high, the ...
The irony of trying not to think about it by Dr Neha Malhotra
What do you tell your team mate when she’s worried about missing the next conversion kick? You might say something generic like, “Don’t worry about the consequences”. As we all know, this is easier said than done. In fact, research has shown that merely supressing thoughts without a focus is quite ...
So many skills, so little time: How best to structure practice
Rugby Coaches face the challenge of training a number of different skills (e.g., passing and handling, rucking, attacking, footwork, and evasion) within a limited amount of time - perhaps just a few training sessions per week. So what is the most efficient way to structure practice sessions? Motor ...
Five step approach to developing pre-performance routines #Playerwelfare By: Neha Malhotra
Pre-performance routines are helpful for maintaining concentration and blocking out distractions, especially when an athlete is under pressure. Experienced players usually have behavioural routines but lack effective cognitive routines. Dr. Stewart Cotterill, a sport psychologist from the ...
Consistency isn’t everything in pre-performance routines #Playerwelfare By: Neha Malhotra
Consistency isn’t everything in pre-performance routines #Playerwelfare By: Neha Malhotra In the last blog, we discussed the role of pre-performance routines and asked how important consistency is to them. A slight change in routine should not hamper performance if it serves a definite purpose ...
Pre-performance routines – what’s all the fuss about? #Playerwelfare By: Neha Malhotra
Photo: "Jonny Wilkinson preparing to kick" ** Pre-performance routines - what’s all the fuss about? By: Neha Malhotra A key element of elite athletes’ performance is their ability to maintain high levels of concentration, especially for self-paced skills such as rugby kicking. Athletes use ...
Choking under pressure – breaking it down #Playerwelfare By: Neha Malhotra
Choking under pressure - breaking it down By: Neha Malhotra ‘Choking under pressure’ is a phenomenon that’s all too familiar for many sportspeople. A name that became synonymous with ‘choking’ is that of golfer Greg Norman a.k.a. The Great White Shark, who lost the 1996 Augusta Masters to Nick ...