Transcript
BEN OAKLEY
Bradley, when you’re working in sport with teenagers, what are the two topics that they most commonly ask for?
BRADLEY BUSCH
Well, the two main areas that most athletes come to us asking to get better is, one, about improving their confidence, and, two, managing their nerves. The first, improving their confidence, one thing that we know the brain craves is certainty. But when you look at what a lot of people think about before an event, they’ll often focus on things that they can't change or things that they can only influence, such as the crowd, the referee, their opponents, what the score might be.
We help them identify what they can control and focus on those things. And that typically looks like focusing on their effort, focus on executing their game plan, focusing on being the best teammate they possibly can be. And by focusing on the things you can control, you give yourself more certainty and, as such, perform with more confidence.
BEN OAKLEY
So, when you have a group in front of you, what specifically do you ask them to do, to help with confidence?
BRADLEY BUSCH
Well, the first thing we get teenagers to do is to try to improve their self-awareness. We get them to write down what it is they're focused on in the build-up to a match. Once they’ve got that list written down, we can then help them identify which are the things they can control, which are the things they can influence, and which are the things they can’t change. That’s usually the first step to really improving their confidence.
BEN OAKLEY
Are there any other little techniques or strategies that you guide them towards?
BRADLEY BUSCH
Yes. A big part of how confident you feel comes from how you talk to yourself. We help people identify their negative thoughts and replace them with positive, helpful, and energised language, so that they can go out feeling as confident as possible.
The second most common area that we work on with athletes is helping them improve their emotional control, managing their nerves or frustration. Because, when you think about it, the difference between nerves and excitement, in terms of what happens to your body, is very small. Both involve a fast heart rate. Both involve lots of adrenalin, lots of butterflies, and excess energy.
The biggest difference between nerves and excitement often isn’t what happens to your body, it’s what’s going through your brain. And we help people focus on making it an opportunity not a threat. Sometimes I think students and teenagers and athletes are so worried about what other people are saying about them, they have this worry that people are judging them the whole time. And, as such, it makes them more stressed and more nervous and increases their fear of failure.
But, by helping them focus on executing their routine, by helping them do the best that they can do and focus on performing to their abilities, and not so much what other people might say about them, helps them improve their nerves.
BEN OAKLEY
Bradley, thank you so much.
BRADLEY BUSCH
Thank you very much. Been a pleasure.