This week we are reflecting on the incredible efforts and achievements shown by a wide range of elite athletes who have recently performed in front of huge international audiences. We were especially impressed by the mental skills and qualities on display, which enable those competing at the top level to keep going despite setbacks and difficulties.
Keep reading to reflect with us and learn more about how mental skills and qualities can help not only elite athletes, but also all of us in our everyday lives.
Image description: A photo of members of the England men’s Euro 2024 football team.
On Sunday evening we watched the final of the men’s UEFA EURO Championship 2024, which saw England take on Spain at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. Like a lot of other viewers, avid football fan or not, we were hoping that England would be victorious and reset the decades long hurt and need for dreaming. Although England were beaten by an objectively stronger Spanish team on the night, we were extremely impressed by the mental skills and qualities on display from the young England team. We saw individual in-the-moment emotion regulation skills such as deep breathing and positive self-talk, as well as qualities such as passion, confidence and perseverance, and relational qualities and skills such as being kind and consoling team members, and receiving emotional support from the trusted coaching staff. These skills and qualities stand the team in good stead for performances at future championships and dealing adaptively with the intense pressures that come with it.
Interested in finding out more about the mental skills and qualities practiced by the England men’s football team? You can read our recent blog post here which highlights another vital mental skill that is masterfully adopted by successful England number 10 Jude Bellingham—mental imagery. You can also learn about how this skill can be adopted by all of us to help us deal with stressful situations in this blog post.
And find out more about your own qualities here, and build your unstoppable social support team.
Image description: A photo of the men’s Wimbledon wheelchair 2024 finalists.
From lows to extreme highs, we watched in awe as English tennis player Alfie Hewitt beat Spanish player Martin de la Puente 6-2, 6-3. Describing it as “the best day” of his life, Hewitt won the championship after successfully coming back from two previous defeats in Wimbledon finals in 2022 and 2023. You can watch Hewitt as he finally wins the Wimbledon final here!
In addition, only hours later, Hewitt returned to the court with doubles partner Gordon Reid to beat Japan's Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda 6-4, 7-6, (7-2) in the men’s doubles final.
Image description: A photo of the ladies’ Wimbledon wheelchair 2024 finalists, which was won by Diede de Groot.
The gruelling nature of the professional tennis tour is something that is becoming more and more recognised. With discussions centering around the impact on young players mental wellbeing, it is vital that greater focus is placed upon supporting all tennis players to flourish. Check out our blog posts here and here, where we highlight our research that has centered on this, and the mental skills that are used by those at the top of their game.
Image description: A photo of the men’s Wimbledon 2024 finalists, which was won by Carlos Alcaraz.
Image description: A photo of the women’s Wimbledon finalists 2024, which was won by Barbora Krejcikova.
Let us know what you thought about the weekends sporting action and how you use your mental skills and qualities by getting in touch using the Contact Us form below!
Image credit: Yahoo! News and BBC Sport.
Written by Dr Sally Reynard, Post Doctoral Researcher in the SPRINT Project.
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