I felt great and just knew that no matter what I attempted in that game it would come off. I was in complete control of my game. In those 40 minutes nothing else seemed to matter.
Ben, professional player
Rugby players often describe the instances when they have experienced peak performance as being “in the zone,” but what exactly is this state? The zone refers to highly valued experiences in which you have felt completely at one with what you were doing on a rugby pitch. This might occur during the last 20 minutes of a match, or it could encompass the entirety of a match. When you are in the zone, you feel as though your performance is effortless. You have complete concentration and control over what you are doing, and you have an inner belief that you will be successful. Athletes use a number of terms to describe being in the zone, such as “in the bubble,” “on auto-pilot,” or “everything just clicking.” The list is endless.
Callard the PLAYER
Although I have been in the zone many times whilst playing, I have never played a perfect game, nor has any team I have played on had a perfect game. Yes, we played good games, but never a perfect game! In the height of our supremacy when we were winning doubles, we used to say, “Strive for perfection knowing that perfection cannot be reached.” We adopted this saying because no matter what we had just done, we knew we could always do better. Playing whilst in the zone would help us achieve this.
Emerging research suggests that you can do a range of things to experience the zone more often and more intensely, which has the potential to improve your performance. Before outlining how you can get into the zone more often, we will describe the zone. Sport psychology researchers agree that the zone consists of nine dimensions, which are listed here.
The element most required for you to experience the zone is having a balance between the challenge posed by the situation and your skills (Jackson, 1995). When you play a rugby match and don’t believe that you are skilful enough to meet the challenge that your opponents pose, you may experience anxiety. On the other hand, when you think that your skills are too great for your opponents, you may experience boredom. Only when there is an optimal balance between the challenge of the situation and your skills will you experience the zone (see the shaded area in figure 9.1).
TASK Identifying Your Own Skills and Challenges
Think of a time when you have played rugby and thought that (1) your skills were not sufficient enough to meet the challenge of your opponents, (2) your skills were far greater than the challenge that the opposition posed, and (3) your skills were equal to the challenge that your opponents posed. See table 9.1 for an example.
Now complete table 9.2 by providing as much information as possible. When completing the table, think of instances in which you felt anxiety or boredom. Have you played rugby when you thought that your skills weren’t equal to the challenge?
When you are in the zone, action and awareness merge because of your total focus. You cease to be aware of yourself as separate from the action that you are performing (e.g., lineout throw), and you experience a feeling of oneness with the activity. You may also feel that your actions are effortless, spontaneous, and automatic.
Callard the PLAYER
When I was in the zone, kicking felt effortless—one smooth sweet swing with huge amounts of power and without a great deal of effort. I was striking them from everywhere with absolute ease. In fact, I had a shot from 52 yards straight in front. I tried to pinch a few yards whilst the referee turned his back; he caught me and marched me back to the original mark. I was so confident that I walked back five yards farther and struck it arrogantly through with plenty to spare. I was right in the zone, picking out the sweet spot of the ball with great accuracy.
When you are in the zone you may have a clear sense of what you want to accomplish during rugby matches or training. As the event progresses so does the clarity of this moment-to-moment intent. You know exactly what you have to do and how you are going to do it.
During zone experiences you often receive immediate and clear feedback. The feedback that you receive comes from what you are doing, such as where the balls are going when you pass or whether you complete tackles. Feedback also comes from your body, in particular your feelings during actions, such as the feeling in your leg during a goal kick. All feedback that you receive during zone experiences allows you to know how well you are doing. But feedback can come from multiple sources, such as coaches or teammates, and you should take every opportunity to make the most of any feedback that you receive.
Callard the PLAYER
I had full understanding of my goal-kicking mechanics. It was not purely the sight of the ball going through the posts that I judged my kicking performance on; it was also the feeling that I created through my sequence (that is, the flow of the kick), the sound that was made between the ball and the kicking foot, the shape of the ball in the air, and the speed at which the ball travelled through the air. All were critical factors in indicating the feeling of being in the zone. I knew instantly, because I had time in my head to analyse all these points.
TASK Indentifying Sources of Feedback
You need to be aware of the sources of feedback associated with optimal performances. Table 9.3 represents an example of some of the sources of feedback that you might have experienced (adapted from Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999).
You can increase your awareness of the sources of feedback by describing your own sources of feedback in table 9.4.
When you are in the zone you will have a clear sense of focus regarding what you want to do. This feeling can last for several hours. Furthermore, when you experience this complete concentration you will be aware of other competitors and the bigger picture of what you have to do. But your awareness of your competitors will not be a negative influence because you will have complete concentration.
TASK How Good Are You at Concentrating?
The grid in table 9.5 has been used to measure athletes’ focus, and it shows you what complete concentration feels like. To complete the exercise, do the following:
1. Scan the grid for one minute.
2. Starting at zero, put a slash through as many sequential numbers as possible (e.g., 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, and so on).
3. Spend one minute slashing as many numbers as possible.
4. People who excel at concentrating are able to score between 20 and 30 numbers in a minute.
You can use the grid more than once by starting with a higher number than you did before, such as 50.
When you are in the zone you feel a complete sense of control without actually attempting to exert any control over what you are doing. You feel as though you can do nothing wrong, and you have a sense of invincibility. This sense of control frees you from the fear of failure and results in a sense of power, calmness, and confidence.
Concern for yourself, worries, and negative thoughts disappear when you are in the zone. You will have no attention left to worry about the things in everyday life that may cause you to experience stress such as relationships, work, or education.
Some athletes have reported that time speeds up when they are in the zone, whereas others have said that time slows down and they think that they have a lot of time to make a decision. This element is the most controversial dimension of the zone because many athletes have never experienced it, nor could they relate to time speeding up or slowing down.
When you get into the zone you find it extremely enjoyable, and all the tension and stress that you may have been experiencing before you started playing or training on a particular day disappears. When you are in the zone, you feel that you are on a complete high, which can last for several hours, long after you have finished your rugby match or training session.
Callard the PLAYER
When I analysed a moment in which I was truly in the zone, I knew it was not a one off. I regularly got into this state because I had practiced hard for it and had full comprehension of what I was looking for.
Getting into the zone more often is desirable because being there is associated with optimal performance and maximum enjoyment. Using the recommendations proposed by Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi (1999), you can do a number of things to get into the zone more often during matches and training (see table 9.6).
Using the strategies presented in table 9.6 will help you experience the zone more often and more intensely. You can do a number of other things to help you enter the zone more often, and you should avoid doing some things that can prevent you from entering the zone. Russell (2001) and Jackson (1995) examined the factors that help athletes get into the zone and the factors that are likely to prevent them from getting into the zone. Nine factors can facilitate your getting into the zone:
Competitive plan |
Previous experience |
Optimal arousal |
Focus |
Motivated to perform |
Optimal environment |
Confidence and positive attitude |
Performance feeling good |
Optimal physical preparation |
Positive team play and interaction |
To experience the zone more often, you should do the following:
• Develop a plan of what you are going to do during the competition in response to various scenarios. For instance, “If my opponent tries to sidestep me, I will be ready to react and make the tackle.”
• Know your optimal level of arousal. Are you the type of rugby player who performs better when you are psyched up, or do you play better when you are relaxed? If you play better when you are psyched up, increase your levels of arousal before competition. You can start by remembering previous competitions when you were pumped. Alternatively, if you perform better when relaxed, stay away from teammates who like to psyche themselves up. Instead, engage in deep-breathing exercises.
• Enhance your motivation before competing by deciding what you want to achieve in the upcoming competition.
• Earn the right to be confident by preparing properly.
• Make sure that your training and diet leading up to the competition is correct.
• Use your experience by focusing on successful past achievements.
• Concentrate on what you want to do.
• Focus on the elements of your performance that have gone well.
• Interact positively with your teammates and encourage them.
Callard the PLAYER
Getting into the zone during matches was not just something that happened by chance, nor did it just happen overnight. I practised hard on my goal-kicking technique over many years to establish what worked for me. Thus, it was not a case of going straight into the zone; it was a case of establishing the zone—that being what I am looking for, what it should feel like, how it should sound—and then applying it in competition. Thus, in competition I knew what it was like to be in the zone because I had established what it felt like to get into the zone and what I had to do to get there, which was the transition stage before high-level competition.
Five factors make it less likely that you will experience the zone. You should be aware of these factors to minimise the likelihood of their occurrence.
• Not being physically ready or prepared for sporting competition will prevent you from getting into the zone. Therefore, you should establish precompetition routines that work for you and do them before every competition.
• Nonoptimal conditions such as noisy spectators or bad weather can prevent you from getting into the zone. You need to be able to block out spectator influence or poor weather.
• Athletes who lack confidence also struggle to experience getting into the zone. Prepare mentally and physically and take confidence from your preparation. Every time you start a rugby match, make sure that you have done everything possible to prepare.
• Inappropriate focus, such as focusing on the outcome of the competition, prevents you from getting into the zone. Focus on what you are doing and the actions required to enable you to attain your goals (e.g., body position during tackling).
• Poor precompetitive preparation can prevent you from getting into the zone. Sometimes problems that are not within your control (e.g., transport, opposition team arriving late, or poor facilities) can have a negative influence on your prematch preparation. If such things happen, make a conscious decision not to let them affect you. Refocus on what you want to do and how you are going to do it.
CASE STUDY
Earlier this year a 20-year-old fly-half, who was about to enter his second season as a full-time professional player, turned to his sport psychologist for some support. Paul (pseudonym) revealed that when he took kicks that he really wanted to make, such as when the scores were close or toward the end of a match, he had lots of negative thoughts in his head. He thought about what his teammates would think he if missed, whether the opposition fly-half would think that he was a good player, what his coaches would say after the game, and even what his parents would say to him after the game. All these negative thoughts occurred whilst he was putting the ball down and preparing to take the kick at goal. He said that at certain times, when he had kicked well, he had taken kicks without thinking too much and everything felt easy. Paul wanted to experience this feeling more often rather than have negative thoughts.
The role of the sport psychologist in this instance was to help Paul enter the zone more frequently. The first thing that Paul and his sport psychologist discussed was the negative thoughts that preoccupied Paul’s mind whilst he was preparing for kicks at goal. In particular, Paul was questioned about the importance of other peoples’ opinions about him as a rugby player. The sport psychologist asked questions such as “Does it really matter what Steve thinks about you?” and “Will your teammates, who are some of your best friends, think negatively if you miss a kick given the number of kicks you have made in previous matches?” These questions were asked so that Paul could start letting go of some of the negative thoughts caused by his preoccupation of what others thought about him.
Paul and the sport psychologist then spoke about what he would like to think about when kicking—in an ideal world. Paul said that he would like to think about the kick and nothing else. To help him with this, the sport psychologist encouraged Paul to focus on the process of kicking. They devised two key words: “head” (a reminder for Paul to keep his head down) and “leg” (a reminder for Paul to follow through). An imagery intervention was devised, which instructed Paul to imagine himself taking and being successful whilst taking kicks in challenging situations. Over time, after regularly practicing his imagery, Paul’s negative thoughts became much less prominent. This process allowed Paul to get into the zone on a much more regular basis.
• The zone is a psychological state associated with superior sporting performance.
• The zone has nine dimensions.
• You can get into the zone more often by following the steps recommended in this chapter.
• Avoid the factors that prevent you from entering the zone.
• Enjoy being in the zone and the influence that it has on your performance.