Sport Intelligence

Definition: “the ability to learn, understand or deal with new or trying challenges”.

Sport intelligence means having an ability to analyse and exploit opportunities, being a student of cricket, creativity, self-coachability, good decision-making, understanding the nature of the elite cricket environment, being a quick learner, adaptability to change, self-awareness, and having

‘cricket-smart’ habits.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit. - Aristotle Development of Sport Intelligence

Physical preparation, technical skills and psychological readiness are pre-requisites for a champion cricketer. In particular, research on champion athletes, found that the ability to focus on the process of performance rather than the outcome was critical to the maintenance of athletic success. In addition, there is evidence that support and encouragement from the athlete’s community, family, and non-sport personnel ‘socialise’ sport intelligence like most other psychological factors. These sources influence athletes both directly (through teaching or emphasizing psychological lessons) and indirectly (involving modelling or unintentionally creating psychological environments).

Techniques and Strategies

• Self-talk.Words have immense power on developing sport intelligent attitudes. For example,  players can bounce back after being hit for a six by employing self-talk. If hit for a four or

six, it is important to analyse what went wrong and shift attention to the next ball.

• Trust . Place trust on your sport skills performance, coach and yourself. Express trust through your words and actions to the team and the coach.

•  Honest self-appraisal.Players need to identify their strengths and weaknesses. When a  particular shot is your drawback, avoid playing that shot until adequately practiced and mastered. A player may possess immense talent but if no effort is made to work on their shortcomings, he/she will eventually plateau in form.

• Quick learner . “A loser is one who not only loses the match but also loses the lesson”.

“Making a mistake is not stupid, repeating it is.” Focus on the learning even from the most appalling match. Observe and learn from great players, how they train and handle pressure situations, provides insight when faced with similar situations.

•  Evaluation and PlanningLearning about opponents – identify their assets and weak points, focus on how you got a player out last time or how you tackled a particular bowler

effectively the last time you played.

•  Reading (new) opponents.Observe body language, watch for the signs opponent batsmen or  bowlers give out and utilize it to your advantage.

• Understanding conditions.Observe how the pitch is moving or the ball working and even if things don’t work out the way you planned, re-think quickly instead of sticking to a plan.

Flexibility in strategies and not rigidity is the key mantra.

•  Being in the Zone. Matches are often won or lost due to lapses in concentration. Isolate events when you need to focus and block out distractions.

• Creativity. Try viewing a problem from a different perspective; often the novelty of a situation takes the opponent by surprise.

Exercise 1. Performance Profiling

Over the past few years, performance profiling has become a major tool to augment motivation and achieve desired results. It is also helpful in creating a platform for effective communication between the coach and athlete, thereby facilitating team goal setting. Specifically profiling:

• Assist in identifying an appropriate intervention programme

• Enhances the athlete’s level of self-awareness, motivation and adherence to goals

• Monitors progress

Performance profiling involves the following steps:

1. Players arrange a meeting with an assessor (e.g., fitness coach for the physical characteristics, coaches for the technical aspects and sport psychologist or significant other for the mental facet).

2. Players identify core areas (physical, technical and mental), which are essential for their game development, and rate themselves on a scale of 0-10 (where 0 is not all competent and 10 is extremely competent).

3. The coaches then rate or assess players on these same areas.

4. The discrepancy between ratings is discussed and then priorities are decided on for immediate training..

5. Reassessment should be conducted at least once every four weeks and ought to relate to the same areas or characteristics identified until the player and coach are satisfied that weaknesses have been improved to an acceptable standard.

The table below provides an example of mental skills profiling

Characteristics identified Players assessment Coaches assessment

Self-belief 10 7

Control 10 8

Refocusing after errors 9 7

Being in the ‘zone’ 9 4

Benefits:

• Aids players in taking control over their training to a large extent

• Facilitates coach/player understanding on key areas

• Enables two-way communication

• Effective tool to monitor change

Exercise 2. Trusting your stuff: To Know Thyself

“Stay within yourself” means doing what you are capable of doing and not trying to do too much.

The key is knowing your capabilities. The message is “play as well as you do, and you’ll do fine”.

Carefully consider and record your responses to the following questions:

1. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a bowler ?

Strengths Weaknesses

What is your best delivery?

How do you get most of your wickets?

Complete the following statement at least 3 different ways: “I am most effective when..”

a.

 b.

c.

When bowling well:

. what are you focusing on at the point of delivery?

. what is your mind-set/attitude (e.g., “try and play this buddy”, “smooth, easy, rhythm”)?

. how are you feeling physically?

List the events that can happen during play that can throw you off form

List your mental and physical responses to these events.

2. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a ^batsman?

Strengths Weaknesses

What is your best shot?

How do you get most of your runs?

Complete the following statement at least 3 different ways: “I am most effective when..”

a.

 b.

c.

When batting well:

. what are you focusing on at the point of delivery?

. what is your mind-set/attitude (e.g., “come to me ”, “patience”)?

. how are you feeling physically?

List the events that can happen during play that can throw you off form

List your mental and physical responses to these events.

3. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a fielder ?

Strengths Weaknesses

What is your best position?

Complete the following statement at least 3 different ways: “I am most effective when..”

a.

 b.

c.

When fielding well in the above position:

. what are you focusing on at the point of delivery?

. what is your mind-set/attitude (e.g., “come to me ”, “this is the ball”)?

. how are you feeling physically?

List the events that can happen during play that can throw you off form

List your mental and physical responses to these events.

Exercise 3. Game reflection: Personal match evaluation for batting

Game vs. ... Ground: ... Date: ...…

Conditions:...…...

Outcome(s): batting bowling fielding

Quality of My Batting What was today’s performance goal(s)? Did I accomplish it/them?

Self-rating: very poor excellent 

my pre-game routine 1 2 3 4 5

my pre-innings routine 1 2 3 4 5

my pre-delivery routine 1 2 3 4 5

my point of delivery routine 1 2 3 4 5

my post-delivery routine 1 2 3 4 5

How was my confidence today? What helped and what hurt my confidence?

What yellow and red lights did I experience today? What upset me or got me out of my rhythm  before or during the game?

What skills did I use (or try to use) to get myself back under control? How ef fective was I at getting myself back?

How well was I focussed on the process of playing the game, instead of the outcome of my actions?

Did I play the game one delivery at a time? Yes/No

Did I have a plan for what I wanted to do on each delivery? Yes/No

Did I trust myself on each delivery? Yes/No

Am I proud of what I did today? Yes/No

Did I respect the game of cricket today? Yes/No

Did I get the most out of my ability? Yes/No

Did I learn? Yes/No

Did I have fun? Yes/No

Self-rating: very poor excellent 

overall performance 1 2 3 4 5

mental preparation 1 2 3 4 5

clear mission/performance goal 1 2 3 4 5

self-control 1 2 3 4 5

focus/concentration 1 2 3 4 5

self-confidence 1 2 3 4 5

energy level 1 2 3 4 5

 body language 1 2 3 4 5