Calvin K
58 posts


Below is perhaps one of the most insightful clips I’ve watched related to the psychology of adult elite sport (the professional level of sport).
Tucked away…silently…in a BBC interview quite some years ago.
A small section of an interview with Roy Keane, one of the Premier League’s greatest players…
“It’s an act. Of course I had self-doubts, but I kept an act up. The skinhead. A few sendings off. I fear nothing. Some sort of machine. Which is nonsense. You act, don’t you!”
Roy Keane was a great actor. He acted when he took to the pitch. He had, what I call a ‘Game Face’.
I wrote about my mental technique of ‘Game Face’ in my first book Soccer Tough (a book that I’m proud to say Gareth Bale called life changing). And I expanded on ‘Game Face’ in Soccer Tough II.
A ‘Game Face’ is a term I use to describe a player’s best ‘mental state’ and ideal ‘competitive persona’. It’s a pictorial metaphor that helps players think about, imagine, and then self-regulate around who they want to be in the heat of battle and how they want to execute their actions.
“I’m my Game Face no matter what. I say it, be it, do it, act it…embody it, enact it”
To bring this alive I’ll provide some examples…
I spent five years working with someone considered one of the best defenders in the world. He had a ‘Game Face’ of ‘Dominant & Relentless’.
These last two years working with Feyenoord as they won the Eredivisie and the Dutch Cup, one of the players had a ‘Game Face’ of ‘Positive Upbeat Benzema’
When England played in the final of the rugby World Cup in 2019, one of the players had a ‘Game Face’ of ‘Aggressive Energetic Lion’ (I was lead psych prior to the World Cup).
You see, these are pictorial metaphors consisting of action-based words, often combined with a model player or concept such as an animal. Metaphors are wonderful linguistic tools for self-regulation, and can help human beings execute actions at a high intensity level, as well as engage in a competition with approach behaviour (on the front-foot, energy forward).
Ultimately, sports competitors would do well to be great actors when they need to be.
This doesn’t mean there’s anything inauthentic about their style of play. On the contrary, a ‘Game Face’ is robust in that it offers a description of ‘who they are’ and ‘who they need to be’ when kick-off arrives.
It offers a dynamic descriptor of ‘who they are’ and ‘who they need to be’ in-game when the pressure is on.
A ‘Game Face’ is a mix of authentic and inauthentic mental (and personality) states that enable players to adapt and flex when they need to.
Roy Keane had a ‘Game Face’. He was an actor when he needed to be. In his words, it helped him find ‘the zone’. A ‘Game Face’ is the most powerful technique I’ve devised over the years…one that enables me to help players take charge of themselves and take control no matter what. To dominate their mindset and own their mindset no matter what…
…no matter what!
English
Calvin K retweetledi

Roy Keane: “It’s just an act…”
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Below is perhaps one of the most insightful clips I’ve watched related to the psychology of adult elite sport (the professional level of sport).
Tucked away…silently…in a BBC interview quite some years ago.
A small section of an interview with Roy Keane, one of the Premier League’s greatest players…
“It’s an act. Of course I had self-doubts, but I kept an act up. The skinhead. A few sendings off. I fear nothing. Some sort of machine. Which is nonsense. You act, don’t you!”
Roy Keane was a great actor. He acted when he took to the pitch. He had, what I call a ‘Game Face’.
I wrote about my mental technique of ‘Game Face’ in my first book Soccer Tough (a book that I’m proud to say Gareth Bale called life changing). And I expanded on ‘Game Face’ in Soccer Tough II.
A ‘Game Face’ is a term I use to describe a player’s best ‘mental state’ and ideal ‘competitive persona’. It’s a pictorial metaphor that helps players think about, imagine, and then self-regulate around who they want to be in the heat of battle and how they want to execute their actions.
“I’m my Game Face no matter what. I say it, be it, do it, act it…embody it, enact it”
To bring this alive I’ll provide some examples…
I spent five years working with someone considered one of the best defenders in the world. He had a ‘Game Face’ of ‘Dominant & Relentless’.
These last two years working with Feyenoord as they won the Eredivisie and the Dutch Cup, one of the players had a ‘Game Face’ of ‘Positive Upbeat Benzema’
When England played in the final of the rugby World Cup in 2019, one of the players had a ‘Game Face’ of ‘Aggressive Energetic Lion’ (I was lead psych prior to the World Cup).
You see, these are pictorial metaphors consisting of action-based words, often combined with a model player or concept such as an animal. Metaphors are wonderful linguistic tools for self-regulation, and can help human beings execute actions at a high intensity level, as well as engage in a competition with approach behaviour (on the front-foot, energy forward).
Ultimately, sports competitors would do well to be great actors when they need to be.
This doesn’t mean there’s anything inauthentic about their style of play. On the contrary, a ‘Game Face’ is robust in that it offers a description of ‘who they are’ and ‘who they need to be’ when kick-off arrives.
It offers a dynamic descriptor of ‘who they are’ and ‘who they need to be’ in-game when the pressure is on.
A ‘Game Face’ is a mix of authentic and inauthentic mental (and personality) states that enable players to adapt and flex when they need to.
Roy Keane had a ‘Game Face’. He was an actor when he needed to be. In his words, it helped him find ‘the zone’. A ‘Game Face’ is the most powerful technique I’ve devised over the years…one that enables me to help players take charge of themselves and take control no matter what. To dominate their mindset and own their mindset no matter what…
…no matter what!
English
Calvin K retweetledi

Blockstream is building out the Bitcoin economy: @Blockstream
Thread: Blockstream's Playbook: Building the Bitcoin Economy, Piece by Piece
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