Mind games for Rio-bound hockey team

New Delhi: Do not be surprised if you see members of the Indian hockey team dressed in Superman capes or trying simple exercises like threading a needle every alternate afternoon at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru. The activities are part of psychology sessions in the buildup to the Rio Olympic Games and are aimed at keeping players relaxed and channelising their minds to help perform at optimum levels.

Sport, they say, is played as much in the mind as on the field and sport psychologist Priyanka Prabhakar has been roped in to do just that. Players undergo sessions thrice a week focusing on team-building, handling pressure, fun activities, effective communication, besides other areas.

Said Priyanka, who is employed with the Sports Authority of India and had earlier worked with the national volleyball team and high jumpers, "Training the mind is one of the crucial aspect of our lives and it applies to sport too. In high pressure scenarios, athletes often have to take decisions in split seconds and we try and put them through such scenarios.

"Also, there is a lot of focus on staying together as a team, keeping them relaxed in the buildup to the Olympics, making sure that they voice their innermost feelings and learn something new every day. By doing this, they are making use
of skills that they usually don’t have time or place to do in their extremely busy schedules with hockey being the focus at most times.

"We try and make these activities fun and creative, but each of them has a serious purpose," she says. Last week, the team members were divided into four groups and asked to showcase their talent. While some enacted a play, a few posed as comic hero Superman trying to save the world, with the aid of props and a song and dance routine.

Explains Priyanka, "Besides team building, these activities help them shed inhibitions and express themselves more freely. It is also about self-belief and discovering your talent.

"The thread and needle task was based on stress management. The players were given just 30 seconds to do the task and suddenly we begun to throw coloured thermocol balls in the air. They were taken aback, but had to focus despite the surroundings. These are some of the many things that we do," says the 28-year- old, who teams up with Dechamma Muddappa.

The players, in turn, are responding well and look at these sessions as a "welcome break" from their gruelling schedule. Skipper Sardar Singh says it is helping them come together and learn more about each other.

"It’s important to be tough in the mind. For me, a game is won and lost in the mind and through these sessions, the boys ask and learn about soaking up pressure and how to fall back on different plans in a difficult situation.

"For me personally, I used to get angry on the field when someone was not doing anything right or not giving 100 per cent. It left me frustrated. Slowly, I am learning to curb that and express myself in a more productive manner to take the
team forward."

All this was not easy to begin with though. Priyanka and coach Roelant Oltmans did a lot of case study work and made notes according to each player.

"We did background work since each individual is different. While these activities are done together, we conduct individual sessions too. Some players find it difficult to open up or share their feelings, so we work according to their needs.

"The purpose it to help them manage stress, meet the demands of a professional sport life and open up new channels which will help them be more communicative on the field," says Priyanka.