AFL Rd 4 2022 Pre Game Prognostications Carlton vs Gold Coast

[Mav]

I have a theory on this.  Some people over think it.

Have you ever just reacted instinctively and surprised yourself? I have on the sports field a lot.  Hell, the more I listen to my instincts the better served I am.

The more I think about it, the more nervous, worked up, and then ultimately suffering is the only result.  I think this is what star wars talked about when discussing light and dark side.

This is very true, I've had some high level success in different sports, and the best advice I ever got and that I could ever pass on is to always deliver it cold. Act like you've been there before, seen it before, and that you belong there. It's amazing how that mindset can calm you into a high level of performance.

I've also heard this is one of the biggest benefits of visualising the contest prior to the actual event, it tricks / makes you feel you are in a familiar environment.

I'll put it in a slightly different way. It's impossible for humans to think their way through complex movements. Otherwise, the brainiest people would be the best sportspeople. If we try to work through a list of 10 or so separate things when we kick, for instance, we'll lose any fluency. We'll be like a meccano man.

In order to master complex movements, we have to "download" the checklist of actions into muscle memory. Then we keep 1 thing in mind such as "make sure you drop the ball in line with your kicking foot rather than between your legs" and that can help to a degree.

So, practice (or perfect practice as Ron Barassi said) is the key to developing a natural and fluent action in kicking or any other skill you might want to master. 

Batsmen and tennis players often recover their natural motions by "opening their shoulders" and just letting loose.