Mental toughness

Here in France things with my club team haven't exactly gone to plan; we have no wins from our first five games. Granted four of the five teams are expected to finish in the top-four, but it is little consolation.

The most frustrating thing is that we know we have the skills and ability to beat some of these teams, but so far when it has come to the crunch we have been unable to take the prize and execute when it counts.

Whether it started out as a psychological rather than a technical issue I am not sure, but as the weeks have continued it has certainly turned into a mental battle for the team.

Just as winning can be as much about mentality, unfortunately so can loosing; therefore now our challenge is to break this and start to take the wins we were brought here to take.

Experience

One positive thing to come out of this is that I have been able to draw on my experiences with the GB team, as it has always been a tactic of ours to play 'above our weight'. We knew that the only way we were going to progress at the speed required would be to play top teams, and for the great players to force us to play at their level.

This inevitably has meant losses, but we have used these experiences effectively to make sure we are a better team for it. I can't ever imagine this happening without the work of our sport psychologists; Jo Butt and Bec Wood, who both work at Sheffield Hallam but have been an integral part of the team for a couple of years now.

And even now that we are all playing abroad, Jo and Bec are still providing us with the knowledge and skills required to be 'mentally tough' athletes.

I know I know, at this point you are probably thinking, 'oh yeah that sports psych palaver is all talk and no action'. Well I don't blame you, because I once thought the same thing. All I can say now is having learned from, and worked with such experienced sport psychologists, the impact has been invaluable on my performance, and the effects continue to amaze me. So I hope you are still on board and keeping an open mind!

After several losses the biggest hurdle for our team right now is overcoming the loss of self-confidence. It has become so obvious that as a team we are lacking in that department, and just like many other sports, volleyball is so closely linked with confidence; when you are shaken it can have a really detrimental effect on performance.

Confidence

As players we need to find the best way to regain our confidence; and there are so many different methods that it is going to be about personally which is most effective. For instance, I find a structured goal-setting and review process is most effective for me to stay focussed and really hone in on what I'm doing.

In some ways these losses haven't been all that bad for my development, last year we were winning each week and were never seriously challenged. This season I have had to constantly adapt and improve my game.

The strong opposition has forced me to have an in depth analysis of my performances, which can only be a positive thing looking ahead to next summer, when the pressure will be amplified. But don't get me wrong; I am extremely competitive (trust me!) and more than ready to start winning now!

So what's next? Well, we have three extremely important games against mid-table teams this month, which we have to take wins from if we are to stand a fighting chance in the league. It's a huge ask considering the way we have started the season, but if we can re-focus, analyse our previous games, and then put them behind us, anything can happen.

As for the rest, well, I am excited that the Christmas spirit is beginning to fill the air, with the beautiful lights and the traditional Marche de Noel in every town. It is by far my favourite time of year, and in a way I am hoping that it can bring some joy for the team too... Watch this space!