A qualitative analysis of the pre-performance routine in rugby union goal kicking

Noel has asked me to write a piece for the blog on my MSc thesis so here it is, feel free to post any comments and questions. Back in the day (12 years to be precise, scary, eh Noel?!) I was one of Noel’s students at ‘the tech’, and he first introduced me to concepts and theory behind sports psychology, and I've been studying it ever since. As a rugby follower I have always thought that kicking is such an important aspect due to the points it is worth that it would be interesting to find out about the kickers themselves and try to find out what how they develop as a kicker and what variables may affect their kicking. With this information it was/is hoped that it would benefit coaches in building an individual pre-performance routine. As this weekend its the European Cup final, it is no surprise that the two teams involved, Ulster and Leinster have two excellent kickers in Ruan Pineear and Jonny Sexton. What are the odds that it could come down to the boot of one of these players?

A qualitative analysis of the pre-performance routine in rugby union goal kicking

It takes a great amount of precision to execute certain self-paced skills in sport. Aligned with this it is important that the performer achieves the psychological state required for executing that skill. In a situation in which the performer controls the initiation of that situation, the performance therefore should only really be determined by external variables beyond the control of the athlete. External variables can come in the form of outside factors such as the intensity of the situation; the competition; the environment; and both physical and mental fatigue.

In the game of rugby union, the goal kickers have often to take penalty kicks or conversions in highly pressurised situations. This closed skill, within an open skill game, is an extremely important aspect, as games can be won or lost depending on the accuracy of the kicker. This target aiming skill requires consistency in performance of the skill, and the pressure can be magnified if the kick is near the end of the game and the points are needed to secure victory. The physiological demands of this skill are important, but aligned with this come the psychological demands that are placed on the kicker.

My study explored and contrasted the routines of eight professional players (7 Irish, 1 Scottish, all international honours, two full internationals; four under 20 years old; four 25 years old and over). Using interviews, the information was examined to explore the participants’ experiences while developing as a kicker and influences on their career. It also explored what aspects may have affected their pre-performance routines during games and if there are any similarities in what works well and what affects their routines. It attempted to understand the cognitive processes and self-regulatory strategies employed by the performers and explore and discuss their thoughts and feelings during kicks. Themes and concepts were also explored which are associated with peak performance in the skill of goal kicking within the sport of rugby union.

In analysis of the data gained through the interviews a series of themes emerged which overlapped between subjects. I have tried to summarise each of the nine distinct themes:

UNIQUENESS

While there were similarities in aspects of the routines between players, each player stressed how it was unique to them. The development of their routine had occurred over time through observational learning from other elite kickers and also expert coaching. The practice and pre-game ritual is also unique to the players and it may have taken time to develop what currently works for them, although it is open for change, especially among the younger players. 

When thinking about any intervention design for elite professional rugby players, Hays et. al. (2009), suggests that any intervention design should reflect the individual needs of that athlete. This might involve identifying that athlete’s sources and types of confidence and ensuring that these are intact during competition preparation phases (Hays et. al., 2009). Each player within the study utilised different cues and images, and in some cases this changed quite regularly. Jackson & Baker (2001) stated how a pre-performance routine should include components that contain behavioural, physiological and cognitive cues. 

USE OF MENTORS, ROLE MODELS AND COACHES

The use of mentors, role models and coaches is something that all of the players have had and are still utilising throughout their career. Several of the participants stated how either going to a coaching session or observing an elite kicker early in their career shaped how they started to kick. Two of the participants had received specialist kicking coaching from the same coach and described how they thought his coaching style was very good because he kept things simple and did not try to complicate things. One of these players had also received specialist kicking coaching from a different coach and had described how they complicated things by always getting them to think about aspects of their kicking. He found that this style of coaching over-complicated what was essentially to him a simplistic kicking style. Maxwell et. al. (2003) suggested that presenting a performer with a large explicit knowledge base through learning may not be the most productive method of acquiring skills. By over-complicating the kick this seems to have made the player shift from an external focus of attention to an internal focus and this did not work for him.

Dave Alred, pictured in this photo with Jonny Wilkinson has developed a routine that suits his style. However, one of the players in my study worked with him while playing in the English Premiership and could not adjust to his coaching style and had to stop working with him, as it was beginning to affect him negatively. He stated how it was making it too complicated for him, and he preferred it kept simple.

SIMPLICITY

When the participants were describing their kicking they tended to describe it as very much an automatic process. Through many hours of practice the players have automated their kick and therefore it is encoded in their implicit memory. The players state how they have all been kicking from an early age and like to keep things simple. This has taken many hours of practice to achieve this.

They all also stressed the importance of practice as not only a source of confidence, but as a reaffiramation of their pre-performance routine. This corresponds with results of previous studies which found that elite performers have highly consistent routine times (Crews & Boutcher, 1986; Wrisberg & Pein, 1992), although these results came in golf and basketball respectively.

CHANGING ROUTINES

While the aim of the players is to develop a routine that is consistent, they are all open to changes and constantly developing and improving their routine. The changes seem to be smaller as they get more experienced but, for the younger players still on development and academy contracts, most are still aspiring to find an ideal routine. Even the most experienced player had changed his routine briefly last season, although he returned to his original after missing a kick. Just as in other skill based activities in which competition is involved, the participant strives to achieve perfection. While the skill of goal kicking is an individual task, the players still spoke about the responsibility they felt, and therefore felt they were open to changes.

IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR ‘STRUCTURED’ PRACTICE

It has been noted that mental skills develop in a similar fashion to physical skills (Cumming & Hall, 2002). It is therefore important to train both physical and mental skills together as they would be used in competition (Hall, 2001; Weinberg & Gould, 2003). Through each of the participants’ interviews, the role of confidence in their goal kicking was an important concept. All participants within the study strove to replicate this competitive environment in training to ready them for the pressure of competition. By purposefully engaging in considerable practice, both frequent and consistent performances, this helps to refine the many components of the skill (Bargh & Chartand, 1999).

 

SELF-TALK

Self-talk was highlighted by some of the players as an important aspect of their routine. Previous research evidence suggests that self-talk is beneficial to general sporting performance (Hardy, Gammage & Hall, 2001). However research by Thelwell & Maynard (2002) found that cricketers indicated that the skill can be used in a variety of ways. They found that the positive statements allowed the negative statements to be countered, thus enabling the performers to focus on their cues and to underpin a focus on their goals (Thelwell & Maynard, 2002). This research corresponds with findings from this study in that performers use self-talk phrases to reconnect with the automated skill of goal kicking. The type of self-talk used is also interesting. Participants used phrases such as ‘follow through on target’ and ‘head down’ as positive reinforcements of key skill points. Hatzigeorgiadis, Zourbanos & Theodorakis (2007) suggest that different self-talk cues will have different performance effects and therefore different self-talk will serve different functions.

COMPARTMENTALISING

Most of the players interviewed spoke about being able to separate the role of playing out-half and the open skills involved in that role, with the closed skill role of the kicker. One of the Irish U20 kickers uses the referee’s whistle signalling a penalty as a cue for the role to begin. The whistle could be helping the player in a thought stopping role, in that he can prepare himself for the new role of the kicker.

This disassociation of the two roles was viewed as essential in several cases so that a poor kicking performance would not affect their open play. After each kick has been taken, the participants had differing views on how it would be reviewed. Reflection can be thought of as a form of analysis, a process of evaluation and a tool to facilitate change (Knowles, Tyler, Gilbourne & Eubank, 2006). Several of the players would block the missed kick out and trust in their technique, while others would perform a quick review immediately prior to the next kick.

For all us Ulster fans, a perfect example in present day is Ruan Pineaar, playing at the top of his game at scrum-half, and yet again named in the league team of the year, and also still able to consistently score the majority of his kicks, and many in highly pressurised situations.

CUES

Imagery also played a part in most of the participant’s routines. It has been said that an individual’s capability of forming vivid, controllable images and retaining them for sufficient time to affect the desired imagery rehearsal (Morris, 1997). Literature has suggested that imagery be can be used for a combination of both cognitive and motivational purposes (Munroe, Giacobbi, Hall, & Weinberg, 2000), with one of the functions being to develop confidence via mastery-oriented motivational images (Thelwell & Maynard, 2003). Many of the players in the study used the tee as a cue, when it came on to the pitch, they switched into ‘kicking mode’.

MANAGING FATIGUE

In managing fatigue, players had different coping strategies, depending on whether they had been involved in play or how fatigued they felt they were. The main aim was to ensure that fatigue did not have any impact on their kicking routine and that consistency was kept. Fatigue was viewed as an external impact that would affect their thought processes. Several of the players stated how it sometimes affects their normal kicking pattern, and that they may try and ‘overkick’ when it was not needed. Players would use strategies such as tying laces and taking extra drinks from the water bottle to try and return them to as near resting state as possible. Several players also spoke about the contact and collaboration from the bench in these instances, in that the person bringing on the tee would take longer so it was giving the kicker more time to recover both mentally and physically. They can then go into the role of the kicker and begin their pre-performance routine with nothing affecting their thought processes.

Remember Stephen Jones’ kick in the last minutes that fell short to give Ireland their Grand Slam in 2009? A long kick for sure, but ultimately achievable for a player of his ability.

CONSIDERATION OF APPLIED INTERVENTIONS AND ISSUES

While some of these topics may seem obvious it is the development of the kicker from a young age that I feel is important. This information is only a guide and is only a representation of the group that was studied but the age group ranged from 19 – 34. The aim of this study was to qualitatively investigate the kicking careers of eight rugby union players. From an applied point of view there are several findings that may prove useful when working with rugby union goal kickers. While rugby union is a team sport, it is still played by individuals, with arguably the most responsibility within the game being placed on the goal kicker. Participants all spoke about separating the role of playing and goal kicking and the mental preparation involved with both roles. This individuality is perpetuated in their own routine that may have been influenced from others but is, essentially their own. The development of this is critical and must be performed with collaboration between player and coach. Influences that the players experience at an early age can have a profound affect on them and can be key in their development. Providing role models at an early age through coaching clinics may be one way of initialising a sound base for a pre-performance routine in a young player.

Players also spoke about the need for regular practice. However in some cases, practices were not structured enough and sometimes not game specific enough. Practice may need to be structured in a way that is more challenging at the beginning of the week. This could follow the example as set by the experienced Irish players by making it competitive.

If you’ve got this far well done! I tried to cut as much out as possible but feel everything here needed to be here to understand the piece and the data gathered and analysed with the literature.

Since I finished the piece the statistics from the rugby world cup were released.

% of points in tournament from penalties: 23%

% of points from conversions: 16%

That’s a total of 39%

Overall the success rate of penalty goals was 59% and conversions were 69%.

There are a lot more stats on how these influence games and difference between successful teams and unsuccessful teams. 

For me it is a no brainer, it is an aspect of the game that needs a lot of training, both physical and mental, at the elite level potentially more emphasis on the mental. However, while some of the key points may seem ‘obvious’, not many coaches at the younger age groups are employing many, if any of these points. Even the younger professionals in this study had very little formal mental coaching. I am a firm believer in training the mind along with the body, nuturing key psychological skills alongside the physiological and technical, will in long term benefit the place kicker.

Please free to comment, ask questions, or rip apart!