Sundaymail Editor
Arthur Choga
In his book titled “Listen to Your Conscience: That’s Why You Have One”, award-winning author Frank Sonnenberg says: “If you want to be a winner, act like one.”
This is a mantra sports personalities and administrators should follow this year.
Have you ever attended a school game where your child would be playing?
Usually, the opponents step out and warm up in a confident manner.
But the moment the home team confidently marches onto the field, the look on the visitors changes and the fighting spirit drains out of them.
Their shoulders slump and the fire in their eyes dims a little bit.
In an instant, the game is lost.
This story is familiar in instances where our national teams play.
There are times when we have seen our players overawed by the opposition.
It is high time we begin inculcating a winning mentality in our players from an early age. Nigerians are among the most confident people on the continent.
This might seem a sweeping statement, but it is true.
They will speak about Lagos as if it is some utopia and celebrate their personal achievements with pride and confidence.
For most Zimbabweans, this may be frowned upon, as it comes across as arrogance.
While there is a thin line between confidence and arrogance, there is every reason to state what you are good at and show it.
A brilliant athlete can either be subtly told to “tone it down” and blend in with the average ability of the team or exalted beyond measure.
Some coaches unhelpfully routinely tell athletes under their tutelage how good their opponents are rather than psyche up their team for the match.
We need to infuse the mindset of a champion into our sport.
The ultimate goal of sport is to win.
Players should not be comfortable with mediocre performances.
If players are not primed to succeed, they will be happy to coast along.
Preparing for victory
Match-day performance is only as good as the preparation that preceded it.
No motivational talk is going to inspire players who are not fully match fit to go out and beat better-prepared opponents.
That only happens in movies.
Language is powerful
The language we use in sport has to change.
Speechwriters of key corporate and national leaders have to master the art of writing stuff that captures the soul of the people and compels stakeholders to play their part to ensure success.
A wishy-washy call to action will result in tepid performance.
Every planning meeting in sport must be time-bound and address key issues.
It must play out like a match.
If you go into a football match and you do not have a plan, the opponents will run rings round you.
Why should a meeting about football be longer than the match itself, honestly?
Rather, make points, agree on actions and implement.
Strict monitoring is also needed to ensure delivery of agreed goals.
This way, each person delivers on their mandate.
It all starts with how we see ourselves.
The losing mentality has spread to fans, who dismiss our teams offhand, even before matches are played.
However, it is up to the stakeholders to show they have a winning mindset.
If we want to be taken seriously as a sporting nation, we have to start taking ourselves seriously.
We should not talk ourselves down.
We must do away with disrespect for our players. We must also walk, speak and act like champions.
This is the only way we can position ourselves for success.
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