Stop Being Chokers Analysis

The article “How the All Blacks stopped being chokers” written by Gregor Paul a sports writer for the NZ Herald. The article focusses on the shift in mentality towards sports psychology, and the changes made by the team, lead by their Mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka after 2007, working towards players being able to handle pressure and perform in ‘big games’, or as the title suggests stop being ‘chokers’. This article as a whole was enjoyable and interesting, however I felt at times there was a bit too much writers ‘fluff’ and would have preferred a bit more information and detail instead.

The article addresses a few topics throughout, such as the history of the All Blacks being ‘chokers’, and then their journey to rectifying that, which …show more content…
The article also goes into the strategies implemented by Enoka and the team to improve their mentality such as the idea of players either having a “blue head”-calm, clear, task-focused mindset, or a “red head”- anxious, stressed. This is the key mental strategy the All black use, and focus and Enoka works with players on how to get and keep a “blue head” throughout the game. What enhances the idea of this strategy in the article is comments from team members on their own experiences, and strategies they use to keep a blue head eg. Kaino takes a deep breath and claps his hands. This aids the readers appreciation and understanding of the ideas discussed as it provides them with real examples, and experiences that add depth and insight which deepens the readers understanding, and adds interest. A small moment which I enjoyed in the article was when the writer drew on a recent game played to display the importance of mental skills to the All Blacks game, and how it won them the game. This was really interesting as it gives the reader something to relate to, and gives them some context on the use of the ideas discussed in the