January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Why sport is much more than a game
It wasn't the first time he would lose it after a bad day on the court and it wasn’t the last. Anger, frustration and moments of madness are part and parcel of the sport.
Anyone who thinks that it's all just fun and games has never played for real.
Most players, at all levels, acknowledge an almost masochistic mental challenge that is part of the game, whatever that game may be.
If you’re competitive and you don't like to lose, then chances are you're going to have to deal with failure or have the occasional blowout.
“The crazy part of it is that even the top players at the XL Open, practically everyone outside of Roger Federer, is going to lose more than they win,” says Collieson.
But that doesn’t stop the demons from descending in the thick of the battle.
“Tennis is the sport where it manifests itself the most. There’s no other sport where you see people berating themselves so badly. You don’t see golfers missing a put and shouting at themselves “you’re an ‘effin idiot’ or ‘you’re a waste of sperm’ and stuff like that.”
It’s not just on the tennis court, though, where players are driven insane by sport.
One guy who definitely doesn't play for fun is Chris Sousa, who plays soccer and softball for Tuff Dogs.
He has fought with opponents on the football field and even had to fend off another player who came at him with a softball bat in the parking lot after a verbal confrontation during the game.
There have been times when he has sat in the dug-out by himself so mad that he's been unable to shake-hands with his opponents or join in the traditional three-cheers that follows most games.
“I’ve had both my mum and my dad come to watch me play football and they’ve got in the car and left half way through.
“We’ll sit at Sunday dinner and they’ll say — Christopher, why do you get like that? It’s just a game.”
Danny Cook, a vice-president of the Commercial League and also an umpire, says Sousa is far from alone.
“Sport can make the meekest of men into lions. The quietest guys off the field can step on that diamond and they just transform into something else.”
For Collieson, though, it's never been about mixing it up or fighting with his opponents.
“Rarely do opposing players get into it. It's always an individual battle with yourself.”
It's a battle that caused him to seek the help of a sports psychologist in Florida, five years ago, when he was particularly prone to losing it on the court.
“It was helpful, but not as helpful as I thought it would be. I think I was set in my ways. It’s easier to learn that when you are younger,” he said.
He doesn't break as many racquets as he used to but he puts that down to maturing and accepting the idea that sport is sport.
“If everything was guaranteed then there wouldn't be any point in playing.”
He hasn't always been that reflective.
“I always strive for perfection. I've lost matches and been down in the dumps for days afterwards - serious depression over a frickin tennis game.
“A lot of tennis players are a bit self-destructive. If you're on a losing streak that's all you can think about. You almost start feeling sorry for yourself and that doesn't help.
“Some guys can lose 7-6 in the final set and walk off the court and go for a beer and say ‘that’s tennis’.
“For me there's nothing worse than when you lose and someone says 'that was a good game.’ You just want to kill them. No, it wasn’t a good game. If it was a good game, I would have won.”
Rudolph Alleyne, a sports mental skills coach who has worked with the Bermuda cricket team, talks about the inverted-U hypothesis of competitive anxiety.
The theory is that as arousal is increased then performance improves but only up to a certain point (top of the inverted U).
If the athlete’s arousal is increased beyond this point that’s when they start to lose control and performance diminishes.
“When you’re in the zone you are at your optimal arousal level and that's when you will play your best.
“It can depend on the individual. Some people have to be aroused to the point where they are almost going off the edge.”
It’s when that spills over and they do go off the edge that you see the racquet’s getting tossed and that sort of thing.
Sousa knows exactly what he’s talking about.
“My heart starts going and I get argumentative and I go way overboard. I've been ejected a couple of times from softball games and I’ve had my fair share of red cards in football.
“What it boils down to is that I play to win. I hate to lose.
“I’m not a professional, obviously, so I shouldn’t take it as seriously as I do.”
But according to Alleyne it doesn't matter what level you are playing at. Whether it’s professional or not, if sports is important to you, then you will feel the pressure. “Some people allow sports to become the centre of their lives. When they experience failure the effects of being angry can spill over into other parts of their lives.
“One of the things they need to ask is why they play sports. Is it for recreation, is it social with friends or is it that they are trying to excel in that sport?”
One of the things Alleyne tells athletes is to focus on performance goals as well as attainment goals.
Rather than just focusing on the aim of winning a competition, focus on the individual aspects of your own game that you need to improve to get there.
He also recommends a number of breathing and yoga techniques to help athletes keep their cool when the heat is on.
It all makes perfect sense. Yet there is something fleetingly satisfying and strangely cathartic about the good old traditional tantrum, which Collieson is prepared to acknowledge.
“You can smash your racquet or break it or whatever and immediately afterwards you realize you look pretty stupid but in that few seconds you do feel better.”[[In-content Ad]]
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