With the right response to new challenges, we can all take our standards to the next level, says sports scientist Professor Greg Whyte
When a team like Aston Villa qualifies for the Champions League, the typical response is how “they don’t have the squad to cope with it” and “it’ll be a nightmare for their league form”.
Currently near the top of the revamped Champions League table and the Premier League, Unai Emery’s team have more than coped. So far, they have excelled.
Yes, there’s a long way to go, but it raises an interesting reminder of why it’s never a good idea to just accept the usual narrative.
Of course, there are new issues every club in this position has to deal with. The players are playing more games which means more minutes so there’ll be a rise in physiological stress.
This is the absolute pinnacle of club football, so there will inevitably be a rise in psychological stress too.
Plus, the extra flying, transfers, hotel stays and late nights will bring a whole new level of travel fatigue.
But just because you have different challenges to overcome, it doesn’t translate that you are going to be worse off. Instead, the question is, ‘how good is your response?’
Those on the outside - fans and pundits - like to urge the club to sign more players, to get more bodies in to cover.
In fact, I’d say that overcoming these challenges is less about the players, and much more about the quality of the backroom team and the environment that surrounds them.
“This approach doesn’t just apply to professional footballers. It’s exactly how we should approach our own lives if we want better results.”
Elite preparation gets elite results
How well will the nutritionist respond to ensure their diet and nutrition matches these extra stressors? How well will the physiologists and coaches communicate to ensure that the training program reflects the increased load? How well is the sleep specialist optimising the players’ recovery and ensuring the necessary sleep quality is maintained?
In short, everyone in the organisation, whatever their role, has to be better at their jobs. Staff, coaches, players. And that goes way beyond the 90 minutes of a match.
When this doesn’t happen, it inevitably leads to all kinds of problems. We can all point to a team that has suffered a major dip when taking the step up.
But with a great operational response that sees these problems as interesting new obstacles to overcome, it could lead to a much better season overall.
If done well, I would argue that playing in the Champions League should bring you more success, not less.
What you learn from playing and beating Bayern Munich, for example, you can apply to what comes next.
It would have been easy for Aston Villa to be intimidated by the clubs they are now mixing with but last time I watched Man City and Real Madrid, their squad was made of humans too.
By raising your own individual standards, it follows that you then become a better team and more effective club. You become more formidable.
Applying Champions League standards to our own lives
This approach doesn’t just apply to professional footballers. It’s exactly how we should approach our own lives if we want better results.
Take the time to plan, prepare and optimise your routine and environment to reduce the anticipated stressors we face on a weekly basis and watch your resilience and performance rise - at work, at home, in life.
Sleep, rest, nutrition, exercise, socialising, productivity - no one knows better than you do the patterns and behaviours that make the difference.
It doesn’t mean we have to be rigid either. Actually the plan should be malleable, because things happen. There's always flexibility and movement within it. But without the plan in the first place, you are utterly at a loss.
Professionalise your preparation and, like Aston Villa, you might find yourself hitting new heights.
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