5 keys to thriving sport from Legendary Cricket Leaders

Sport in Australia and New Zealand is under increasing scrutiny — and rightly so. Having been close to many elite sportspeople, working as a researcher and mental skills coach, I have often been shocked at the way some athletes have been treated. I am left scratching my head thinking “Do they (coaches and sport organisations) not understand that disregarding athlete well-being is one of the worst things possible for performance?”. I have been shocked to learn that cultures centred on outdated fear-based leadership models still exist. I say outdated because they do not work. The narrow-focused “win at all costs” mentality isn’t a road that leads to the outcomes we seek. In fact, such cultures are part of the reason that elite athletes have an above average risk of suffering from mental health related issues such as depression, anxiety and addiction. It’s time for change — for the good of the players and the good of the game.

In 2015/16 I interviewed six of Australia's greatest cricket leaders to better understand what it takes for athletes to truly thrive — that is, have sustained high performance, and sustained well-being. These men spoke honestly and, at times vulnerably, about the realities and challenges of playing at the elite level. They shared their experiences of highs and lows, and thoughtful perspectives in the hope that doing so would help future players be better prepared to cope with the demands of playing sport on the world stage. From over 80,000 words of interview transcriptions came insights that, I believe, may be more important now than ever before — for players, coaches and the sporting community alike.

Lesson #1: Well-being is a platform for performance. This came through loud and clear in all the interviews and essentially means that well-being and performance shouldn’t be thought of separately. All participants spoke of well-being influencing performance. They described the times in which they felt settled off the field, clear in their thoughts and contented with life, as being the times when they performed their best: 

“I think if everything is all together when you walk on that field you feel comfortable and relaxed, life is good, family life is settled, health is good and you are mentally alert, that definitely helps you to go out there and perform well.” (Participant #2)

To this end, well-being was regarded as a platform for performance. This seems somewhat ironic in the context of elite sport, in which a preoccupation with performance can cast well-being into the background (Hughes & Leavey, 2007). However, the consistency with which participants spoke of well-being as a basis for consistent performance and career longevity pointed to a wide range of benefits from prioritising athlete well-being.

How well-being enhances performance may be partially understood through Fredrickson’s (2004) broaden-and-build theory. This theory holds that positive emotions broaden an individual’s momentary thought-action repertoire, thus promoting more creative, efficacious thoughts and actions. Hence, when feeling good about oneself and focusing on enjoyment, athletes are arguably more equipped to display the mental skills required for performance, such as sustained concentration on the present task — or as one participant said:

“See enjoyment as the ultimate of it all. That enjoyment will give relaxation and give you the chance to perform to the best of your ability – which is the aim, to perform to the best of your ability.” (Participant #4)

Lesson #2 Play for the love of the game

A “deep love of the game” was taken to be fundamental to maintaining well-being within elite cricket. All participants mentioned this as their reason for playing, particularly in their formative years. 

I think in the long run, I think the mental state which is most important is to play because you love it, because you enjoy it. (Participant #4)

While this love was at times compromised by the ongoing demands of playing at the elite level, all participants spoke of the need to hold on to it in order to have a high level of well-being and performance. Love of the game was equated with love of its challenges and opportunities for collective achievement and camaraderie. 

I loved the actual contest of not knowing how I am going to go and whether I can achieve something … you are that excited when you wake up because you want to play cricket with your mates and you are not sure how it is going to go and you achieve something together – that’s the essence of cricket. (Participant #2)

The love of the game was also equated to passion:

Yeah I have never really felt under too much pressure, only because I found the job to be something I really loved doing, so I didn’t see it as a job, therefore I just went about my job passionately, day in day out. (Participant #6)

Being driven by the love of the game rather than external reward is consistent with the concept of harmonious passion, which I have written about previously here.

Lesson 3: Embrace challenges as opportunities to move towards potential as a player AND a person

All participants expressed their desire to be the best players they could possibly be. Realising their potential in this area was a highly valued goal and was described as providing a sense of purpose, meaning and enjoyment. 

Obviously at the high end you have got so much stress and pressure to deal with but it is also a great feeling inside and I guess, a happy and well feeling, when you do feel like you are getting the best out of yourself, you are becoming the best you possibly can be. (Participant #3)  

In striving to reach their potential in this demanding environment, participants expressed the need for a mindset in which demands were embraced as challenges rather than as sources of stress.

I think you have got to have stress because that means you are challenging yourself … because you are pushing yourself to the limit trying to find out how good you are. (Participant #2)

In discussing the challenges that seeking to realise potential brings, and how this quest affects elite athlete well-being, participants often alluded to something deeper than peak physical performance. Knowing, playing and living in accordance with one’s core values were discussed as central to sustained well-being:

Everything I believe in was the beliefs of the cricket I began playing. Consequently, there is no conflict there at all; they reinforced each other, which led to a very contented life and, rightly or wrongly, this conviction that that’s the way it should be. (Participant #4)

The ever-present demands of the game at times tested these values, but in doing so provided opportunities for growth. In this context, the greater the demands, the greater the opportunity for one’s ‘true self’ to emerge:

I often say that sport builds character, I agree with that, but it also reveals character. Sport can bring out the best in us and it can bring out the worst in us. So I guess it is how you handle these things. (Participant #6) 

Embracing challenges in order to realise potential is the essence of a ‘growth mindset’ (Dweck, 2006). Such a mindset has been associated with greater levels of enjoyment, persistence and success, particularly in academic and youth sport contexts (Dweck, 2012). This finding reinforces the relevance of a growth mindset for performance and well-being within elite sport. Further, it suggests that taking a growth mindset may play an important role in enabling the demands of elite sport to be used to reveal one’s true self.

Lesson #4 Balance in life and mind (a healthy perspective and identity)

The need to have a balance in life was perhaps the most evident theme across the interviews. 

I think the danger of full professionalism is that one hasn’t got enough to do with their mind. You think too much about cricket, you get it out of perspective and you think that everybody else is thinking about cricket the way that you are. (Participant #4)

This need was juxtaposed with the difficulty of actually achieving this, given the demanding schedule of international cricket:

I think the time away, that’s what I found the most demanding. If you are away up to ten months with a wife and kids at home … it is difficult and the pressure builds up the longer you are away and the [more] tired everyone gets and the more I miss them and feel guilty for being away and missing so much of their lives. So yeah, having the family, work balance was the hardest thing to deal with. (Participant #3)

Here, being away from family can be seen to affect well-being through the increase in negative affective states and emotions, such as home-sickness and guilt. Likewise, spending so much time away can also be seen as a threat to relationships. As positive relationships are a key component of several theories of well-being (Diener et al. 2010; Huppert & So, 2009; Keyes, 2002; Ryff, 2014; Seligman, 2011), anything that threatens relationships can be seen as a threat to well-being. Because of this, taking opportunities to get away from the game, such as holidays with family, and maintaining social interests outside of cricket, appeared crucial to maintaining well-being and improving performance:

Sport at the highest level can really consume you, and there were times in my career where it probably consumed me too much. But then when I got it right I had a really good balance between both, that’s when I played my best. (Participant #1)

An addition to the discussion of balance was that of balance extending beyond lifestyle and into the mental realm. Having a balanced perspective on life was regarded as essential for well-being. Central to this was the idea of keeping separation between one’s perceived value as a person and one’s performance on the field. 

I think as a person a lot of sportspeople do judge themselves on how well they have done on the field, and that can be pretty damaging mentally. (Participant #2)

Despite recognising its importance, participants indicated that it was difficult to keep a healthy perspective on life. Focus upon future selection, earnings, individual performance milestones and public perceptions were commonly causes of a ‘loss of perspective’. These negatively impacted well-being through inducing negative thinking, anxiety and fear of failure. The ‘healthy perspective’ participants described meant taking the focus off oneself:

Having an understanding of where other people are at – that life isn’t all about you… (Participant #5)

This idea of taking the focus off oneself can be seen as a catalyst for flourishing in all elements of well-being and may also underpin peak performance.

Lesson #5 Relationships inside and outside of sport

Relationships were identified as both a demand and important resource for well-being. This theme captures this dynamic, and the different well-being implications of relationships with family and teammates. 

Family relationships. Although time away from family, particularly wives and children, was commonly identified as the most demanding aspect of playing international cricket, all participants also referred to family as an important resource for well-being:

My family were really important, they kept me grounded. I think they were really, really important. (Participant #3)

Unwavering support, understanding and encouragement from family were regarded as crucial for athletes to maintain a high level of well-being despite the ongoing demands of international competition. Like the previous discussion on balance, these relationships can also be seen to help athletes preserve a positive identity that is separate from their athletic identity. 

Team relationships. Relationships with teammates were also described as important for well-being. Cricket is a team sport with clearly defined individual roles. This feature of the game can at times create a tension between individual and team objectives. Although participants clearly described individual factors that contributed to well-being, they regularly referred to well-being benefits stemming from belonging and contributing to a team:

I think what keeps you going in sport is recognising that what you do does have some purpose, not only for yourself but for others … so I think I got a lot of satisfaction if what I did was for the best interests of the team rather than my best interests. (Participant #5)

When viewed in the context of theories of flourishing (Diener et al. 2010; Huppert & So, 2009; Keyes, 2002; Seligman, 2011) it is unsurprising that focusing on others/team rather than oneself enriches well-being. First, as the above quote implies, focusing on the team provides greater sense of purpose and meaning, which is described as being a part of something bigger than oneself. Taking an attitude of awareness and service of others arguably lends itself to developing strong relationships, which is a key element of well-being. The nature of cricket requires players to spend a lot of time together, hence brings abundant opportunity to get to know, encourage and support other people. Doing this may contribute to lasting well-being:

I have been involved in about 60 premiership wins, but I can't remember them, but what I can remember are the people, the people I was with, the people I played with and against and met. (Participant #4)

Despite the apparent importance of taking the focus off oneself, the modern professional nature of elite sport can make this difficult. Several participants spoke of a tension that existed between sport being their source of income and maintaining their focus on the team.

Although most participants suggested that they tended to become insular when they weren’t performing well, this tendency was juxtaposed with the acknowledgement that investing in relationships improved both well-being and performance:

It’s amazing how much better you do individually when you just take your mind off yourself and worry about some other people – don’t worry about your own game, worry about someone else’s and you will find that your own performances really look after themselves. (Participant #3)

This ‘others’ or ‘team’ oriented approach and the supportive relationships it facilitates was also described as central to healthy team culture:

When a good culture is there you will still have people competing and yet they will be as good a mates as you are finding. You know that it is as healthy as you will find it when he is still supporting this bloke over here even though he has got his job. (Participant #6)

Despite the high social value placed on elite sport, the cricket legends interviewed in this study revealed that playing at the elite level brings substantial and persistent demands. In recognising this, it is important to remember that, at any level of sport we need to treat players as people first, and players second. The five lessons identified here may serve as a timely reminder about what it takes for sport to truly thrive.

* This article is based on original academic research, hence participants are not named due anonymity agreements in the research ethics. Although I cannot name them, I wish to extend my thanks once again for their participation. For anyone wanting the full research article, this is available upon request from rory@whatsright.ai