A radical approach to successful sports psychology

FOR almost half a decade now, Glenamaddy sports psychologist Gerry Hussey has been to the forefront of Irish sport, be it coaching Ireland’s Olympic boxers to success in Beijing or squeezing the last ounce of positive energy out of the Munster rugby team.

Next Wednesday (October 6), Hussey returns home to the West of Ireland to host a conference entitled, ‘Positive Response to Challenge’, at the Clayton Hotel, Galway . . . all proceeds from which will be donated to the Alan Kerins Project, an initiative founded by the former Galway hurler to enable positive change in some of Africa’s poorest communities.

The seminar, boasting a guest panel of some of Ireland’s leading sportspeople, will focus on the key systems that can be used, be it in sport or business, to empower the turning of a challenge into success. It promises to be an evening that will fuel the Galway audience into action using the absolute best of sporting techniques.

No doubt, for any sports person, coach or manager, the conference is a must, while Hussey believes the local business community could also benefit from the evening. “In recession, people talk about an uncertain future and facing challenges, where reality shifts quickly from week to week,” he says. “And, really, that is sport.”

He argues that, for the majority, sport is almost in a constant state of recession and, consequently, the principles he applies are equally as adaptable to the world of business. “A lot of the techniques used by sport stars are relevant across the board; be it for business people, secondary school students, or be it just for people facing a new reality or challenge,” continues the Glenamaddy native, who will be joined on the evening by Ireland boxing coach Billy Walsh, along with a member of the Munster rugby squad (possibly Paul O’Connell) and a number of other elite sportspeople.

“I will speak for about 25 minutes and then Billy Walsh will talk for another 25 minutes on his experiences of preparing for Olympic Games. You will find, though, that a lot of the stuff you do as an Olympic athlete is exactly the same in preparing a county team or even a club team. Challenges are challenges.”

To conclude the evening, Hussey will open up the floor for a 20-minute or so questions and answers session. “There will be roving microphones and people can ask about nutrition, psychology, lifestyle . . . So, really, you get to ask some of Ireland’s top sports personalities any question you want.

“Some of these guys have prepared for Heineken Cup finals, the Olympic Games, World Cups, World Championships, European Championships, so there will be a great wealth of knowledge and experience sitting there on the two couches,” says Hussey, who has certainly led an interesting life since graduating from Trinity College Dublin in 2003.

A former leading amateur fighter, Hussey got involved with the Irish Olympic boxing team following their 2004 sojourn to Sydney “In 2004, we had only one boxer, Andy Lee, and he didn’t really perform. So, Irish boxing was almost at a crossroads, in that if it kept doing what it was doing, then it wasn’t really going to go anywhere.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.