Kevin McManamon
By John Harrington
Dublin footballer Kevin McManamon has unlocked his full potential by becoming less keyed up about his performances.
The 30-year-old believes he was his own worst enemy in the past by being overly self-critical which in turn drained his self-confidence.
But while completing a Masters Degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology he learned the benefits of a more positive mind-set, and has reaped the benefits.
“I was traditionally very hard on myself,” says McManamon.
“I thought it would be a source of motivation, that if I was hard on myself, I’d try harder in training.
“Without realising that I was basically just chiseling away at my confidence. I give myself a lot more love when I review my games now.
“You speak to athletes who score a hat-trick in a soccer match, then they miss one and it’s all they can think about.
“It’s a very natural thing to do. But I’d be spending more time thinking about the hat-trick if I was giving the advice.
“There was always that bit of performance anxiety that I didn't understand, I didn't know anything about it. I understand it a lot more now and I'm a lot more relaxed going into games, a lot more confident so that was one of the big steps for me.
“I would've sought out a few remedies whether it's speaking to coaches or books, that's kind of my area of work, sports psychology so I've learned and worked on tools to help my own confidence and help deal with the pressure.”
These days McManamon makes a big effort to escape the pressurised bubble that the demands of being an inter-county footballer often put you in.
Kevin McManamon starred for Dublin.
He has developed other interests away from the sport, and has found that release to be a healthy one.
“I love playing music, love coaching, big interest in reading, and I’m getting better at not being a 24-hour athlete,” he says.
“When I’m training I am intense, and putting all into it, but I’m getting better at taking time off, time-tabling to look at videos, prepare for the opposition.
“That was one of the things I did last year, and it’s something was given to us by the manager, that when you’re here you’re here, when you’re somewhere else you’re somewhere else. It’s not in your brain the whole time.”
The growth of sports psychology in Irish sport has attracted some vocal critics recently, but McManamon believes their position is a naïve one.
“It's absolute nonsense, it's people who don't really deeply understand what they're talking about,” he says.
“When you talk about the difference between winning and losing everyone doesn't say that team was stronger or fitter, they always talk about how they performed under pressure, they always talk about confidence, the intangible stuff so why wouldn't you train it.”
“I think it's naive to bash it and I don't think it was as simple as bashing sports psychology, it was bashing positive thinking which is another area altogether.
“There's that part of sports psychology where there are probably people who wouldn't be as well trained as they should be working in the area which is where some of the issues lie but working on your mental skills is a no-brainer for me and I wouldn't be still playing for Dublin if I didn't do it, I wouldn't have had the success I've had if I didn't do it so it's a no-brainer.
“I feel I was a much better footballer, I was able to deal with the pressure of playing in big games a lot better, which over the years I hadn't done very well particularly early in my career the first couple of years I got very stressed before big games.”
McManamon enjoyed his best year yet in a Dublin jersey in 2016, and believes he has further room for improvement this year.
“I've always tried to take it one step further than I have the year before and that was the plan last year and is certainly the plan again,” he says.
“To try and get stuck in, get games under my belt early on, keep the body right and come into championship playing really well when it matters most, squeezing a bit more out of myself particularly in the championship.
“It's something I was able to do, I'd a couple of good games in the championship, delighted with it all, but there's always a bit more you can squeeze out of yourself.”
Kevin McManamon was speaking at today's announcement that Subaru are Dublin GAA's new official car partners.
