WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH THE FLAMES?

In a recent interview before the Guinea game, Kinnah disagreed with those who feel he is not giving the youth a chance in the team: “If there is a person who believes in the youth, it is me. That is why I introduced Mwenda. People have to understand that we cannot just throw young players into the thick of things, we need it to do it properly”

However, in an interview after the game (Guinea 2 Malawi 1) broadcast live on Zodiak Radio, Kinnah could not believe the loss which he attributed to his strikers who missed several clear chances. “We created several chances and we would have won this game by even three or four goals but I don’t know what’s wrong with my strikers that they can’t score even when the goal keeper is not there. (Bad luck?) (Day Dreaming?)

“We really need to sit down and see how to rectify this problem. We seriously need to change the striking force and possibly put in young players,” said a disappointed Coach (in an apparent reference to Russia based Esau Kanyenda, who has failed to score in six games?)

Most people are of the view that Kanyenda is way past his prime. I think Esau Kanyenda is still better than most young players. It could be that he just had an off day yesterday. Even the best strikers in the World go through a goal drought (Ade?). In Golf, even Tiger Woods bogies. Sometimes, before condemning a player one needs to look at how many chances the player missed in X number of games and quality of opposition (Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Guinea are way ahead of Malawi on FIFA Rankings). When Ivory Coast extinguished the Flames, during the game the Flames didn’t create even a single scoring chance. Creating a scoring chance starts from defense. So, I don’t think it’s only the strikers that are to blame. You win as a team and you also lose as a team. May be if we had good defense (including goalkeeping) the three games that we lost could have ended in draws (That’s 3 points).

This is the same team that beat Egypt 1-0 and DRC 2-1 just a year ago. All of a sudden the players are past their prime? I don’t think so. I think it has do with confidence, concentration, emotions, pressure of competitions, etc. That’s where psychologists come in. For example, Sihlangu coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba has made a bold declaration regarding the upcoming COSAFA Senior Challenge due next month in South Africa. In a media caucus on June 4, the South African born mentor said his team would approach the tournament with the sole intention of landing the cup back to the kingdom (Swaziland).

He said several times, there had been vague comments about the national team having played well. Flanked by his two assistants, Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati and Musa ‘Magic’ Zwane, the brave Mashaba said it was time they went all out for a win.

And to substantiate their ambitions, they have rolled out a program that will see them bring in a psychologist to work with the players at camp. On top of that they will also be touching base with all stakeholders (including the media) to comment and recommend on the team’s preparations.

Sport Psychology

Sport psychology deals with increasing performance by managing emotions and minimizing the psychological effects of injury and poor performance. Some of the most important skills taught are goal setting, relaxation, visualization, self-talk, awareness and control, concentration, confidence, using rituals, attribution training, and periodization.

Psychological Skills Training

Psychological skills training (PST) refers to consistent practice of mental or psychological skills. Coaches and athletes know that physical skills need to be regularly practiced to become better. Similar to physical skills, psychological skills such as maintaining concentration and regulating arousal levels also need to be practiced. Psychological skills training programs are very common but not limited to the sporting arena. These PST programs should be planned, implemented and supervised by a trained sport psychologist.

Why is Psychological Skills Training Important?

All sport and exercise participants fall victim to mistakes and mental letdowns. Mental and emotional components often overshadow the purely physical and technical aspects of the performance. To overcome this, one must become equally fit both mentally and physically, an individuals success or failure in the sport and exercise arena lies in the ability of the individual to practice both physical and mental skills.

Do The Flames have a Psychologist? Will bringing in young players lead to winning if we don’t have a Psychologist? I rest my case your honor/honour.