{"id":323889,"date":"2023-08-16T02:11:34","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T02:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=323889"},"modified":"2023-08-16T04:59:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T04:59:13","slug":"socceroos-insider-warns-matildas-to-avoid-one-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=323889","title":{"rendered":"Socceroos insider warns Matildas to avoid one thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the lead-up to what is undoubtedly the biggest night in Australian football<\/a> history \u2014 the Matildas<\/a>' FIFA Women's World Cup<\/a> semi final against England \u2014 high performance and mindset expert Mike Conway has warned of one thing that could bring the team undone.<\/p>\n

With 15 years of experience in professional sport and more in elite team performance, Conway has worked with several high-profile teams and athletes including the Australian women's cricket team.<\/p>\n

Conway also has first-hand World Cup \ufeffexperience having been part of the Socceroos<\/a>' inner circle during their greatest-ever FIFA World Cup<\/a> performance in Qatar last year.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Matildas coach speaks after worrying Kerr sight<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Coach puts heat on England after bizarre claim<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Ugly war between NRL rivals erupts over 'mystery story'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Australia<\/p>\n

The Matildas' \ufeffgoal heading into this tournament was to claim the trophy on home soil, and after a nerve-racking quarter-final win over France<\/a>, they are on the right path.<\/p>\n

But to be the last team standing, Conway insists the players remove all social media "noise" \u2014 what he refers to as \ufeff"technoference".<\/p>\n

Speaking to Wide World of Sports, \ufeffConway describes "technoference" as the attention paid to personal technological devices at the expense of "natural rhythms and interpersonal communication".<\/p>\n

Conway warns that the overuse of smartphones and social media in sporting environments can hinder \ufeffphysical and mental preparation and be detrimental to performance.<\/p>\n

"Average phone use can go up with more downtime," he said.<\/p>\n

"One can pick up their phone more than 200 times \ufeffa day, with each of these a distraction to things that matter \u2014 particularly rest, sleep and concentration on important details for improvement.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

"Each distraction can take around 23 minutes to get back to full focus."<\/p>\n

According to Conway, every social media "like" or negative comment affects the body's hormonal system, in turn influencing behaviour and physiology.<\/p>\n

"Looking at negative opinions can lead to an increased release of cortisol which makes our bodies ready for action and puts us on high alert for long periods," he says.<\/p>\n

"This can cause anxiety, distraction, fear, and sleeplessness.<\/p>\n

"While lots of 'likes' can trigger a dopamine hit which can be euphoric but can also have an addictive impact on searching for more, and through other aspects, which can distract from the real goal."<\/p>\n

Conway says reactions can depend on whether a team is winning or losing, but with strong leadership and self-aware and self-regulated players, teams can combat outside opinions with greater levels of resilience.<\/p>\n

"Language is critical here," he says.<\/p>\n

"How Tony (Gustavsson), his staff, and senior players lead the team through adversity, and their messaging, language, and actions around this, will enable the team to overcome disappointment quicker and be even stronger for it.<\/p>\n

"My sense is this happened after (the team's loss to) Nigeria. It certainly happened after the Socceroos brushed themselves off against France<\/a> in their opening game in Qatar.<\/p>\n

"Grab the learnings, use them and move forward quickly. There is no other option in a World Cup."<\/p>\n

Coach Gustavsson has previously claimed the Matildas are "not keeping track of" media reports, which Conway believes the squad will adhere to through their in-house media team.<\/p>\n

"Undoubtedly social media will be floating around," he says.<\/p>\n

"But based on my experience; great coaches and great teams clarify the messages, control the messages and everyone in camp plays that drum.<\/p>\n

"In my World Cup experience, this happened. The media expertise within the camp was excellent and the team followed this advice."<\/p>\n

Having helped the \ufeffSocceroos through their four-year journey to the World Cup \u2014 which at times presented stretches of turbulence and disappointment similar to that of the Matildas \u2014 Conway was most impressed with how the players looked out for one another.<\/p>\n

\"Mind<\/p>\n

"The trust and connectivity between everybody was so incredibly deep having been built through a difficult four-year journey together \u2014 which we survived and thrived \u2014 coupled with our will and commitment to surprise many naysayers as well as give back to those who supported us along the way," he said of his time with the Socceroos in Qatar.<\/p>\n

"During our time at the Aspire Academy (the Socceroos' base for the 2022 World Cup), we became a real family, cut off from the rest of the world in some ways. We had each other, so anyone who was having a moment of struggle, we were there to support one another. It was one incredible experience."<\/p>\n

Conway will be a keynote speaker at #CapTech2023. The business and capital event will be held over four days in October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the lead-up to what is undoubtedly the biggest night in Australian football history \u2014 the Matildas' FIFA Women's World Cup semi final against England […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":322025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=323889"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323894,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323889\/revisions\/323894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/322025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=323889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=323889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=323889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}