Negative splits and hockey sticks

Well after all the hype and build up, the Olympics are finally here, and so far, they have not disappointed me. All the sport on this week has been able to distract me from thinking too much about our sub-standard showing on Saturday. You could dissect each element and look for what exactly went wrong, but fundamentally, we were well beaten by a better team.

                This weekend we have a chance to right some of those wrongs by offering up an improved performance against another of the title challengers, Nottinghamshire Academy. They will no doubt provide us with a stern test, but often it is easier to follow a poor performance with a big game as it forces you to raise your performance levels even more.

                In watching the sports-fest that is London 2012, I have decided to look to see what ideas, approaches or tactics could be applied from other disciplines to improve performances in my own chosen sports. As a hockey enthusiast, I have been delighted to see the sport getting a good TV billing, and I recommend you to tune in for a GB match this week where you can expect to see a fast paced, entertaining and highly skilful game.

                What has really caught my eye so far though, and is something that I first heard while watching the Tour de France last week, is the concept of ‘negative split’ times in cycling, swimming and running. The principle is simple. You want to try and go faster in the second half of the race or time trial than you did in your first. In essence, it is a simple concept, and one that I am sure many athletes and cyclist have done before. However, it is something that Bradley Wiggins swears by and has become an important part of his success as a rider. The key is this, you need to find a pace in the first half of the race which places you towards the top of the leaderboard, but then have the ability to surpass that pace in the second half of the race to accelerate, not decelerate to the finish.



Daily Telegraph (c) - Bradley Wiggins is the perfect exponent of the 'negative split'

           

              In cricketing terms, it is exactly what Cuckney did to us on Saturday when batting, and in doing so blew us right out of the water by tea. As a result, we then felt we had to go at a fast pace in the first half of our innings (time trial), and in doing so we burnt ourselves out! The art of chasing a score should be the same as winning a time trial. You need to be in it at half way. Sometimes that might mean being close to the split time of your opponent at the midpoint, but if you know you can go fast at the end, it is not always the case that you need to be following the course of their innings.

                I also see this mentality applying to a bowling mind set too. Why should we not try as a fielding side to restrict the batting team to fewer runs in the second half of their innings than the first? OK, so they might have wickets in hand and bat with fewer inhibitions against a softer ball, but if we can aspire to keep them to less in the second half, and in doing so produce our own negative split, it might just help keep our focus in those difficult final 15 overs when attention and discipline can sometimes wane.

                It can also work on an individual basis. Why not try to bowl tighter in your last five overs than your first or try to score you next twenty runs in fewer balls than the last. It is just the case of focusing the mind on the task at hand while keeping your eye on the broader situation of the game.

                Hopefully we can respond it the right way this weekend and I will be able to travel down to the Olympic Park, for my own taste of the games on Monday, with a smile on my face and 20pts in the back pocket.