Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1987)
ven the huddles reflect Tom Osborne’s attention to detail. They’re crisp and rehearsed. The same every time. The center picks a spot about 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The hulking guards and tackles fall in. A second line is formed as soon as a wingback or wide receiver brings in the play. They crouch to give the lineman a clear view. The quarterback faces his teammates and says, “ready,’’ a signal for the team to forget everything but the play about to be called. “The key is to let go and move on. Take it one play at a time." wide receiver Rod Smith said. "Before he calls the play, he says, ’ready.’ That focuses our attention on Steve (Taylor). That’s a signal to let go." The “ready" signal is just one example of the tech niques the Nebraska players have learned from sports psychologists employed by the athletic department. Ken Ravizza. Nebraska’s chief sports psychology consultant, says the “ready" technique is effective because an ath lete performs his best when he is focusing on the pres ent. “By saying ‘ready’ in the huddle, they're triggering a • signal that says. ‘I’m in control, right here, right now.'" Ravizza said. Ravizza prefers to call what he does “mental tough ness training." He said every player makes a few bad plays every game. The key. he said, is to teach the players to concentrate one play at a time. “Against Oklahoma, you know they’re a great footbal team and a player is going to lose a couple of plays." Ravizza said. “But the issue now becomes. ‘How do 1 come back? What we re trying to do is give them skills to come back. After focusing on ‘ready’ we re encourag ing them to trust themselves, trust their coaches, trust their training." Osborne said he began the psychological counseling program to give his players an extra edge. Sports psy chology is popular in professional sports, but only a few of the more prominent college football teams have started using it. Nebraska is among the first. The Nebraska program began after Osborne con tacted Wesley Sime, a professor of physical education and recreation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the Spring of 1986 Ravizza. one of the most well-known names in sports psychology, was brought in to head the program. I came in and met with coach Osborne and the coaching staff." Ravizza said. “They decided they wanted to go with. Their cooperation has made it very effective." Osborne said he views sports psychology as helpful but not vital. “It’s like weight training: it’s like nutrition: it’s kind of an adjunct." Osborne says. “It isn’t a direct part of the game like blocking and tackling, but I think everybody’s always looking for an edge. There’s nothing magic about sports psychology, it’s simply trying to maximize a performance and allowing a player to play up to his ability." Ravizza agrees. He said sports psychology only complements the other things that go into a winning football team. “We just tell these guys. ‘You learn the techniques from some of the best coaches in the country. Trust yourselves.’... It’s a matter of concentration. There’s nothing magic about sports psychology. We just try to put the frosting on the cake." Ravizza said he tries to get players in the perfect frame of mind to play their best football. It’s a balancing act. “We try to get the players to recognize when they're not in control of themselves mentally." he said. “Some
