THE Malaysian athletes of today are bolder and know what they want - to be
world class performers.
This is according to Michel Gagne, the National Sports Council's (NSC)
mental trainer.
Gagne is in a position to know for he was in Malaysia from 1988 to 1992,
helping to prepare the contingents for the Sea Games, Asian Games and
Barcelona Olympics. He also handled the Thomas Cup squads.
The Canadian, who returned in January this year to prepare the athletes
for Jakarta and the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, is amazed with the
transformation of Malaysian athletes in such a short span.
"Back in 1988, I was with national karate exponent P. Arivalagan, and
although he had what it takes to be a world class exponent, he had very
low self esteem and no confidence in his abilities.
"That about summed up the situation of all the athletes then. The
present batch of athletes have shed that image and almost all that I have
handled want to become world class performers."
The Malaysian contingent to Jakarta will have four mental trainers, the
largest number to attend an international meet to date.
The four are Cagne, Zaiton Othman, Christine Sebastian and Rohana Bakar.
Gagne is particularly impressed with the willpower of Watson Nyambek,
the squash players and the keglers.
"There is no time to sharpen their skills or build their physique, so
right now we have entered the `smart phase'.
"The `smart phase' is placing the cherry on the cake."
Cagne said that the Games around the corner, the athletes are naturally
eager to perform. And this is dangerous because they might injure
themselves.
"The four of us are working around the clock to ensure that does not
happen," he said.
"We have also put some of the athletes through simulators at the
Universiti Tenaga Nasional training centre. We actually brought in
Indonesians and made the situation as real as possible to show them what
it would be like to perform under pressure in Jakarta."
After going through the "drama" the athletes were told how to handle the
pressure and distractions in Jakarta.
Gagne and his team have been working with the athletes to help them set
realistic goals but found the going tough because there are no statistics
to indicate the percentage of "newcomers to the Games".
(END)
world class performers.
This is according to Michel Gagne, the National Sports Council's (NSC)
mental trainer.
Gagne is in a position to know for he was in Malaysia from 1988 to 1992,
helping to prepare the contingents for the Sea Games, Asian Games and
Barcelona Olympics. He also handled the Thomas Cup squads.
The Canadian, who returned in January this year to prepare the athletes
for Jakarta and the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, is amazed with the
transformation of Malaysian athletes in such a short span.
"Back in 1988, I was with national karate exponent P. Arivalagan, and
although he had what it takes to be a world class exponent, he had very
low self esteem and no confidence in his abilities.
"That about summed up the situation of all the athletes then. The
present batch of athletes have shed that image and almost all that I have
handled want to become world class performers."
The Malaysian contingent to Jakarta will have four mental trainers, the
largest number to attend an international meet to date.
The four are Cagne, Zaiton Othman, Christine Sebastian and Rohana Bakar.
Gagne is particularly impressed with the willpower of Watson Nyambek,
the squash players and the keglers.
"There is no time to sharpen their skills or build their physique, so
right now we have entered the `smart phase'.
"The `smart phase' is placing the cherry on the cake."
Cagne said that the Games around the corner, the athletes are naturally
eager to perform. And this is dangerous because they might injure
themselves.
"The four of us are working around the clock to ensure that does not
happen," he said.
"We have also put some of the athletes through simulators at the
Universiti Tenaga Nasional training centre. We actually brought in
Indonesians and made the situation as real as possible to show them what
it would be like to perform under pressure in Jakarta."
After going through the "drama" the athletes were told how to handle the
pressure and distractions in Jakarta.
Gagne and his team have been working with the athletes to help them set
realistic goals but found the going tough because there are no statistics
to indicate the percentage of "newcomers to the Games".
(END)
