Sailing Psychology - Pete Burling Interview Analysis (America's Cup 2021)

[@Mickeysternum245]

I think burling's biggest strength is he never mentions any opinions or takes sides publically. He uses the same language constantly so never gets caught out having to defend himself or have a bad opinion hanging over himself when it could potentially go the other way. Great video though, always found his interview technique pretty interesting

[@jakethemus4321]

This is called a 'typical kiwi bloke(man)'

[@georghoppenstedt3103]

Peter Burling just loves competitive fast sailing and tries to win regattas since he started - it is as simple as that. He is for sure e very experienced, sharp and concentrated observer of everything what's happening during the course. He might wonder sometimes what's all the media fuzz about, just because he's doing so well what he likes the most.

[@FastForwardSailing]

There certainly could be some truth to that but I feel people often like to see psychology as less important than it is. Whether natural or trained his mindset is one shared by most/ all top performers I've studied. Any sports psychology book will mention the same principles. The hard thing is applying them on the race course.

[@georghoppenstedt3103]

@@FastForwardSailing , yes I do agree with you in general bout the mindset , but as you know sailing is a very special sport where you have to deal with a physical environment which is far beyond your control, where you have to adapt yourself in a very humble way to so many parameters constantly - as least thats my experience -and that's the fun part of it !

[@FastForwardSailing]

@@georghoppenstedt3103 That is true. The variable conditions make sailing a great psychological training ground.

[@billmarkelz]

Thank you for this insight. You have helped me way beyond you can imagine.

[@FastForwardSailing]

I'm glad you found it useful. I find psychology fascinating. It makes a real difference on and off the water.

[@timothyzimmermann4612]

One thing I noticed with Burling is that he never gives up even the slightest bit of information that might give an advantage to his competitors. When asked about technical details or tactics he's deliberately vague. When pressed his response is always to express his confidence in ETNZ or respect the strength of the other competitors. Burling's interviews always seem to end with the same couple of responses that are, in essence, meaningless. That's reflective of someone who is hyper focused on winning. The media can only be in the way.

[@FastForwardSailing]

Absolutely. He's a commentator's worst nightmare. Don't know why they even bother interviewing him. He'll never crack. The media want emotional responses and technical gossip. Pete never gives them anything. I wonder how much of this is tactics, how much is personality and how much is learned psychological techniques. Regardless, it works

[@OliverBatchelor]

@@FastForwardSailing Second this - I find his interviews extremely inane. Yet they persist in asking the same things over and over (and he gives the same answers over and over!).

[@Fr99763]

For the journalist, it would have been better to speak to a fancy team spokesperson. It is a media event after all and Burling completely ignores it. He’s got nerves of steel. A real champion!

[@FastForwardSailing]

Absolutely. I'm a Brit but I have a big soft spot for Pete Burling. A class act.

[@squiddly-diddly]

Top sportsman /achievers break there objectives down into micro plans ... cricketers - the next ball/over, the next 10 runs --- yachties - the next set of waves ,the next shift, the next boat in front of you, the next mark. ---- read The Naked Rower , kiwi winning trans Atlantic rowers...a great psychological insight.

[@FastForwardSailing]

Absolutely! It makes huge challenges feel manageable. Even away from sailing I do this. If I have a huge jobs list it overwhelms me. But if I schedule them in and 'just start' it all works out. I will add 'The Naked Rower' to my Amazon wish list. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@squiddly-diddly]

@@FastForwardSailing mind you .. I also used to play some pumpin music on the walkman before I used to hit the water in my younger years (OK, Laser or Finn)... I recall.. Snap " I got the power" was a regular ... lol

[@FastForwardSailing]

@@squiddly-diddly Lol. Music makes everything better. I used to know someone who took a speaker with them out racing. You didn't even need to look to know he was coming!

[@C1oudChaser]

Good content, but keeping the red youtube time bars at the bottom of the screen is a bit confusing for simple folk for me - it's easily confused with the one I'm trying to use when I watch it! Can you crop it or frame it next time?

[@FastForwardSailing]

Noted! I can see why that would be a tad confusing! I think it was hard to crop it out as that would involve cropping the webcam pic in half (as they were filmed together). Will have a think.

[@twistandtoil617]

Psychology has a lot to do with everything from relationships to competing and life in general and yes the Kiwis were very cool under pressure but I think they knew they were going to win and were staying modest about the whole affair as most winners do

[@FastForwardSailing]

Yeah you did get that impression from them. But I reckon Burling is the kind of guy whose mindset would be identical whether he was winning or losing. Perhaps I need to find some interviews from a time he didn't do so well- not many of those!

[@johne6479]

I don't know about ignoring past mistakes mate . .be more like learn from past mistakes imo

[@FastForwardSailing]

I see your point. I first heard the phrase from Michael Blackburn's sailing psychology CD and it stuck. Although you should learn from your mistakes going over them again and again in your head whilst your racing is not going to help you. Some mistakes we can't learn from- e.g. we went the wrong way up the beat despite all the evidence suggesting it was the right way- sometimes things just don't work out. Under the term 'mistakes' I also include times when other sailor's mess you up. Don't get into a shouting match if another boat infringes you- shout protest and use that as a mental signal to move on. The ability to decide to focus on the actual sailing is key. Focusing on past memories is rarely helpful in the midst of a race. If there are lessons to learn from they are usually obvious so don't warrant an unhelpful mid-race analysis.

[@CarkeekW]

agreed learn from them and modify the process if need be

[@johne6479]

@@FastForwardSailing I hear you mate, "shoulda, woulda, coulda" thoughts should never dwell in your mind . . and some mistakes are just really the flip of the luck coin. :-)

[@user-oe2ti1fb8r]

Pete Burling for NZ Prime Minister!!!

[@pwrforce6652]

So whats the new insight? Good on you for discovering PB has the mindset of a champion, just a run of the mill kiwi lad

[@FastForwardSailing]

I don't get your point. Are you suggesting that all kiwi's have the mindset of champions? If so I doubt it. But even if that was the case then the rest of the world has something to learn from that attitude. Often we don't need a 'new' insight. We just need to realise what the mindset of champions is and apply it ourselves. It's not just PB that has this mindset. It is a mindset shared by nearly all top level sports people. If they all share certain thought patterns it's valuable to study what they are. Sorry if you got nothing from the video. The video is meant for sailors who want to improve their sports psychology.

[@Telcontarnz]

@@FastForwardSailing most of us kiwis are very level headed and somewhat understated. Must help Peter Burling but doesn’t mean all kiwis have the mindset of champions. We do however expect our sailors, netballers and rugby teams to win.

[@FastForwardSailing]

@@Telcontarnz Thanks Grant, that's interesting to know. I wonder why that is. Nature, nurture, society? I would have thought an expectation to win might be a negative psychologically- but I can also see how it could help

[@Telcontarnz]

@@FastForwardSailing I think it’s more culture. Historically a farming community, so down to earth, strong and resilient. A long way from everywhere makes you self-reliant...our closest neighbors are still 3 hours away by plane. These attributes led to prowess and strong reputations in both world wars. The high performance kiwi teams will do exactly what you have described...focus on processes, the next part of a game etc.. You will have seen some amazing games when the ABs have been well and truly out of a game, only to score a try and win in the 84th minute. So in some ways they are among the best at focussing on processes rather than results. There is however this expectation of winning which is seen the most on the All Blacks, which has a winning record against every other nation. A history of winning adds its own pressures of course, and so it is never a great place to be when you are in the team facing the All Blacks if they lost the prior game! The ABs talk a lot about respecting the jersey and adding to its legacy. An AB has a special place in kiwi society and there is always pressure for places, and someone ‘nipping at your heels’ whatever your reputation. So whilst a fear of losing is normally what leads to poor performances, in kiwi teams it doesn’t, at least nowadays. It is taken as a motivator to prepare to the best of your ability and leave no stone unturned; give your best and make you, your team mates and your nation proud. In summary: before the game it is a motivator to prepare well and ensure you add to the legacy. During the game you are more motivated than others to focus on the processes you have talked about which of course lead to high performance is the moments of pressure in all sports. I’m sure you have watched the documentaries on the winning 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup campaigns. Until then the ABs had (unfairly in my view) been labelled as chokers at world cups. in these campaigns the players talk about being fortunate to be in these situations and to ‘walk towards’ the pressure as though it is a privilege...because, certainly as an All Black, it really is a privilege. As you can see I’m fascinated by high performance, whilst my focus was on teams in business...where the same basic principles apply. Hope these thoughts are helpful.

[@FastForwardSailing]

@@Telcontarnz That's very interesting Michael. It sounds like the culture toughens you lot up. Unfortunately it looks like the rest of the world (and maybe NZ too) are doing less and less of activities that toughen people up. People think its a miracle when a team pulls out a seemingly impossible result. But if you are always focusing on processes you don;t lose hope and that gives you the time needed for luck to turn your way. It's interesting how you describe this 'switching' between the 'pressure to win' mindset and the 'focusing on processes' mindset. That does sound the perfect combination if you can switch between the two.Seeing pressure as a privilege is a useful way to reframe it. Thanks for your insight. Whether sports, business or life it's the same basic principles that lead to success in each.