Andrea Firth-Clark is the head of sport psychology at Headgame Ltd, and a lecturer at Greenwich University. Andrea has worked with elite athletes nationally and internationally (Beijing Olympics & National Womens Team Tennis Australia) as well as young athletes starting out on their career.  

When I feel determined my decision-making is always better and I can do many extraordinary things. Why is this?
Johannes Nathan Zakaria, via e-mail 
Determination and decision making are really the same things. Determination is the act of making or arriving at a decision.

Therefore once you are in a determined frame of mind, you know exactly what it is you want to do and this will give you more energy and narrow your focus, so you concentrate on only those things that will get you to your goal.

It is the fact you are so focused that will lead you to perform brilliantly. I hope you will continue to be determined and to do many extraordinary things.


Wayne Rooney gives away his secret identity as Superman

I find it hard to motivate myself before a game. I've heard a lot of players like to listen to music to get their adrenaline pumping. How and why does music help?
Danny Reynolds, via e-mail
Music is often a good idea as it stops you over-thinking the match. It allows you to relax and get rid of excess nerves before the match.

At the right tempo it can allow you to reach your ideal arousal level before the match. Some people like to be hyper and pumped before a match so they would listen to up-beat, fast music.

Others want to be aggressive so would listen to a more aggressive type of music, some players need to be calm so would listen to calmer music.

When used as part of your regular routine it can be very useful. It is important to listen to the right type of music for you, otherwise you may find that listening to music will be a hindrance not a help.


Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexandre Song show off their conversation skills

I've been injured for a long time. I feel depressed and demotivated. How can I keep my spirits up so that I can stay focused on my rehabilitation?
Andy Green, via e-mail
Of course, being injured is very frustrating and can cause a great deal of anxiety for a player. It is really important that you work with your support team, i.e. physiotherapist, coach, sports therapist, family, etc, to set realistic, achievable goals.

Sometimes, the player under estimates the amount of progress they are actually making so it is important that your goals are set to a realistic time frame.

It also helps to record your progress so that you can monitor your development, which will help to keep you motivated.

Remember you are still part of a team so support your team-mates when they play as much as possible and keep as much contact with them as you can.

Train those areas of your body which are injury free, including your mind. Using positive imagery, where you imagine yourself fully recovered and playing at your best as often as possible (several times a day) is also essential.

Visualise set plays, tactics and techniques, including not only the shots you already do well but the types of shots you want to make.

Relive past performances where you played extremely well. There is plenty of research which supports the idea that visualising yourself getting better and recovering from injury helps to speed up the process.

If done properly, imagery can help you pick up from where you left off and can even help to improve some parts of your game. Here’s to your speedy recovery!


Owen Hargreaves practices his dance moves