With the Battle of the Blues looming in the horizon and the rugby season about to start, Royal College’s Cricket and Rugby teams are looking forward to a packed sports season. With the aim of boosting the morale of the players of both teams, the Class of ’72 held a motivation programme for the College’s cricket and rugby teams on 9 June. 

Amal Nanayakkara, a consultant in human resource development and training, conducted a presentation on ‘Motivation Through Leadership’. “Attitude is basically how you react to a person, object or situation. It is about a thought that leads to an emotion which can be either positive or negative. Based on the emotion, the behavioural action can be positive or negative.” He went on to state that teammates should have a positive attitude towards each other as it would help to strengthen the team spirit. Nanayakkara also touched upon the attitudes of sportspersons after a defeat. “As a sportsperson, you must be able to take victory and defeat in the same stride, with the same attitude. Just because the team is defeated, the team should not feel extremely down by it. The team should build the attitude where they are able to rise again, practice with more commitment and polish up their techniques. This way, the team can gain victory in later matches.” 

Resilient quotient is all about how quickly you can bounce back to normal after falling down. This should be developed. As sportspersons, you should always be humble and engage in fair play

Speaking at the event, P.A.S.P. Jayalath, the Principal of Royal College stated that resilient quotient should be developed among the students, especially the sportspersons for them to be able to handle defeat and victory equally. “Resilient quotient is all about how quickly you can bounce back to normal after falling down. This should be developed. As sportspersons, you should always be humble and engage in fair play.” 
Highlighting the importance of converting stress into eustress and letting it beneficially affect the performance, Dr Anil Priyanka Baddevithana, who holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Kelaniya, stated that eustress would motivate players to do their best and give their best at practices and matches. “It is with proper training and constant practice that players can play well on the field using their reflexes. There is no time to think and play on the field, therefore players should be able to use their reflexes.”

He also remarked that self-confidence and commitment were extremely necessary for better performance. “Self-talk, studying your opponents thoroughly, practicing in an environment that simulates the match environment, setting goals are important pointers for a player and the team to be able to successfully play on the field,” he said, adding that concentration, confidence, control and commitment are vital for someone to be a good sportsperson. 
Speaking to Daily Mirror, Riyaz Aluher, Assistant Principal and Senior Games Master, shared that this event was conducted to motivate and provide moral support to sportspersons in the Rugby and Cricket Teams. 
“We do have a programme for captains and vice captains of sports teams at Royal College, but this programme was specifically targeted at the Rugby and Cricket teams as they have an upcoming sports season. The teams need to be motivated and also understand how to handle stress. I hope that the programme was an eye-opener to them.”

The Rugby and Cricket Teams of Royal College participated in the programme

Sharing similar remarks, Mahinda Jinasena, the President of the Class of ’72, stated that the old boys wanted to share their knowledge and experience with the young Royalists. “We were once like these boys. We were also sportspersons during our school time, but we did not get guidance like this about sports psychology and attitude. So, we wanted to give to the boys the knowledge we had gained throughout the years.” 

Photos by Royal College Photographic Society