It is something Highlanders loose forward Hugh Renton recognised earlier this year when he found himself struggling to handle stress and pressure as well as he would like.
Rugby taught the 26-year-old to push through physical pain and tough trainings, and when he struggled, he opted to push himself harder but found his approach was not helping.
Looking to adapt better, Renton found Integrated Training founder Dave Wood, who helped him establish a framework to manage pressure to his advantage.
After working together since February and taking his "calm under pressure" workshop, alongside halfback James Arscott, Renton saw a "breakthrough" in himself during the off-season.
Yesterday, Wood shared his knowledge with the Highlanders, teaching the squad about what happens to the body, psychologically and physiologically, when it encounters stress and how to use the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems to harness energy affectively.
The team took part in a water session at Moana Pool where players had to remove distractions, including having their goggles removed, by shifting their mindset, language and perspective to move further underwater.
Renton, who helped relate Wood’s sessions to rugby terms, was excited to see the Highlanders develop their mental game.
"I think when you look at other teams, they may have more All Blacks — that’s a fact — and we’ve got some great rugby players and we come from a region of hard workers, farmers, relentless people in their lives.
"If we can harness all of that and . . . bring all this psychological stuff together along with our rugby ability from our coaches and our trainers, we’ll be able to perform consistently at a high level.
"If we’re performing consistently at a high level . . . there’s no reason why we can’t win.
"Our ability’s there and not many people work on the mental side of it and that’s what we have as an organisation and as players, so if we can put a framework around that and be doing that every week, it’s exciting what can be achieved."
What they learned from the sessions could also benefit their personal lives — and make them better people.
It was a "privilege" to play professional sport but the scrutiny of players did not match what people went through personally, Renton said.
"Our pressure, it’s nothing compared to real life or people who battle with putting food on the table.
"The tool’s that . . . Dave’s developed and helped people implement are just really a way to understand that.
"For me, I didn’t understand that before. I just thought, ‘just go harder’.
"It’s actually an awareness to what’s happening in the body and the mind and how to leverage that better and use that energy more effectively."
Tough times were inevitable and Renton believed everyone could benefit from techniques to help them mentally.
"It’s not about avoiding the pain or avoiding the hard stuff.
"It’s actually about going towards that and going towards that with a framework and leveraging it to really get what you need done and get through those hard times."
