The captain of the Russian volleyball team Ekaterina Kosyanenko told psychologist Tatyana Rytsareva about sports leadership, necessary anger, personality types and playing roles.
Ekaterina Kosyanenko (Pankova) – Captain of the national volleyball team, champion of Russia (2007/08, 2009/10, 2015/16), two-time European champion (2013, 2015), the best setter of the European Championship (2013).
Tatiana Rytsareva – psychologist, systemic family therapist, emotionally focused couples therapist, member of the Society of Family Counselors and Psychotherapists.
Tatyana Rytsareva: What is the role of psychology in elite sport?
Ekaterina Kosyanenko: It is growing in my opinion. In modern volleyball, when the class of the best teams is evened out, the determining role in how successful the team performs is attitude. Important are the tasks within the team interaction, the question of the influence of the personal qualities of the players on the effectiveness of solving their game problems, leadership issues and many others.
T. R .: In sports, the optimal state, when we act most effectively, is called the state of mobilization (or combat) readiness. If you don’t experience enough stress before an important event, you won’t be able to tune in, but if you worry too much, then emotional burnout threatens. How do you usually tune in to a game?
E.K .: Yes, a lot depends on the emotional state. The main thing is not to get nervous, to cast aside doubts. I tell myself: “I will go out, I will succeed.” There are different ways to set up depending on the personality of the player, his preferences. It’s easier for me to tune in in games for the national team if I manage to “wake up” my sports anger at my opponent.
T. R .: Do you, a player of the highest level, have doubts before every match?
E.K .: I would answer like this: if I’m nervous, then everything is going well. If I’m not nervous, then I’m not tuned in, there will be no high dedication. There is a well-known sports truth: “Without a good jitters, there will be no good game.” And it is only during the warm-up that I gradually find my optimal state. There are games that are difficult to tune into. For example, when you know that the opponent is obviously weaker than you. If you go to the game relaxed, underestimate your opponent, then the probability of losing is high.
I have to be the ringleader of the team, and at the same time think soberly, as I decide who and where to pass the ball in each draw
Or the opposite situation, when there is a very big responsibility, that is, the risk of getting nervous. For example, at the qualifying competitions before the Olympics, we played with the Polish team. It was the first game of the tournament, we lost the first 2 games. It seems that we have been waiting for this game for a long time, we could not tune in. The feeling of powerlessness during the game suggests that you are burnt out. It was only in the third game that we found our own game on the verge of losing, and we won with a score of 3:2.
T. R .: What manages to turn the tide of the game?
E.K .: First of all, it helps to think that you cannot lose. The Russian team has a well-deserved status, and I feel that I must keep it. Going to the world championships, you have no right to play badly. The coach of the national team Yuri Nikolaevich Marichev at such moments says that you need to start all over again, remember your technique, find your game, focus on finding the optimal combat state.
T. R .: Do you have any special rituals?
E.K .: When I ride in the team bus, I always listen to music. It’s the music I’ve chosen, my playlist, it helps me tune in.
Team play
T. R .: You, as a connecting player, must make decisions: who and at what moment will attack. When giving the pass, do you take into account the current emotional state of the players?
E.K .: Yes, the mood of the players is already visible in the warm-up. For example, our coach of the Dynamo volleyball club often draws my attention to how the warm-up is going: who makes many mistakes, performs uncharacteristic actions, and who, on the contrary, acts confidently.
T. R .: It is your responsibility as the captain to ensure that the players come to an optimal playing state. How do you achieve this?
E.K .: It depends on the player. From experience, I know who needs to be supported at what moment, and who, perhaps, to put pressure on. Over time, you find out the players, what anyone needs, from this you draw a conclusion: you need to calmly say or shout. This again depends on the emotional state: if the player is not tuned in, he needs to be introduced into a more stressful state, use strict words; if the player is nervous, he needs to be supported, cheered up.
If all the players are silent during the stressful moment of the match, this is a sign of a deterioration in the team’s fighting spirit. Therefore, I am trying to start a team, I am trying to return the optimal condition to the players, I am trying to find an approach to everyone. The girls help me a lot too. Mutual support multiplies the strength of the team.
Of course, there are games where we lose, we are not robots. But then we draw conclusions. At the qualifiers for the Olympics in Japan in 2015, we lost to the Chinese team. It was very difficult to tune in: you understand that if you win, you get a ticket to the Olympics, and if you lose, then a month of your titanic labors is in vain. We probably couldn’t cope with this tension, everyone’s hands were trembling – we squeezed, burned out. The pressure from all sides prevented: “We must win, we must win, we must win.”
Personality types and game roles
T. R .: Katya, you are a psychologist by training. In your opinion, does the player’s personality type influence the success of performing game functions of different roles: setter, attacker? After all, players of different roles have different requirements.
E.K .: Certainly it does. Each game role (specialization) of volleyball players, whether it is a setter, attacker, blocker or libero, determines a set of game tasks, some of which are the main ones. Thus, attackers of the second pace (end players and diagonal players) must be effective and stable in attacks, especially in the end of a game or game. Another important function assigned to the players is to receive innings. As a rule, it is the attackers of the second pace who bear the main burden of the game in the decisive moments of the match. Players of these roles, having a stable nervous system, stable and stable character, perform their duties in the game better than others. They generally don’t need to “turn on” the players emotionally. Usually they lead the team with their performance, help out in difficult moments.
T. R .: You are describing the temperament of a phlegmatic. People with this temperament have a stable type of nervous system, they are usually not very sociable, but stable in stressful situations.
E.K .: You’re right, the “phlegmatic” temperament seems to suit the players of these roles. But first-tempo forwards (or blockers) have other responsibilities, the main ones being blocking and fast attacks. They must be able to make decisions quickly, start and move quickly and not fall out of the game in unusual situations. Also, the players of this role should be “groovy”, raise the emotional tone of the team, stimulate the dedication of the players. The first pace hitters are tasked with “lifting” their blocker with a fake attack so that the second pace hitters fight with a single block. Here, in addition to playing skill, artistic abilities are needed so that the central blockers believe in the attack and jump to the block.
T. R .: And here is a good clockwork choleric?
E.K .: Yes, especially since he is most often freed from attack in the endings, which does not require such high responsibility as from attackers of the second pace. However, choleric people often wilt after unsuccessful actions. A more stable game, other things being equal, is shown by players of this role with a sanguine temperament. But it is more difficult for them to raise the emotional tone of the team. Probably, coaches should specifically teach this to sanguine people in children’s volleyball.
T. R .: What are the requirements for you as a liaison?
E.K .: I have to be the ringleader of the team, and at the same time think soberly, since I have to decide who and where to give the pass in each draw. I have to be a link between the coach and the team, be able and love to communicate, and at the same time be stable and stable.
T. R .: And are you sanguine?
E.K .: Yes. I think the way my temperament correlates with the tasks of the game has contributed a lot to my success. For example, in 2012 I was invited to the national team as a libero. I could not refuse the national team, but I felt that this was not my place.
T. R .: Your mom was a setter, your brother is also a setter, both won a lot of titles. Are they sanguine?
E.K .: I think yes. In addition, they have colossal fighting qualities. My brother and I were guided by our parents and coaches to achieve, stimulated the desire to improve. Perfectionism has been instilled in us since childhood. The desire to achieve the best result was strengthened when I started playing for the national team.
Leadership skills
T. R .: You are the captain of the national volleyball team. What is it like? What qualities help you to cope with the captain’s duties?
E.K .: I don’t feel much difference from the other girls on the team, I like being the captain. It’s easy for me. Often you have to be the link between the team and the coach. Example: the coach has scheduled a day off, the girls want another day, I’m trying to work it out. I was a team captain when I was in high school. There is a special atmosphere in the national team: team leaders gather.
It must be said that when leaders gather, it happens that there is a struggle. In this case, I think it is necessary to separate the spheres of leadership. Someone takes the instrumental lead, it’s more realistic for the striker who scores, scores points; someone emotional: for example, as a “bundle” I follow the psychological climate of the team, I try to be a leader in everyday life. If confrontations between leaders do not arise, then leadership becomes a powerful weapon.
T. R .: As part of the national team, you regularly play against other national teams. Does the psychological atmosphere differ in teams from different countries?
E.K .: The process is structured differently in different countries. For example, girls get into the American team from the university championship, they are doubly tuned, since they do not have a regular national championship and there is no opportunity to play at this level. The players who got into the national team burn their eyes. The coach of the American team preaches a fast combination game, the tactics are very impressive – it is always more difficult to fight the coach and the team than just the team.
The Chinese team has very disciplined players. By the way, their coach Lang Ping once played against my mother at the Seoul Olympics. The current national team has very tall volleyball players, which sounds strange, plus they are well equipped, and, of course, discipline: everyone is in their place. All teams with very good technical and physical characteristics of players with high discipline. Here, the mood, dedication, endurance, stability of the players – in general, psychology – come to the fore.
T. R .: What is your mood for the Olympic Games?
E.K .: You can say that I’m just not breathing in anticipation of the Olympics – this is my dream. All 4 years in the team I think about it. Before the national team, I could not even dream of the Olympics, everything was unrealistic. I prepared myself for the fact that at the training camp I would have to give my all, show everything that I can do. Only on the plane did I believe that I was flying to the Olympics. Our whole team was tuned in to the Olympic Games – we felt a general powerful mood! We will do everything in our power!