"The
emotional strength, self belief and confidence I needed to win [Gold]
in
Sydney was heavily influenced by the work I did with Marcia. In
the months
before the Games, we dealt with a lot of emotional issues, many of
which
went back to my childhood. She helped me understand why I ‘froze’ in
Atlanta
[Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA 2000]. She ended up working with
me every
day in Sydney, on relationships, family, volleyball, everything.”
“We covered many different issues, but
I want to tell you about three that I
believe directly influenced the outcome of our quest to win a gold
metal.
The first issue related to the spectators who flocked to see us play.
The
stadium at Bondi was a fabulous venue, capable of holding 10,000
people. It
was packed for every one of our games. The noise was incredible and
the crowd
was naturally and overwhelmingly pro-Australian.”
“Marcia was able to help me understand what had happened and prepared
me, via NET, to draw on the energy for myself, without being sucked
into those ups
and downs. This made an amazing difference, and I found I could
actually
connect with the crowd and draw a positive response at crucial moments
in
the matches that followed. It made a big difference to my attitude and
consistency.”
