UM coach tackles psychology of rugby

ORONO – Bruce Hale, the director of academic support services for student athletes at the University of Maine, has integrated the wisdom of some of the world’s best sports psychologists and rugby coaches in a new book, “Rugby Tough.”

Hale and David Collins, a British sports psychologist, served as editors and contributors for the volume, which was launched at the World Rugby Conference in Lake Placid, N.Y., Aug. 1-2.

The book, published by Human Kinetics, will be sold in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It is available through www.humankinetics.com.

“Rugby Tough” is designed to help players and coaches improve performance through sports psychology and mental preparation. Chapters deal with individual player development, fundamental psychological skills, group dynamics, team cohesiveness and defending and attacking mind-sets.

Contributors hail from England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, Australia and the United States and include coaches from several national teams.

“There are a variety of sport-specific mental training techniques, but there was no text that dealt with the psychological aspects of rugby. Bringing together some of the best psychologists and coaches in the world to contribute their ideas was an opportunity for me to integrate two of the things I love most – sports psychology and rugby,” Hale said.

Hale co-authored three of the nine chapters in the book, including “Psyching Up for Rugby,” “Visualizing the Perfect Match” and “Mental Sharpness for Every Match.”

“Mental skills are just like physical skills – you must practice them in training and use them in games. The techniques in this book that are applied to rugby can be applied to all sports, or developed into skills for other aspects of life. For instance, the skills you learn in sports like anxiety-management, decision making and maintaining focus can be transferred to a variety of situations such as job hunting, academics and your social life,” Hale said.

Hale, who has been at UMaine since 1998 and has coached the Black Bear rugby team for the last four years, is also a certified sports psychology consultant for the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology. He has served as a consultant for the U.S. rugby team, the U.S. Eagles, the Under 19s, the Cardiff Rugby Football Club in Wales and the Wales Elite 2000 program.

Hale played fullback for the Penn State University rugby team and coached Penn State for 10 years, leading his team to the collegiate final four on two occasions. From 1993 to 1998, he was a lecturer in sport and exercise psychology at Staffordshire University at Stoke-on-Trent, England.

Collins is the head of the department of physical education, sport and leisure studies at the University of Edinburgh. He played for several top level clubs in England and holds a Rugby Football Union coaching badge.

He has served as a sports psychologist for the English Rugby Football Union and consults with many elite athletes. Hale and Collins also played and coached rugby together at Penn State.