Desperate to get out of last place, Suwon Samsung is turning to brain science. Suwon head coach Kim Byung-soo is passing on his readings to his players to find the missing ‘winning mentality’.
Kim Byung-soo suffered a bitter defeat against Jeonbuk Hyundai in his first game in charge on March 10. The team seemed to rebound by beating Gangwon FC in the next game, but soon fell into a four-game losing streak. On the 11th, when they needed to halt the worst of it, Suwon ended their losing streak with a goalless draw against Incheon United.
The result was far from satisfactory. It was hard to find any positives other than the fact that the backline, which had been shaky at times, was relatively steady, and the game ended with a clean sheet. “A point is a very big point,” said coach Kim Byung-soo after the game. It was urgent for Suwon to break the doldrums.
On March 18, Suwon, a traditional K League club, fell to the bottom of the table for the first time this season. They have been in last place 메이저놀이터 since April 9. They’re only three points behind 11th-place Gangwon FC (12 points), which sits just above them, but the turnaround seems elusive. They’ve been losing games that could have given them points.
Coach Kim Byung-soo recognizes that the first priority is to fix the mentality of his faltering squad. He recently opened a book on brain science. He wants to understand the psychological state of his players so that he can give them the right treatment.
“I’m spending a lot of time and effort on the mental aspect these days. I’m also studying fields like brain science. I can understand the players’ condition better. To put it simply, nothing changes in a short period of time. I’ve learned that it takes a lot more effort than I thought to get to a new level, and I think I need to be patient.”
To be successful in sports, you need to be multidisciplinary. That’s why teams have a multidisciplinary team of coaches. And when two teams take the field to win, they need to have a pointed number to laugh at. It’s true that books on brain science seem a bit far removed from soccer and sports. The fact that the captain of the team is looking at a book on brain science shows how desperate Suwon’s situation is.
After the game against Incheon, Suwon ‘Captain’ Lee Ki-je said, “The coach talks a lot about that part (mental), and I even meditate for about five minutes before the meeting.” The changes have been made.
