Nexus helps Ryan Stevenson handle pressure

November 30, 2011

Ryan Stevenson knocked out Hibs after getting into the zone by focusing on his knuckle. The Hearts ace has made a fist of becoming a Jambos star with his derby displays. Sunday’s strike against Colin Calderwood’s men was his second in as many capital clashes. Now the midfielder’s performance coach reckons he should be held up as an example to many of his SPL peers. 

Molly Cameron believes the work Stevenson has done OFF the field is as important as the improvements he’s made on it. And she revealed how a unique trigger motion used by many elite athletes around the world has helped him evolve into a top flight regular. 

Cameron said: "I was absolutely delighted to see Ryan score against Hibs. He’s a great credit to himself and has worked so hard to get where he is right now. We first started working together four or five years ago when he was playing for Ayr. He came to me as he was concerned about his energy levels and wanted to improve them. I had a look at the food he was eating and his nutrition and took it from there." 

"I remember Ryan being stunned at first because I didn’t tell him he had to eat less – actually he had to eat more! If you’re a midfield running from box to box, and mostly at high speed, you’re going to need a lot of calories to be able to handle that."

"Once we’d done that we looked at his strength and conditioning and did a lot to improve his stretching and agility. More recently we have worked together on the mental side of things so Ryan is totally focused every time he pulls on a Hearts jersey. He told me that he didn’t want anything to distract him going into games as players can become drained if they are feeling stressed. So what I did with him was create a zone by creating a pressure point on his body he could use to get himself where he wanted to be. In his case it was his knuckle."

"Other athletes have different triggers. Tiger Woods touches the brim of a hat. For a tennis player it may be part of the grip on their racquet. But what Ryan does when he presses his knuckle is clear out his mind so he can focus on what he wants to achieve. And right now he’s doing it very well."

Cameron’s approach is not restricted to the SPL with Bryan Prunty, another who works with her, scoring FOUR for Dumbarton on Saturday.

She added: "It’s common sense that the more time you’re willing to put into something the more you will get out of it. People go on about David Beckham and how he looks and what he has achieved, but do you think he did that just by going to training every day? OF course not, that’s down to the hundreds of extra hours he has put in along the way. It’s not a coincidence. To me Ryan has always stuck out as one of those guys who is prepared to do that extra bit, I am delighted to see him do well."