Henry Shefflin to investigate the secrets of success

Kilkenny hurling legend Henry Shefflin delves into the concept of winning in a new documentary to be aired on RTÉ One on Monday at 9.35pm.

Ten-time All-Ireland senior hurling medal winner Shefflin interviews scientists and psychologists to discover the secret of winning, but he also spends time with Irish sporting icons such as Sonia O’Sullivan and Paul O’Connell, who share their views.

One of those interviewed by Shefflin during the programme is Shane Lowry, who gives a striking insight into his mindset in coming second in this year’s US Open at Oakmont.

“If you look at golf, 90% of the bad shots I hit are in my head.

“People have swing thoughts in golf — when I’m playing well I don’t have any swing thoughts, I just stand up, look where I’m going and hit it.

“In the zone — that’s a hard place to get to, and the harder you try to get in there.

“At the US Open, I was there for three rounds, as good as I ever was on the course.

“It didn’t look like I was going to hit a bad shot — and when I hit a bad shot it didn’t feel like a bad shot, I was in such a good frame of mind.

“Everything happened so slowly over the first three rounds, but then, as everything started to unravel, everything starts happening quick — you’ve 14 holes played and you’ve made three or four bogeys, you’re thinking, ‘what do I do now?’

“Five hours, the thoughts going through your head — your mind’s racing, it was a long week and I was tired, and I couldn’t rest. I felt a bit embarrassed.”

Ireland and Munster rugby icon Paul O’Connell also shares his thoughts.

“When you go on a journey and you have ups and downs, where you’re doing something you love but at times you’re not enjoying it because of something you’re going through mentally, or the pressure you’re putting yourself under.

“A lot of the best players, in team sports or individual sports, are self-led.”

Shefflin credits Brian Cody with instilling a culture of belief in the county hurlers:

“No matter what the situation at half-time or with 10 minutes to go, we always believed we could win.

“Brian instilled that in us, you never give up, you always keep going… if the brain believes, the body responds.”