CONCENTRATING ON performance instead of the final result has been key to the success of the Irish boxing team, Ireland’s boxing head coach Billy Walsh said at a meeting of business leaders last night.

Speaking at the Irish Management Institute, Mr Walsh, a former Olympian and leader of the high performance programme that was responsible for four medals at this year’s Olympics, said people are often so busy thinking of the finish line that they miss the start.

“Kenny Egan didn’t qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games and he was one of our best boxers. It was because he was concentrating on the next player always.

“You can’t control your opponent, the referee or the judges, but you can control your performance, so we keep coming back to performances and get boxers to focus on them.”

He warned business leaders at the HR briefing not to get complacent when they are doing well. He gave the example of how Paddy Barnes obtained a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. At the world championships the following year, he was drawn against an unknown and thought it would be an easy win. He lost.

“He now performs to the best of his ability all the time.”

Mr Walsh said it was important, be it in business or when managing an Olympic team, not to fill people with too much information.

“In between rounds, you only have around 40 seconds to calm the boxers down and bring their heart rate down. We only give them one or two pieces of information as that’s all they can act on. We don’t fill them with too much information.”

He added that it was important for people to assume responsibility.

“In the run-up to the Olympics, the coaches were all jostling with each other for space. There was no clear leadership as everyone was trying to be democratic,” Walsh said in an interview with Fergus Barry, programme director at the IMI.

As part of their high performance programme, the Irish Olympic team were put through very very intense training regimes to learn to control themselves, he said.

“When your heart rate is 200 beats a minute, it’s very easy to lose the run of yourself. They have to learn not to lose their head in a battle, though. Sometimes we put two lads in the ring with one of the boxers and they have to control themselves in order to fight the two off.”

Walsh called for boxing to be made Ireland’s national sport. “We are very, very good at fighting,” he said.

PAMELA NEWENHAM