This week I wrote about the potential increased risk for injury associated with sport specialization, and how so many coaches and athletes search for perfection in the mechanics of their sport, while at the same time dismissing the importance of learning mental skills that help with confidence, focus, resiliency, and reducing anxiety.
Athletes and coaches often obsess on the mechanics involved in perfecting a sport skill (like a golf swing or batting stance), usually doing so at the expense of fully understanding the impact mental toughness has on executing a sport skill. For example, the average golfer will spend an inordinate amount of time watching videos, taking lessons, and hitting balls at a driving range in an attempt to “perfect” a swing, yet spend no time at all in learning how human arousal impacts confidence, focus, fine motor skill movement, and the ability to master and execute golf shots. My point is that if you are tense and tight, it doesn’t matter how much you study sports techniques as your real problem is one of anxiety control, not sport knowledge.
What often gets lost in the pursuit to master muscle movements is the degree that confidence (or self efficacy) impacts how successful athletes are at their sport. It’s ironic, but having confidence can actually help an otherwise “imperfect” athlete (poor athletic form) still go on to become a great athlete. Hideo Nomo (pictured pitching) used a style no baseball pitching coach would recommend, and Rick Barry (pictured below) had the unorthodox method of shooting free throws underhand. Neither athlete’s style was anywhere near “textbook,” yet each went on to have outstanding careers in their respective sports.
Think about it for a moment – when you feel really good, you usually perform well, too. Unfortunately, many athletes feel good when practicing alone, but then experience a loss of focus, increased anxiety, and decreased self-confidence when playing against serious competition. If the athlete performs poorly, he usually goes right back to perfecting the techniques involved in his sport, while never making the connection that the technique he is learning is largely dependent on being confident when doing it in real games and matches.
What all this suggests is that while technique is important, it may not be as important as you first think. It also means that athletes who take the time to learn how to control human arousal, improve their focus, and bounce back from stress when not playing well, are often able to still play well – even at the expense of having textbook form.
Don’t believe me? Watch a baseball game on television tonight and note how different each pitcher pitches, as well as the varied batting stances you will see from hitters. Then keep in mind that these are all professional baseball players, and they have all made it to that level by having very different technical approaches to the game. Herein is the “proof” to my point that technique, while important, may actually be secondary when it comes to the confidence needed to play at a high level.
In today’s youth and interscholastic sports world, the sport specialist (an athlete who plays a single sport rather than sampling different sports throughout the year) has become an increasingly more common sighting (AHPS). In some cases the child makes this decision, while other times parents, coaches, and other influential people encourage the student athlete to specialize rather than sample different sports. The main reason for sport specialization, according to most sport psychologists and physicians, is to devote more time and energy toward a specific sport with the idea that more training = better athletic skill acquisition for that specific sport.
While it is likely true that most kids who specialize in a sport will get better at that sport (and at a faster rate), it’s also true that the chances for youth sport burnout increase dramatically as well. In addition to sports burnout, kids who specialize (and train year-round) might also be running a significantly higher risk for physical injury as a recent Yahoo story revealed:
Repetitive stress injuries are also on the rise. The days of lettering in several different varsity sports are gone; instead, students are encouraged to focus on a single sport starting at a very young age — as early as kindergarten, in some places — and stick with it throughout high school and college. Sometimes, they’re urged to do so by coaches hoping to hone a particular skill. Other times, they’re pushed by parents or driven to land a rare college scholarship. But the intense training in one sport over a long period of time can take a toll, even on young and fit bodies.
“Probably the thing that we’re seeing the most right now is any type of overuse injury, from stress fractures to low-level muscle injuries,” Charlie Thompson, chair of the NATA College/University Athletic Trainers’ Committee and the head athletic trainer at Princeton University, told Yahoo! Shine. “Off-season programs start too soon after the end of a long season, and we’re not allowing recovery to happen.”
So what does this all mean for the typical American sports parent? The short answer may be that “more doesn’t always = better,” especially if ongoing injuries prevent a young athlete from actually benefiting from specializing in one sport. It appears as though more sports medicine physicians, trainers, and other helping professionals are becoming aware of the health concerns surrounding sport specialization, and if you are a sports parent today, maybe you should pay attention to this news, too. As with any important decision, pros and cons should be examined within your family before deciding whether to specialize or sample youth sports.
Sport Success 360 is designed to help you with the contemporary issues in youth and interscholastic sports – like sport specialization — check it out today!
Sports channeling occurs when young athletes are slotted for specific sports or positions based on factors like height, speed, overall athleticism, and even race. For example, when a youngster is above-average in height he is almost always nudged and encouraged to play basketball (what chance do you think current Harlem Globetrotter 7’8″ “Tiny” Sturgess had to not play basketball?). The erroneous assumption many adults make is that if a youngster has a talent, skill, or attribute that would help in a particular sport, then the kid must also love and want to play that sport. Think about it — how many times have you witnessed a tall kid (boy or girl) be immediately directed to start playing basketball?
Sports channeling also crosses racial lines, as African American kids – especially in predominately white communities and schools – are regularly slotted in skilled football positions, like running back or wide receiver. To date, there does not appear to be any scientific empirical evidence suggesting black kids are better than non-black kids at those positions, yet you regularly see this happening in schools and youth football leagues across the country.
It’s understandable that people like to make shortcuts (called “heuristics”) when making decisions and appraising talents, but some of the shortcuts that are being made are quite fallible. In the previous examples, not all tall kids are good at (or even like) basketball, while not all black kids are the best for skilled positions in football. Similarly, not every flexible kid wants to be a gymnast, nor does every tough kid want to go into wrestling. Still, many people use these markers to make these decisions for kids.
The best thing to do is to keep open communication with kids interested in sports, and listen closely to what they say interests them (even if it goes against your sports logic). Keep in mind it’s very possible that a tall kid may not want to play basketball, and a black kid might actually like to play on the offensive line. You might even meet a tough kid who likes a relatively passive sport (like baseball), or a flexible kid who enjoys a sport like bowling more than gymnastics!
Regardless of what sport(s) a kid plays, the most important thing is that it’s a fun, safe, and meaningful experience – do your part to maintain an open mind and help kids reach this goal.
All athletes know that mental toughness is largely dependent on self-confidence, and that when confidence is high, athletic success almost always follows (Sport Success 360). It is for this reason that it is important for athletes to develop their self-confidence – but how do athletes actually improve their self-confidence? Unfortunately, it doesn’t usually happen in a moment’s notice by simply saying “I’m confident,” but instead happens over time by developing a solid training program based on the following three principles:
1. Set goals. Confidence increases dramatically when we can actually see our progress, and when we set and achieve goals it gives us tangible evidence that we are improving. When we see improvement, it automatically boosts our self-confidence. Every athlete who is serious about improving their athletic abilities needs to set specific, measurable, controllable goals that are drafted in a way that lists long-, mid-, short-, and daily-goals.
2. Reinforce effort. Sometimes athletic goals are not reached, but it is equally important to reinforce the effort put toward the goals nonetheless. In fact, shaping sports behaviors largely depends on reinforcing efforts, with the idea that if we continue to put in the work we will eventually reap the rewards from our labor. Parents and coaches can help with this by making it a point to heartily praise hard work and effort, and reminding young athletes of the importance of motivation and perseverance and how these traits help with eventual goal attainment (and sports success).
3. Use constructive feedback. Most coaches are really good about providing feedback and instruction, making it important for athletes to temper their emotions during tough times and instead refocus on becoming a terrific “student of the game.” While feedback can sometimes bruise our ego, it can also serve as a road map and template for what we need to do in order to get better. Therefore, it behooves athletes to solicit feedback from their coaches and work the teachings into their everyday training schedule.
Of course, there are more ways to build self-confidence and mental toughness than just the three tips provided above, but setting goals, reinforcing effort, and soliciting constructive feedback will certainly help athletes in very big ways. Sport psychology studies regularly show that when self-confidence increases, so does focus, motivation, and resiliency — all things that lead to maximizing athletic potential.
Learn more about the importance of self-confidence (as well as many more skills that can help with athletic performance) by checking out Mind of Steel today!
With the NFL Bounty-Gate in the news, it prompted me to think about sports aggression and the differences between healthy, competitive hitting versus violent and illegal physical play. The New Orleans Saints organization is paying a big price (especially head coach Sean Payton) for the bounties that were set by previous defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, yet some are arguing that the hits would have been just the same regardless whether they were done to receive bounty money or not. After all, this is the NFL and aggression comes part and parcel with football, right? Actually, sport psychologists identify two types of sports aggression, presenting an entirely different view of what may have happened in New Orleans.
For sports parents, this is a great opportunity to teach kids about how violence and aggression play into sports, including the differences between healthy and unhealthy aggression. The two types of aggression commonly seen in sports, instrumental and hostile, are broken down in more detail below:
Instrumental Aggression
This type of legal aggression occurs in sports when an athlete is in pursuit of winning and playing within the competitive spirit of the game. The aggression, in actuality, is needed and used in order to make plays, stop the opponent, and ultimately win games. This type of aggression is not designed to hurt players, or purposely knock opponents out of the game to make it easier to win. One way to think of this instrumental aggression is to think of the aggression as helpful, and not intentionally harmful.
Some examples of instrumental aggression would include a hockey player checking another player in order to get to a loose puck, a basketball player using his body to position for a rebound, or a baseball pitcher pitching inside to gain better control of the plate.
Hostile Aggression
This type of aggression differs from instrumental aggression in that the sole intention of hostile aggression is to hurt another player. In these instances, the aggression is not directed at scoring points or tackling a player, but instead purposely designed to physically hurt another player. When you see a cheap shot in sports, most likely it’s an example of hostile aggression. In New Orleans, the aggression could be called hostile aggression as bounties are designed exclusively to “knock guys out.”
Helping Your Child Understand Sports Aggression
So how does your child stack up? If she plays hard and within the rules of the game, then she is likely displaying instrumental aggression. On the other hand, if your kid engages in aggression that clearly is designed to hurt another player, it’s likely he is using hostile aggression. Of course, there are fine lines between these types of aggression, and the distinctions get even more blurred when you factor in the intimidation factor that plays in to many sports (like when a pitcher hits a batter intentionally to gain back the plate, opposed to simply “pitching inside”). Still, most types of hostile aggression are easy to identify and usually result in penalties and suspensions when they occur.
In all likelihood, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell probably factored in the type of aggression displayed when he made his final decision with the New Orleans Saints. In his mind, he saw the aggression as purposeful and designed to hurt players (and possibly end careers) — and how that type of aggression steers away from the competitive spirit of football.
Talk to your kids about the different types of aggression in sports, and reinforce instrumental aggression while calling out harmful and unhealthy hostile aggression.
Sport Success 360 is the premier sport education system on the market today, designed to provide coaches, parents, and student athletes with key information pertaining to today’s commonly experienced problems, issues, and trends in youth and interscholastic sports. Whether its youth sport burnout, dealing with irate parents, playing time, travel leagues, or the decision around sport specialization vs. sampling, Sport Success 360 delivers professional advice designed to help kids use sports as a vehicle for life success. Improve the sports safety at your league or school by delivering easy-to-understand tips and advice specific to coaches, student athletes, and parents – providing the “360″ advantage!
Benefits of Sport Success 360
Visit Sport Success 360 today and watch the short demo to learn more about individual purchases as well as school/league licensing. Do your part to help the kids in your league or sport organization have a safe, fun, and meaningful athletic experience – check out Sport Success 360 today!
Tiger Woods was at one time the most successful golfer on the planet, but today seems to be more of a master of spin and denial as he has faded back into the middle of the pack amongst his peers. Woods regularly makes excuses about seemingly everything these days, including swing coaches, caddies, and various injuries. In fact, it appears Woods is even developing a trend where he drops out of tournaments with what some would say are “phantom injuries” that only seem to arise when he is out of contention. Sport psychologists might advise that Woods check his head more than his back, knees, or any of the other body parts he claims are causing his problems.
Tiger Woods regularly talks about being “ready to go,” but when he fails he seems to have every excuse in the world why things didn’t go his way. Unfortunately, this unhealthy mentality is not unique to Woods, as many other athletes (and people) struggle with the inability to accurately face their problems. In other words, they struggle with denial.
As with anything in life, the sooner we honestly appraise the problems we face in life, the sooner we can begin to improve upon them. This applies whether it’s an athlete admitting to a loss of confidence, or an alcoholic admitting to the fact that alcohol has negatively impacted the health and safety of his life.
Denial seemingly “works” in the short run because it postpones reality — when you say “no problem here,” it directs attention away from the problem, which provides a respite from the stressors related to the problem. Unfortunately, when we are in denial the problems we experience do not usually go away, and it is our denial that extends — and often compounds — the original problem.
For Tiger Woods, it would be nice to see him reject all the reasons he has given for his failures the last few years and simply admit that regaining his mental toughness and confidence has been a lot more difficult than he ever expected. Unlike the days before his marital problems, opposing players no longer fear Woods, and instead view him as just another player in the tournament. This, in turn, has decreased Woods’ confidence while increasing his own anxiety. The result has been zero wins since before his marital transgressions made the news in 2009.
When I work with athletes, the first step of objectively “framing” the problem is usually the most important aspect of working to correct the athletic deficiencies. When athletes are honest and own up to what is at the crux of their issues, only then can we begin to identify and construct appropriate techniques and protocols to help improve the situation. Using Tiger Woods as an example, the longer he continues to point outward at everything but himself, the longer this losing streak will likely continue.
If you are a parent or coach of an athlete, then you probably already know how challenging it can be to help a youngster become honest with him- or herself when it comes to athletic shortcomings. Many kids, for example, will attempt to blame their sport slumps on faulty equipment, poor coaching, or even the weather. In most cases, the real reasons for their slumps have little to do with those factors, and instead much more to do with low self-confidence, poor focus, high anxiety, and low resiliency.
When kids learn that denial “works” in sports, it can lead to a recurring pattern of using denial for other life shortcomings, including school grades. This is just one more reason why it’s important to help kids steer clear of denial, and instead learn to accept that we all have bad days, slumps, frustration, and failure in life — and that the real champions are the ones who are honest with themselves and work even harder to be better the next day. There is nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to failure as it can be the best teaching tool if we learn how to control our emotions and learn from the experience.
We have a growing line of professional products designed to help athletes learn real skills that will help them improve their self-confidence while decreasing negative anxiety – you can learn more by visiting Advanced Human Performance Systems today!
The Sport Performance Assessment (SPA) app for the iphone is an easy-to-use teaching tool that has been helping athletes around the world improve their mental toughness and reach their full athletic potential. The SPA was developed using the latest sport psychology theories and applications, and provides users with an easy testing devise that reveals their current level of sports mental toughness. Users benefit by learning their specific areas of strengths and weaknesses along the lines of confidence, focus, and resiliency, and are provided specific tips and feedback for future improvement based on their scores. The unique trend data capture allows athletes to track and record their progress throughout the season, making it easy to see personal improvement and athletic gains.
The Sport Performance Assessment series has grown to include many sport-specific SPA apps, including baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, and wrestling to name a few. Pick up your SPA app today!
Most youth sports coaches do a great job building strong relationships with kids, and inevitably help kids experience success on and off the field as a result of their efforts (Sport Success 360). On the other hand, there are some coaches who do not have this type of positive experience, and instead struggle with building rapport with kids they coach. When kids do not connect with their coach, they often play below their potential and run a greater risk for prematurely quitting the team/sport. It is for these reasons that it is important for coaches to do a quick self-check on the following 5 no-no’s to ensure they are providing the best sport experience for the kids they coach.
Continue to develop into the best coach possible – Sport Success 360 is designed to help coaches develop strong relationships with kids, work more effectively with parents, and win more games!
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