The Sports Doc Chalk Talk

Sports might be the best place to observe “the intimidation factor.”  Whether it trash talking on a basketball court, a high-and-inside fastball from a baseball pitcher, or an after the whistle purposeful shove in football, it’s quite commonplace to witness athletes trying to get in the heads of their opponents and knock down their level of mental toughness. Interestingly, intimidation comes in many different forms, ranging from perfectly legal (and even strategic), to downright unsportsmanlike and dangerous.  An inside fastball in baseball is an example of the former, while a purposeful cheap shot punch after the whistle is an example of the latter.  As sport psychologists often note, controlled, sportsmanlike aggression may be a good thing, but uncontrolled, illegal, and unsportsmanlike behaviors are never warranted.

In the 1970′s, Jack Lambert was the perfect example of a scary dude.  Lambert was a middle linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers and was known as much for his aggressive tackling as he was for his missing front teeth.  While not the most imposing guy physically, Lambert seemed to always be in the heads of NFL quarterbacks for his fearless play.  In hockey, The infamous Broad Street Bullies (Philadelphia Flyers) of the 1970′s were also known for their rough-and-tumble play, and in basketball the Detroit Pistons of the 1990′s were known as the “Bad Boys,” primarily for the aggressive play of Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, and Dennis Rodman.  And in baseball, just about any pitcher who throws around 100 MPH and isn’t afraid to come inside gains instant respect from hitters.  As you can see, intimidation plays a part in nearly every sport — but the big question still remains: Does it work? That really depends on your definition of “works” and how far you will go to win games.

When intimidation “works,” it’s usually because of the following reasons:

A.) It leads to an opponent purposely being knocked out of the game.  Obviously this is nothing I would ever encourage, and I hope no coach would ever instruct players to purposely knock an opponent out of a game because of a cheap shot.  The reality, however, is that it has now been revealed that some coaches and teams do in fact encourage players to do whatever is necessary to win – including KO’s of the opponent – as evidenced in the recent New Orleans Saints bounty-gate. It goes without saying that intentionally looking to hurt an opponent is at the very least unsportsmanlike, and at worst could even be illegal.  As you can see, this type of intimidation “works” only in the sense that it lessens the abilities of the other team, although it also completely circumvents the assumed fairness, integrity, and sportsmanship we should all expect in sports.  Fortunately, coaches and athletes that ascribe to this type of “winning” are, in my experience, a very small percentage of sports participants.

B.) The more accepted form of intimidation is when it is kept within the rules of the game – like the pitcher who pitches inside to gain back the plate, or the boxer who engages in a stare down before the start of a fight.  In these examples intimidation may work if it does one thing – takes an opponent off his or her game. For example, if an inside fastball prompts the batter to give up more of the plate on the next pitch, most baseball purists would say that makes perfect sense.  Similarly in boxing, if the pre-fight stare down leads to the opponent being anxious and scared (and subsequently “off” his game), then most would agree the intimidation “worked.”  Conversely, examples of crossing the line would be when a pitcher intentionally throws at a guy’s head, or a boxer takes an unobstructed  cheap shot at his opponent during the pre-fight instructions.

Whenever an athlete is able to throw his or her opponent off by legal, sportsmanlike intimidation, then it is left to the individual to decide whether he or she would find it appropriate to do.  The potential “payoff” in using intimidation in sportsmanlike ways occurs when the opponent stops thinking about what he is supposed to do (and loses focus and confidence), and starts thinking about how afraid he is of the opponent (and thus increases sports anxiety).  In sports, this is known as taking a player “off his game.”

Are sports intimidation tactics good, and do they “work” by increasing the chances for sports success?  As you can see there are different ways in interpreting that question, ranging from intimidation being inappropriate and possibly illegal on one end of the spectrum, to smart sports strategy on the other.  What we do know is that when an opponent is far more worried about you than he is about what he is supposed to do on the next play, then you can make an argument that intimidation “works.”  This does not mean to imply that every athlete should look to intimidate his or her opponent, but to instead illustrate how the mental aspects of sport competition can enter into and impact the outcomes of games.  Many factors go into how an athlete should prepare for his or her sport, including how their personality traits are best used to both stay within the rules of the game and get in the head of their opponent (if they feel that is even necessary).  Even the type of sport enters into whether to develop intimidation skills — meaning you are far less likely to see evil stare-downs in bowling than you might in football.

www.drstankovich.com

Check our our high performance sports apps — many are listed just to the right of today’s column!

Coaches are regularly challenged to be successful leaders and get the most out of their team (Sport Success 360).  When their team is “loaded,” they have to make sure they keep the team focused and playing up to their abilities.  On the other hand, when they coach teams with average or below-average talent, the challenge is to lead the team so that they believe in themselves and play over their heads (and over-achieve).  How a coach leads his or her team is important in both of these situations, and there are a few general rules all coaches can benefit from in order to help the team reach its full potential.  Getting the team to “buy in” to the coach’s philosophy is key — listed below are a few quick sport psychology tips to help:

• Set appropriate, realistic goals. Studies consistently show that when people set realistic, challenging goals (rather than goals that are too easy or too difficult) people are more likely to persevere and remained motivated toward the goals.  Set goals that challenge your players, and then with every accomplished goal try and set another tier of goals that are even more challenging than the first.
• Generate enthusiasm. It’s no secret that when we are excited, we are more apt to be motivated to play hard and win.  Coaches who show positive enthusiasm almost always benefit by the team picking up on this energy, and as a result the team usually plays with better focus, motivation, mental toughness, and resiliency.
• Be consistent. Coaches who treat all players as fairly as possible usually build the best team cohesion.  While it is important to motivate players as individuals, when it comes to team rules and protocols it is important to be as fair as possible in order to improve team chemistry and cohesion.
• Praise often. People are much more likely to reach goals when they are praised and shaped in positive and instructive ways.  Rather than embarrass, berate, or humiliate players into performing better,  find creative ways to praise for effort and encourage players to do a better job the next time out.
• Prepare to deal with losses. While it might sound strange to prepare for tough times, it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it.  The reality is that most teams will lose (some will lose a lot), so preparing for dejected players and a negative locker room is very important.  As a wise man once said, “it’s not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up.”  Coaches need to think about how to regain the team and move them quickly through the sadness and sulking stage and back toward the focus and motivation needed to play at a high level tomorrow.

Being a successful coach at any level is a challenging task when you think about it.  Getting a team to buy into a coach’s philosophy can be a tough sell, and then keeping a team motivated throughout the season can be an equally difficult task.  Coaches who learn about leadership techniques and work on their interpersonal communication skills put themselves in the best possible situation to create a great team environment, as well as win more games.

www.drstankovich.com

Check out Sport Success 360 to help improve the overall culture of your team, athletic department, or youth league – get started today!

I have been involved with many discussions this week around Ron Artest, and the overall big picture of sports aggression.  As I wrote about earlier this week, it’s not the emotion that gets players in trouble, but how they manifest their energy.  When players allow their emotions to take the form of negative actions (like hitting another player), bad things happen.  On the other hand, when athletes learn how to more effectively channel their emotions into positive and facilitative actions, good things almost always follow.

www.drstankovich.com

Learn more about mental toughness and how it can help athletes improve their focus, concentration, motivation, and resiliency – check out Mind of Steel today!

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.

www.drstankovich.com

Sport Success 360 is designed to help you with the contemporary issues in youth and interscholastic sports – like sport specialization — check it out today!

While watching Barry Melrose talk about the Penguins – Flyers NHL playoff match-up yesterday, he used the expression “will beats skill” when describing Philadelphia’s surprising 3-0 playoff lead over Pittsburgh.  While the Penguins were the heavy favorite going into the series, it is the Flyers — playing with more heart and intensity — who are about to advance to the next round of the NHL playoffs.

Breaking down the Melrose expression, he is really talking about mental toughness and the degree in which players display confidence, focus, motivation, intensity, and the ability to develop the resiliency needed to “play up” and beat an opponent that seems to be the better team (Pittsburgh).  In sports, it is often “who wants it more” that ends up beating otherwise better talented athletes and teams.

While most coaches and athletes agree that “will beats skill” when it comes to the outcome of many sporting events, it’s still a tough sell — especially when trying to convince kids that they can beat state-caliber teams and athletes.  In these instances, kids are so intimidated that they either forget (or don’t believe) that their mental toughness can make a huge difference in the outcome of a game, and often the result of the game is fairly predictable (the more skilled athlete/team wins).

Great coaches and parents are able to connect with kids and “sell” the message that will beats skill, and when this occurs the athlete begins to “play to win” as opposed to “playing to avoid losing.”  When kids buy-in to this approach, they begin to pay more attention to positive cues (the good block, tackle, or pitch they just made), while overlooking or dismissing negative cues (their missed tackle, strike out, etc.).  What we pay attention to in life in large part dictates what we will do next — play harder or give up.

Will, motivation, perseverance, and resiliency are all things we can develop, and are independent traits from our physical abilities.  Do your part to “sell” this message to a young person today!

www.drstankovich.com

Go to Advanced Human Performance Systems to check out our product line to help with developing WILL!

The way an athlete perceives his situation makes all the difference when it comes to anxiety and confidence (Sport Success 360).  As we all know, athletes who experience anxiety often struggle with athletic success, while confident athletes usually play well (and sometimes even better than what others would expect).  Anxiety bogs down an athlete’s thinking (often self-talk is negative and counterproductive), as well as behaviors (instead of playing loose and free, muscles become tense and tight and throw off important mind-body synchrony).

Interestingly, anxiety, or pressure, is almost always a manufactured mind state that can actually be dramatically improved upon.  One sport psychology approach called Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) suits this discussion perfectly.  Using an REBT model, there are three important facets to consider when looking to improve sports mental toughness:

A) The activating event

B) The BELIEF the person has when thinking about the activating event

C) The consequences that follow the event based on the belief of that event

Stepping away from theory and using a real-life example, take a baseball player who struck out earlier in the game and is now stepping to the plate for his second at bat (AB) of the game.  In this example the event , or “A” from the model above, is the upcoming AB.  Notice, AB’s are not “good” or “bad,” or “right” or “wrong.”  In other words, an AB is just that — an AB.

Now here is where it gets interesting – the BELIEF about the upcoming AB is completely subjective and under the control of the hitter. The batter gets to choose whether he will evaluate the upcoming AB as a scary threat (he might even say negative things to himself as he approaches the plate), or he can choose to look at the upcoming AB as a healthy challenge (in this example his mood state will be positive and his confidence will be high).

The consequences of thinking also play out according to thoughts – if the batter worries before approaching the plate, he will inevitably “feel” the nerves through a rapid heart rate, tense, muscles, and butterflies in his stomach.  In this example he will also likely say negative things to himself (like “Don’t strike out again!”).  On the other hand, if he approaches the plate looking at the AB as a challenge, his mind and body will stay in synchrony and his self-talk will be positive and productive.  Guess which mindset will likely lead to a hit?

Think about how the A-B-C’s play into our everyday lives — how many times have you allowed negative thinking to dictate a life outcome?  The great news is we get to choose the way we think, even if it is not always easy to do.  Athletes profit by learning this as they can then begin to play in the moment and disregard things that have happened earlier (like the 1st inning strike out) and instead get excited about the next AB.  This approach strengthens resiliency, too, as failures are viewed within a more accurate and responsible context — that is, everyone fails in life but it is what we do with failure that counts!

Check out our sport apps, products, and free resources at Advanced Human Performance Systems!

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!

www.drstankovich.com

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!

www.drstankovich.com

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.

• Forgetting the importance of FUN! Sport psychology studies clearly show that the #1 reason kids play sports is to have fun, and while at times this can be tough to remember in the heat of the battle, it’s important to try and create a sports environment that is both instructional and fun for kids.  Keeping it fun also means coming to the field with a good positive attitude, using a lot of positive reinforcement, and steering clear of using profanity and off-color remarks.
• No pre-season meeting. Successful coaches prioritize having a pre-season meeting where they discuss team rules, protocols, and methods for communication.  Unfortunately, not all coaches realize the importance of having a well planned pre-season meeting and decide to not have one.  When this occurs, families are left confused about the coach’s policies, philosophies, and playing time — usually resulting in frustration and confusion throughout the season.
• No talent evaluation system. Successful coaches develop their own talent evaluation rubric and make it clear to their team what skills are evaluated when it comes to playing time.  Kids benefit from this approach by knowing what they need to do in order to earn more playing time.  On the other hand, when coaches do not discuss how playing time is decided it almost always leads to confusion, stress, team problems, and sometimes angry parents.  While it is true playing time will always be a point of contention between some parents and the coach, these problems can be dramatically minimized by having a talent evaluation system established for the team.
• Playing favorites. While it may be impossible to treat all kids fair all of the time, it is possible to create team rules and enforce the rules when kids do not comply — even if they are star players.  Oftentimes coaches “lose their team” when they begin making special provisions for star players, leading to poor team chemistry and cohesion.
• Embarrassing kids. While coaching styles will vary as people vary, it is never a good idea to embarrass or humiliate kids.  Good coaches know that while it may take more restraint and control to respond to emotionally-charging situations without going nuts, it is always better to find ways to make “teachable moments” out of problems than it is to chew a kid out in front of his peers.  Kids don’t improve their mental toughness by being humiliated, but do become more resilient through positive reinforcement, proper instruction, and genuine encouragement.

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!

www.drstankovich.com

LeBron James has been taking a lot of criticism the last few years for regularly passing up game winning shots, often deferring to one of his teammates when the game is on the line.  Some critics have asserted that James is great in non-pressure situations, but hard to find in the final seconds of close games.  This was no more apparent than in the NBA Finals last year against Dallas, where we saw a very different and less able player in the 4th quarters of games than we did the first 3 quarters.

With LeBron being criticized so regularly these days (he passed up yet another game winning shot earlier this week), I got to thinking about an old Michael Jordan commercial that’s as true today as it was when it first released back in the 1990′s.  The commercial (seen above) is a terrific reminder of how “greatness” only comes about by overcoming fear and being willing to fail. Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player of all time — yet in this powerful commercial he doesn’t highlight his greatest performances, but instead all of the times he came up short when the game was on the line.

Most people don’t think about the many failures great athletes experience along the way to their eventual success.  Similarly, when we witness successful people in life, we often overlook or forget about the challenges, adversity, and failures they have had to overcome in order to achieve their greatness.  Why does this happen you might ask?  In most cases, it’s our human tendency to fear failure.  It is this fear that paralyzes us from taking calculated risks and chances, opting instead for the more conservative route of doing nothing at all (what LBJ has been accused of at the end of close games).

The Jordan commercial is really not a sports commercial, but instead a very powerful message about life success.  Mental toughness and resiliency can be developed and parlayed into many unbelievable life experiences, but the fear of failure will always be there lurking in the background, too.  In order to reach our full potential, we must first realize that everyone fails — including even the great ones like Michael Jordan.  We also need to realize that failure is really more of a learning experience than it is a measure of one’s potential and future abilities.  Thankfully, Michael Jordan failed as much as he did, for if he didn’t we might not ever have come to witness all of his great basketball abilities.

Check out our high performance products designed to help athletes overcome fear and develop self confidence – only at Advanced Human Performance Systems

www.drstankovich.com