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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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

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Are there “politics” in sports? 

ABSOLUTELY!

But aren’t there “politics” in almost every aspect of life, too?  What I mean is that anytime you have people left to make subjective opinions and appraisals you are going to inevitably have others who don’t agree with them.  This may not be “fair,” but I’m not so sure that it is even possible to be fair to all the people, all the time.

In my view, there are actually two types of “politics,” and I break down my thoughts on each below:

A.) Normal Politics: This is the kind of bantering I hear from some parents who feel their kid is better than the kid starting ahead of him.  This is normal, and expected, and really only shows that a difference of opinion regarding athletic abilities exists between the parent and the coach.  In my mind this really isn’t even “politics” as it’s more of a case of a coach simply using his or her best judgement evaluating talent, but we’ll leave it as a form of politics for now.

B.) Unfair Politics: This type of politics occurs when a coach has clearly treated a child unfairly, and is more a question around morals and integrity than it is a case of a coach simply making a judgment call.  For example, if several kids on a team were suspended from school earlier in the day for the same violation, and then in the game later that evening one of the student athletes was allowed to play while the others weren’t, this would certainly not be anywhere close to being fair. Another example of unfair politics might be a coach continuing to play a known ineligible player — again, this is a very different example from a coach who makes talent evaluations that you don’t always understand (or like).

Neither type of politics are easy for parents, but I would urge you to distinguish the differences between the two.  Keep in mind that if you are upset because the coach made a different decision about your kid starting than what you would have made that’s OK, but even if he would have selected your kid then another parent would be feeling exactly how you did!  In other words, coaches really can’t win in those situations.

On the other hand, when coaches blatantly abuse the trust and fairness that should be in place with the team and create new and special rules for some kids, then you may have a situation that warrants a higher degree of involvement (possibly from an Athletic Director or League Operator).  The idea here is not to make the situation worse, but to protect the integrity of the program if a coach is clearly abusing the responsibilities he or she has with coaching.  The good news is that the type of politics most parents complain about, ironically, has to do with judgement calls around talent and not direct and intentional decisions that treat kids unfairly.

The “politics” in sports are really no different than the politics we see in many other areas of life, including job promotions, voted award winners, and students selected to colleges.  In life, it’s sometimes difficult to acquire objective, measurable criteria needed to make fair decisions, leaving us to make decisions with the information that is made available.  In some cases this information is incomplete, so making “perfect” decisions is really nearly impossible when you think about it.

While sports politics are tough to deal with at times, these situations can also be great teaching tools to use with kids.  Teach your child about how politics are a part of life, and that the true test is developing resiliency and coping skills to weather the tough times.  When kids keep their heads up and their spirits high, they will be more ready for that next opportunity in life where they might become the benefactor of a “political” decision that goes their way!

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Millions of kids each year compete in youth and interscholastic sports, and there are many different reasons why they elect to devote their time and energy to playing on a sports team (Sport Success 360).  For some, they play sports to be with their friends, while others enjoy the identity that comes with wearing a sports uniform and being part of a team.  The main reason kids play sports, however, is actually a pretty simple one – to have FUN!

Every research study I have ever read has clearly shown that the number one reason kids play sports is to have fun, and, as you might have guessed, the number one reason why kids voluntarily quit playing sports is when they no longer have fun.  Interestingly, while many adults might guess that “winning” is a big reason why kids play sports, in most cases it doesn’t even make the top ten lists of the polls surveyed.

As adults, we sometimes forget this most basic lesson about why kids play sports, and the result of our oversight can lead to a less-than-exciting experience for kids.  When adults make youth sports a very serious experience and at the cost of having fun, kids often lose their motivation for playing – and usually quit a lot sooner as a result.  Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to think about the many ways in which you as a parent or coach can make youth sports a fun (and meaningful) experience for kids:

• Bring your “A-Game” when it comes to attitude and emotion!  When you get excited about sports, kids will, too.
• Make sure to keep sports interesting and find ways to offer your positive reinforcement and hearty praise whenever possible — even if it’s just for effort.
• Balance instruction with fun, especially with the younger kids you coach.
• Laugh and have a sense of humor.
• Ask the team what things you can do that would make the sport experience exciting for them – you may not be able to do everything they suggest, but if there’s an idea or two you can make it happen it can really make a difference!
• Do fun team bonding things outside of sports if you can – like taking the team to a college or professional sports game, or establishing team dinners.
• Create a team identity the kids can be proud of, maybe a team nickname or a slogan that matches your team’s character.

Obviously there are many different things that you can do to make sports a fun experience for kids, so be sure and do your part and capitalize on the number one reason they play – TO HAVE FUN!!

The Parents Playbook is a great resource for helping kids maximize the sport experience – pick up your copy today!

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If you were thirsty, would you eat a piece of bread?

If your feet hurt, would you buy a new shirt?

If you didn’t have much money, would you go out and spend more money?

In all of the examples above I have given silly potential “solutions” for the problems that were presented — obviously none of the answers provided make any logical sense.  There is a sports connection in these examples, however, and one that applies specifically to the question millions of athletes face nearly every day of their lives.

“If I struggle with mental toughness, then I should do _______ to fix the problem.”

Ironically, what people put in the blank is as varied as there are people who compete in sports — and in the vast majority of cases, the “solutions” they come up with work just about as effectively as eating a piece of bread when you are thristy.

In other words, the solutions most people come up with when it comes to mental toughness don’t work.

Common Errors

When it comes to mental toughness, loosely defined as an athlete’s ability to develop self confidence, improve focus, and strengthen resiliency, I can provide a short laundry list of common things people do that simply do not work:

• Practice more. Sure, more practice is usually a good thing when it comes to skill improvement, but if you think simply increasing practice time in an empty gym will help an athlete better perform under pressure in front of thousands of people you are likely mistaken.  As we all know, practicing alone is not a “pressure” situation, so the challenge of performing in front of crowds will not improve by just adding more practice time.
• Yell at the athlete. Usually after seeing an athlete choke enough times most coaches will eventually respond with some kind of heated verbal communication – which can be encouraging or belittling.  Sure, this might get a kid’s attention, but it does nothing to teach him how to improve his confidence the next time he is called upon to help his team.
• Try any and all unorthodox ways to magically help the athlete improve mental toughness. Rather than obtain authentic sport psychology mental skills training, some coaches and parents will resort to literally anything for some kind of a magical answer, including hypnosis, energy drinks, power bracelets, and just about any other new craze or fad that sounds good.

What’s really interesting about this discussion around improving mental toughness is that the overwhelming majority of athletes today (especially youth and interscholastic athletes) regularly experience challenges when it comes to confidence, motivation, focus, and resiliency — yet only a small fraction of these athletes are able to actually find (and use) good sport psychology-based scietific training that specifically address these concerns!

So if your feet hurt, would you buy a new shirt?  Of course not — but that’s exactly what you are doing if you think your son will magically all of a sudden learn how to control his emotions by simply having him shoot 100 more times in an empty gym.  In this example, the extra shooting might help his hand-eye coordination, but it will do little, if anything, for how he responds negatively when he misses shots in games.

Why Mental Toughness Matters!

What’s even more interesting about the concern of improving mental toughness is how invaluable it is as it applies to athletic proficiency and success.  Without perfect mind-body synchrony (that can only be achieved by controlling arousal, attention, and focus), thousands of athletes each day perform below their capabilities not because of their potential talent, but rather their inability to successfully improve their mental toughness!

If you are a coach or parent of an athlete, have you witnessed mental breakdowns, “choking,” struggles with anxiety, anger outbursts, or athletes who perform much better in practice than they do in games?  If you answered yes to any of these, what have you done to help improve the situation?  Did you pick up a piece of bread when in fact you needed something to drink? If you told the kid to “practice more” or to start wearing a power bracelet, in essence, you did.

Help the kids you coach and parent with their mental toughness by checking out our entire line of sport performance products, only at Advanced Human Performance Systems

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While it is true that a small percentage of parents today view the youth sports experience as a training grounds for a future college athletic scholarship (and possibly a professional sport opportunity), most parents are more grounded with their thinking and set more realistic goals for their kids (The Parents Playbook).  For these parents, the ultimate goal is to simply have a positive experience with youth sports, one that will help their children grow in healthy physical and emotional ways.  If a college scholarship is eventually awarded to their child, it’s viewed as a “bonus,” and not the final destination after years of competing in youth sports.  This, of course, is a very healthy way to approach the youth sport experience, and one that offers the best chance for the child to learn important life lessons as a result.

In order for a family to fully experience all the potential benefits that youth sports provide, I am providing a short list of important learning points to focus on throughout your child’s athletic career so that she will not only play to her highest potential on the field, but also use the sport experience to maximize her overall human development as well:

• Process Goals – Most parents encourage their child to play hard enough to one day become the best kid on the team (or league).  There’s nothing wrong with this encouragement, of course, but keep in mind that all outcome goals (like becoming an All Star or team MVP) always begin with process goals. When thinking about process goals, keep in mind these are the types of goals that are fully under the control of the athlete (like maintaining a strength training program, running, mastering plays, etc.).  Outcome goals are not completely under the control of the athlete, especially if the goal is to win an award thats voted on by the coaching staff or league.
• Focus - Parents can help their children with focus at very young ages by teaching the basics — like learning how to pay attention to relevant cues (i.e. the next pitch) while ignoring irrelevant cues (i.e. the people in the crowd).  The skill of focus is an important one, and can also be transferred to many other areas in life — including the classroom.
• Resiliency – The old saying of “It’s not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up” may be one of the greatest lessons that can be learned through sports.  Resiliency, or mental toughness, is a terrific skill to help your child master as there are countless sport experiences that involve stress, frustration, adversity, and losing.   Resiliency also helps with motivation — another great life success skill!
• Humility – Winning with grace and keeping the ego in check are skills parents can teach their kids through various successful sport experiences.  Humiliating, taunting, and embarrassing opponents are never good things – on or off the field.
• Sportsmanship – Similarly to winning with grace, kids can also learn to be good sports during those tough times as well – like after a humiliating loss, or after experiencing a blown call by a referee.  Sports, like life, aren’t always “fair,” but what’s most important is to respect the rules and opponent at all times – even when spirits are down.

Sport psychology studies have revealed countless life lessons that can be learned through youth sports, but the five skills presented here are at the top of my list.  Conduct your own family audit and see how your gang stacks up — are you fully capitalizing on the youth sport experience, or missing out on some of the big take-aways for your son or daughter?

If you want to help your child get the most out of his or her sport experience but feel you could use some help in accomplishing this task, check out Sport Success 360 and begin setting your family sports goals today!

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