The Sports Doc Chalk Talk

Athletes commonly experience an emotional roller coasting while competing — perhaps put no better than the late ABC Wide World of Sports weekly introduction that depicted the sport experience going from “the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat.” The point is that sports prompt athletes to become emotional — and herein is where aggressive and unsportsmanlike acts often originate (Sport Success 360).

Examining the recent Ron Artest incident where he blind-sided James Harden with his elbow —moments before the elbow, Artest felt excitement — and subsequently made a cognitive decision about how he would demonstrate his emotion. Rather than giving a positive and emphatic fist pump to the crowd, he decided to channel his emotion into a terrible cheap shot.  Think about what a “teachable moment” this can be for kids when they begin to learn that the emotions they feel from playing sports are great, but how they channel their emotions makes the difference between being a positive leader or getting thrown out of a game for displaying unsportsmanlike behavior.  Ironically, and simplistically, the direction in which Artest threw his elbow made all the difference — had it gone in the direction of the crowd rather than the back of Harden’s head, he likely would have helped his team continue to pick up energy, confidence, and mental toughness – variables linked closely to sports focus and athletic success.

Sports parents and coaches can teach student athletes to develop the sport psychology mental toughness skills needed to control emotions while competing and re-direct negative thoughts (that often lead to negative actions) into positive, facilitative, team-building emotions and actions (like giving high-fives to teammates).

Young athletes can learn early in their careers that how they think on the field will directly impact how they play.  By understanding that mistakes will happen, games will be lost, and possibly injuries will be experienced at some point, kids can prepare emotionally ahead of time by developing positive thinking routines to use when these situations eventually occur.

When adults take time to process with kids the teachable moments commonly experienced in sports — like effectively handling adversity — many really terrific things usually occur.  Perhaps the biggest change you will notice is a surge in confidence, which often triggers motivation, focus, and goal commitment. As you might guess, these are the athletes that reach their full athletic potential as a result.

The next time you go to your child’s game, keep an eye out for when a young athlete throws a glove, curses, or pushes an opponent after a play ends.  Remember, that same energy you witnessed in those acts could have all been turned into much better outcomes, like smacking a glove emphatically, telling the team “lets get them next time,” and helping an opponent up in the spirit of sportsmanship. Your child can learn vicariously from these experiences (meaning she can learn by watching others rather than being directly involved in the unsportsmanlike act), and quickly improve her mental toughness through your teachings.  As you help kids make these pro-social thought-behavior connections, talk about the many other ways these skills can be applied (or transferred), like toward academic success.

www.drstankovich.com

Got an iphone, ipod, or ipad?  If so, be sure to check out our high performance sports apps just to the right of today’s column!

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.

www.drstankovich.com

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.

A cue word is simply a word, phrase, or acronym that is designed to help an athlete with improved confidence, focus, and inevitably better mental toughness and future athletic success.  I encourage all athletes to develop their own cue word, primarily because they WORK!  Some athletes come up with a word that displays emotion (“explode”), others develop an instructional word sequence (“hips back”), while others use an acronym to help with future focus (“SC” stands for “state champ”).  There are many reasons why sport psychologists swear cue words work, including the following big three:

1. They help and athlete with comfort and confidence. Since the word is something the athlete has come up with by himself, it is usually a personal connection and this helps with familiarity.  When we feel at ease, our confidence increases, as does our comfort level – two very important pieces related to athletic success.

2. They are classically conditioned to a positive mood state. Remember Pavlov and the salivating dogs?  Actually, classical conditioning occurs in many more settings than just hungry dogs responding to a bell in anticipation of soon being fed – in sports, when an athlete prompts himself to think about a word previously conditioned to prompt good thoughts and feelings, the word actually serves as a “bell” (similar to Pavlov’s theory) and immediately redirects the athlete’s focus and energy back to good emotions and thoughts.

3. They serve as a distraction. Remember, as human beings we cannot think of two different thoughts at the same exact time.  When an athlete directs her attention toward a cue word, it makes it impossible (literally) to think about the last bad play, the hostile crowd, or any other negative factor.

Why sit back and watch the kids you parent or coach in youth and interscholastic sports continue to struggle with confidence, focus, and resiliency, when you can quickly learn about how to develop a cue word that can help?  For more information check out our ever-expanding line of high-performance products for athletes, only at Advanced Human Performance Systems!

www.drstankovich.com

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

Sport psychologists often recommend that athletes develop their own cue word to help with in-game focus, motivation, and resiliency (Sport Success 360).  Sometimes action words are used (like “explode” or “dominate”), while other times acronyms are developed that have unique meaning to the athlete (like “WS” standing for “win state”).  Cue words can also be instructional, like using the letters “R-S-F”) to stand for “ready-set-fire,” something a pitcher in baseball or softball might use to help with the focus needed to make a successful pitch.  Finally, some athletes develop cue words that are merely reminders of important people, places, or events in their lives that they have attached important meaning to — like playing a season in honor of a recently deceased loved one.

While cue words might seem to some to be nothing more than a waste of time, they can actually be incredibly effective and very worth the effort.  One reason for this is that our minds cannot simultaneously think of two things at the same time.  For example, it’s impossible for an athlete to think about the fans getting on his back when he is devoting his concentration to his cue word.  Cue words are also helpful as they often serve as mini reminders of what to do — in the case of the pitcher example, “ready-set-fire” can be conditioned to muscle memory in practice situations and later used as a trigger during games.

Cue words can also help with resiliency by serving as a reminder to be strong (in fact, using the word “strength” is one way to focus on being tough in frustrating situations).

Once an athlete develops a unique cue word, it is important to write the cue word in places that will be regularly seen — like a locker, piece of equipment, or even a body part (like the hands).  Cue words lose their value when they are not used in competitive situations, hence the importance of them being readily available by being written in observable places.

If you are an athlete, work on developing your own unique cue word and use it every time you go out to compete.  Soon enough, you will see how the word automatically helps you improve your focus, motivation, and resiliency — three keys to maximizing athletic potential!

Learn more about cue words and other scientifically proven sport psychology mental training skills that help with athletic performance by checking out the AHPS product line and sport performance apps!

www.drstankovich.com

Athletes regularly talk about “being in the zone,” but rarely can tell you how they got there — or what they need to do in order to get in the zone again in the future (Sport Success 360).  In essence, they know there is a “zone,” and for most athletes the only skill or knowledge they have as far as replicating the zone-mindset is to simply hope they will be able to do it again.  Using an analogy, this would be like an amateur chef in the kitchen who ever once in awhile cooks up a masterpiece — yet has no idea how he did it, nor any clue about how he might cook another masterpiece in the future.

The good news for athletes looking to “lock in” with their mental toughness and get in the zone is this:

• The zone, or being in Flow, is in fact a very real mind-state that does exist.  Psychologists have studied this phenomena and most agree that we do have the capacity to become absorbed into activities and ultimately play at a higher level as a result.
• Being in the zone is not limited to sports, as all people can learn ways to get in the zone with just about anything they do.  This means athletes can use this mindset to help in school, as well as their social and career-related experiences.
• The zone is actually a mindset that involves a number of inter-related psychological factors, including interest level, motivation, confidence, resiliency, and task difficulty

Breaking Down The Zone

Lets take each one of these psychological factors separately.  First, it is well accepted by psychologists today that the zone, or “Flow,” is in fact a mindset where people lock in and become absorbed by what they are doing (i.e. playing their sport).  In these instances, we often lose awareness of outside distractions, including time, and our focus on the task is heightened.  Similarly, when in Flow we are motivated to succeed, and often challenged by the task (meaning the task is not perceived as impossible, nor so easy to do that it is worthless to bother doing).

Second, being in the zone is not limited to sports — in fact, most of us experience Flow from many different things including exercise, hobbies, studying, artistic endeavors, and sometimes even work.  Ask yourself, how many times have you gotten lost in an activity because of the challenge and enjoyment of the activity?

Finally, the main features of Flow include interest level, motivation, confidence, resiliency, and task difficulty.  When you are interested in things you have a much greater chance for Flow, while having no interest in an activity makes it nearly impossible to reach Flow.  Similar to interest level, when your motivation to complete (or succeed at) a task is high, you also increase your chance for Flow.  Confidence is also key, as you need to believe you can be successful or it will be near impossible to experience the zone.  Athletes must also be resilient, and not have thin-skin when it comes to frustration, stress, and adversity.  Finally, and perhaps this is the most intriguing aspect of Flow, is that the task you are engaged in must be challenging, and not too easy or too difficult.  This makes sense when you think about it — if the task is too easy you will become bored, and if the task is too difficult you will likely become frustrated.  The key, then, is to find tasks that are very challenging and will keep your focus and motivation high.

Athletes & The Zone

Most athletes have serendipitously experienced moments of Flow, most likely because they greatly enjoy playing sports, are motivated to succeed, and regularly compete against other athletes who are roughly the same ability.  It is in these moments where the athlete feels he “couldn’t be stopped,” or that the basketball rim was 10 feet wide. odds are confidence was high and that he was competing against a challenging opponent.

While there is not a recipe for getting in the zone, there are some things athletes can do to help them get in the zone while competing:

• Love playing your sport. As was mentioned previous, without a strong interest it is very difficult to get in Flow.  The key is to find “games within games” – especially at practice – that keep interest level high.  For example, a basketball player might challenge himself to stop the guy he is guarding at practice, and keep track of how many times he succeeds.  In this example he has taken a sometimes boring drill and turned it into a challenging task.
• Take advantage of pre-game routines. Athletes stand a much better chance for getting in the zone when they make it a point to engage in a pre-game routine that allows them to think about the upcoming game, elevate their mood state, and lower their negative anxiety.
• Keep a daily journal, and take note of your improvement over the course of the season. When you see success, your confidence will improve, leading to greater chances for Flow.  By keeping a journal you can also identify patterns and trends that you can use to help you improve your mental toughness for the future.
• Bounce back quickly from frustration and failure. Rather than act out, yell, or call negative attention to yourself when you come up short, make it a point to turn adversity into learning experiences.  When you develop your resiliency, it allows you to more quickly get back in the game, and inevitably have a much better chance for Flow to occur.
• Challenge yourself. This means picking challenging opponents to compete against, as well as setting challenging individual goals

Take your game to the next level – check out Mind of Steel today!

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