The Sports Doc Chalk Talk

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!

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As people we are often easily influenced by what others in our life say about us – for better or for worse. For athletes this may be especially true, as some kids will play “over their head” and beyond what might have previously been thought possible with an inspirational and positive coach, while other kids may play down and below their abilities if they are coaches by an adult who regularly belittles, teases, and chastises (Advanced Human Performance Systems).

When a parent, coach, or other respected adult perpetuates a prediction or belief, oftentimes kids will live up to the prediction or belief.  We call this a self-fulfilling prophecy, and you can witness this phenomenon in academics, music, art, and sports.  For example, if a youngster is repeatedly told that he has special creative talents, it’s quite likely he will spend more time and effort doing creative things.  As he continues to engages in creative activities, he will probably get better through his dedicated efforts, lending evidence that self-fulfilling prophecies can impact human development (in this case, creativity).

Positive Prophecies

Positive self-fulfilling prophecies happen in sports all the time, as many coaches do a great job inspiring kids to believe in themselves and use their above-average natural talents.  Whether the kid actually has above-average potential doesn’t matter, as the prophecy set by the coach usually increases motivation and mental toughness, refines focus, galvanizes resiliency, and inevitably helps the kid play to his or her highest ability.  The prophecy, therefore, actually serves as a catalyst to bring out the best the kid has to offer – regardless of whether there was a previous genetic advantage or not.

Negative Prophecies

Unfortunately, the opposite can also occur for coaches who make flippant remarks about a kid’s inabilities.  For example, telling a kid he “couldn’t hit the side of a barn with that poor throwing arm” may prompt a youngster to prematurely quit throwing based on the false belief that he has no ability to throw well.  Ironically, he may actually have above-average abilities to throw that have yet been developed, but since he has come to believe he can’t throw (based on the coach’s negative remark), he will quit practicing throwing and inevitably never develop his throwing talent.

Final Thought

Become aware of the power of self-fulfilling prophecies and how they impact human development – especially with kids.  If you are a coach or serve in another capacity leading kids, pay close attention to the things you say to kids that may demoralizing in nature and actually hinder or limit future development.  Belief is a very powerful construct and can make a huge difference in personal development, so be sure to instill positive belief in the kids you mentor.

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For many athletes, the most anxious time they experience in sports is just moments before game time when their nervous energy spikes, oftentimes resulting in debilitating anxiety, poor focus, and scattered thinking.  In these instances mental toughness quickly goes out the window and the athlete is left in a very challenging position – either quickly regain focus and confidence, or deal with the negative symptoms of anxiety that usually lead to choking. It is for this reason that pre-game routines are vitally important to mental toughness and athletic success (Sport Success 360).

Fortunately, athletes almost always have control over the unique things they do before games, whether its stretching, using imagery to see the first few plays in their mind, or listening to a specific song that helps them with focus and confidence.  The key for athletes is to leave the locker room as they head out to the field having the best, most positive attitude that they can possibly create. While some athletes do in fact take control of their surroundings and engage in a proactive, positive pre-game routine, many others do not and instead succumb to the pressures of the unknown (i.e. the opponent, the crowd, etc.).

When I work with athletes I remind them that attitude is a choice, and by being proactive and doing things pre-game that make them feel good is a huge first step toward athletic success.  Unfortunately, many athletes do not develop a pre-game routine, and instead leave themselves wide open to react to situational variables, which not only negatively impacts focus, but also elevates nervous energy.

Remind the athletes in your life the importance of developing a unique pre-game routine that helps them with their attitude, confidence, and focus.  Keep in mind there is no “wrong” way to do this, the key is to go through an individual plan that helps with body and mind preparation.  For many athletes, having specific music ready to listen to, goals to review, and some sort of stretching/muscle relaxation techniques are ideas that have been proven to work.   Also, remind them that since their pre-game routine is an experience that they create, it is inexcusable to leave the locker room unprepared and with a poor attitude.  While they may not have the most talent, they can always be ready to play with confidence, sharp focus, and a positive attitude!

Check out Advanced Human Performance Systems for all the latest sport performance science training programs designed to help athletes and coaches reach their full potential!

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One question I repeatedly get these days is around the magic of the power bracelet, and whether or not they really “work.”  Actually, before we even delve into the bracelets, it’s important to note what different people mean by the word “work.”  For one athlete, adding a few pounds to his bench press might be the evidence he needs for improved physical strength and mental toughness to say the bracelets “work,” while another athlete might need longer and more sustaining evidence before claiming the bracelets “work” (like having the best season of his career).  As you can see, there is a great challenge and subjective differences in simply defining what the word “works” means — even before we talk about the bracelets! (Advanced Human Performance Systems)

Assuming for a moment that we all came to a unanimous agreement about the word “works” (which would need to be operationally defined as the dependent variable in a sport psychology research study), only then could we begin to test the efficacy of the bracelet.  To determine if power bracelets “work” by helping athletes reach their full potential, it’s important to take a wide-lens view of all the variables that may be in play.  For example, lets say an athlete begins wearing one of these bracelets and then has a couple really good games — the bracelet could be the cause of this change, but so could many other things.  First, luck may be at play – sometimes things just fall into place naturally.  It could also be possible that belief in the bracelet caused the change, and not the bracelet.  In science we call this the “placebo effect,” and it occurs when a person improves simply because of belief.

More than likely, the hologram bracelets “work” (when they seemingly do) because of belief, and not the proclaimed medicinal properties of the bracelet. Simple controlled studies have already shown that in double-blind experiments (where neither the subjects nor experimenters know if they are wearing the real bracelet or a substitute) there have been no differences in human performance.

Having said all that, if you like wearing one of these bracelets and you feel it helps you, by all means keep wearing it.  On the other hand, if you have a lucky penny taped inside your shoe, or wear the same lucky t-shirt under your uniform, you will probably see the same mental toughness and athletic improvement results as any power bracelet could ever provide!

For real sport-performance products that “work,” check out our growing product line at Advanced Human Performance Systems, as well as our world famous Sport Performance Assessment apps offered at the Apple apps store!

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Most athletes have heard of the term visualization, but did you know that visualizing success is just one aspect of imagery?  While it is important to “see” in your mind your future athletic success, you also have many additional senses you can use to make the imagery experience that much more real, including your sense of touch, smell, sounds, and even body motion (like how it feels to follow through on a swing when you hit a baseball).  Imagery is a vital skill when it comes to mental toughness, and sport psychologists regularly encourage athletes to develop imagery skills to help with confidence development (Sport Success 360).

Imagery helps athletes prepare for competition and is actually a very easy tool for you to develop and use.  First, there is no wrong way to use imagery – some athletes like to think about their athletic success the night before games, while other athletes prefer spending a few moments thinking about what they need to do that day while dressing in the locker room.  The truth is just about any way you can incorporate mental preparation will ultimately help your athletic performance.

The key with imagery is that by repeatedly “seeing” in your mind your future athletic success, you are actually strengthening your neural connections in your brain – leading to better muscle memory.  Why is this important you might ask?  The simple answer is that when you are competing the best mindset to be in is when your mind and body are in perfect synchrony – where you don’t have to “think” about what to do next, but instead simply react to the situation.  Keep in mind in most sports you do not have an unlimited amount of time to think through situations, making muscle memory a very important aspect of athletic success.

Below are some quick tips to help you begin using imagery as part of your pre-game preparation:

• Using imagery regularly will help with muscle memory, which will help you with those important in-game reactions needed for athletic success
• Try to make your imagery as real as possible by using all your senses.  For example, while you can “see” the field, can you “feel” the ball in your hands?  What about when you run on the field – can you feel the grass beneath your feet?  There’s also a type of imagery called kinesthetic imagery – this is when you can feel the movement in your body as you release the ball or follow through on a swing.  Some athletes can even “hear” the sounds of their sport, or smell what it like when they compete (like the smell of freshly cut grass).
• Make it real, vivid, and positive.  The more real the imagery experience the better, and when you can make it vivid and the outcomes positive that’s the best way to use imagery!  Since you control the imagery experience, you never want to see yourself failing or coming up short – instead, always see success!

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When I work with young athletes and their parents one of the most important things I try to impress upon them is the importance of recognizing (and using) athletic transferable skills beyond sports (Sport Success 360).  Unfortunately, most young athletes involved in youth or interscholastic sports tend to either overlook or minimize the significance of athletic transferable skills, something that is actually quite tragic when you take into consideration just how invaluable sport skills are when it comes to life success.  When it comes to positive sports leadership, helping kids use sport as a vehicle for life success is key.

If you are a coach, parent, or a league operator or administrator, be sure to help kids learn the importance of athletic transferable skills.  These skills include setting and achieving goals, being a team player, accepting constructive feedback, being a positive decision maker and role model, bouncing back from adversity, and learning how to minimize anxiety while improving self-confidence.  Of course, this is just a short list of athletic transferable skills, so be sure to help the kids you work with better understand just how many sport skills can be used for life success.

As people, the more confident we become in our abilities the more likely we will become successful at the endeavors we attempt.  One way to dramatically improve self-confidence is to identify the skills you already have — for athletes, identifying athletic transferable skills are the key!  Interestingly, these skills can help in so many ways, including through the inevitable sport retirement transition, as well as countless life experiences including academics and future careers.

Most youth athletes tend to assume all kids have learned the same skills as they have (including non-athletes), or haven’t quite made the connection as to how the confidence they have in their sport can be parlayed to help them gain confidence in non-athletic experiences (like giving a speech in front of a class in school).  In both of these examples it is important for adults, including parents and coaches, to be overt in their suggestions about how athletic transferable skills are unique to athletes and how the skills can be used successfully across life settings.

With less than 7% of all high school athletes going ton to play college sports, and less than 2% of all college athletes going on to play professional sports, it is especially important to cull from the skill set developed in sports that can be used to increase life success.

Being an athlete high in mental toughness for sports is great, but what about life?  Just about every sport psychologist you talk to to will agree that limiting these great skills to sport at the cost of using them in life is quite a tragedy.  Not only do athletic transferable skills help with sport transitions, but can also help with future focus and resiliency, too.  In fact, the skills learned through sports may just end up being the most important skills an athlete learns throughout his or her life.

For more information about the importance of athletic transferable skills, as well as other products designed to help with athletic success, please visit Advanced Human Performance Systems!

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For many athletes attempting to maximize their athletic abilities, skill acquisition seems to be a much easier proposition than having the motivation and resiliency needed to succeed.  In simpler terms, it seems much easier for an athlete to learn a sport skill (i.e. to throw a curveball or accurately shoot a soccer ball) than it does to be motivated everyday, as well as successfully deal with frustration and adversity (that usually happens quite regularly in the pursuit of greatness).  Mental toughness, while sometimes overlooked, is perhaps the most important sport psychology skill an athlete can develop in order to reach athletic greatness (Sport Success 360).

Many years ago it dawned on me how important it is in life to have a passion and purpose — to be dedicated to the nth degree, and to have specific targets to shoot for in the big picture of life.  I have learned that without true passion (also loosely known as intrinsic motivation), it is extremely difficult to truly reach your full potential in life.  I have also discovered through my travels that it is vitally important to clearly state goals and dedicate your life 100% toward your goals if you want to truly achieve great things.

I believe we all have passion and purpose in our lives, even if we are not yet clear what things in life prompt us to act on these qualities.  Unfortunately in sports, not every athlete has passion and purpose for playing their sport — while some do, many play because they enjoy the sport, or because others in their life (like their parents) expect them to play.   While there is nothing wrong with playing sports without passion and purpose, I believe it will limit the athlete from reaching his or her full athletic potential.  Many coaches and parents involved in youth sports struggle with this concept, as they see the natural talents some kids possess but don’t see the “heart” and motivation they would like to also witness.

Athletes with passion and purpose literally love being engaged in all aspects of their training.  Of course, they may complain under the hot sun of a 2-a-day football workout, but in the big picture they appreciate all the hard work that goes into excelling in their sport.  To be clear – having passion and purpose does not imply an athlete will love every moment of training, but instead suggests that he has the heart and motivation to push through the tough times.

When athletes do not have passion and purpose, their “holes in their game” tend to show through during tough times.  Take for example when an athlete is playing well – everything is great and the athlete seems to play effortlessly.  But what happens when a slump occurs? Without passion and purpose, the typical response is to give in to the pressure and stress, and/or begin to point fingers away from oneself and onto just about anything else (i.e. the coach, referee, other team, weather, etc).

When athletes have passion and purpose, they quickly move through tough times and stay hungry for the next day.  Their resiliency is seemingly hard-wired into their DNA, and they understand and accept that they will take their lumps along their way to greatness.  Stress and failure are actually accounted for in the passionate athletes mind, and therefore quickly (and successfully) dealt with efficiently.

While it’s debatable whether you can teach passion and purpose, you can look for it.  If you are a parent take note of the things your child loves to do – what gets him up early in the morning and keeps him up late at night?  Some of your reading this today can attest you see it in athletics, while others reading this may come to the conclusion that while your child is a pretty good athlete, she may not have that never-say-die commitment needed to reach her full athletic potential – and thats OK.

As a clinician who regularly sees athletes, its pretty obvious the ones I meet with who are completely devoted to their training, versus those who are pretty good at their sport but not necessarily in love with it.  Neither is right or wrong, good or bad; but the differences are quite stark and are usually good predictors of which athlete will stay in his sport longer (and more likely succeed in the long run).

In closing, one sports quote I love to use with athletes is “the only thing you deserve is what you earn.” I’m not sure who first coined that phrase, but it is very telling and makes perfect sense.  Passionate athletes know this, and don’t make excuses for their failures and shortcomings.  Instead, they use each lesson as a building block to do it even better tomorrow.

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Sport statistics are a really big part of sports today, as nearly every sport has it’s own way of measuring a player’s on-field athletic abilities (Sport Success 360).  Interestingly, sport statistics are now being collected and analyzed at youth and interscholastic levels, creating new pressures for young athletes that previously didn’t exist.  Unlike the old days of sizing up players by only watching their on-field abilities, today’s young athletes are now regularly reminded of their status through various data providers, including traditional media like newspapers as well as new social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and chat rooms.

It is important for adults to talk to kids about sport statistics and remind them that while having great stats is a nice thing, it can also be a very temporary and misleading way for players to self-evaluate.  In other words, a child may feel great today about his stats, but then go on to have a few bad games and all of a sudden end up devastated that his numbers have dropped as much as they have.

Sport statistics can also sometimes be misleading, as not all key variables are counted and measured.  Sure, a batting average is easy enough to compute, but how do you measure mental toughness variables like motivation, focus, concentration, and resiliency? Ask any sport talent evaluator or scout about what the toughest thing is to measure and they will almost immediately tell you heart (or the passion and drive to be successful).  Unfortunately, no box score in the world will ever be able to measure this vitally important aspect to sport success.

Sport statistics can also lead to self-fulfilling prophecies – for better or for worse.  What this means is that some kids will “play up” their efforts because they have developed self-confidence from reading about their good statistics.  On the other hand, many kids struggle with self-image and motivation to improve their athletic abilities when they only look at their stats when their numbers are low.  Sport performance, therefore, can fluctuate dramatically based on beliefs.

Sport statistics will always be a part of sports, and more and more kids are tuning in to what their numbers reveal.  Be sure to sit down with your child this season and make sure she knows that while stats can be helpful, they are by no means the only way to evaluate athletic talent.

Check out Sport Success 360, the resource for families involved in sports!

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So often in sports we hear about “mental” mistakes when players fail (Advanced Human Performance Systems).  In fact, the great New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra once said about baseball that “half the game is 90% mental!” While those numbers might not add up to anyone other than Yogi, the gist of his comment was that an awful lot of sport success happens as a result of mental toughness, focus, confidence, and resiliency.

Today, athletes, coaches, and sports fans regularly point to “mental breakdowns” when plays are blown and games are lost, and sport psychologists continue to study the mental aspects of sports as a result. And while we no longer dispute the importance of mental preparation when it comes to sport success, the degree and extent mental toughness is needed for athletic success seems to still be debatable.

Often while watching sports on television we will hear announcers – or even players and coaches – refer to “mental breakdowns” or “mental mistakes.”  When they make these comments (you may even make them yourself), it’s interesting to dissect just exactly what they are talking about — in other words, what are “mental breakdowns,” and how often do they impede athletes from reaching their full potential?

The truth is nearly every mistake an athlete makes while competing is a mental mistake!

Since the mental aspects of sport include both cognitive and emotional aspects, it can be argued that nearly every mistake, error, anger outburst, frustration, gaffe, missed opportunity, and blown opportunity are examples of mental breakdowns!

When we break down athletic mistakes into two categories (physical and mental), we must remind ourselves that these categories are not mutually exclusive.  Put more simply, when an athlete swings and misses a pitch, or throws a ball over another player’s head, there are both physical and mental aspects to the mistakes.  In fact, it can be argued that the mental aspects (i.e. thinking about when to swing or how hard to throw a ball) are far more important than the actual physical swinging of a bat or throwing of a ball.

Making things even more confusing is the fact that emotions also play into these scenarios.  For example, if an athlete is overly-nervous and unfocused, it will inevitably interfere with swinging a bat or throwing a ball.  If you are overly-nervous, it’s almost impossible to be accurate with muscle motor skills (like swinging a bat or throwing a ball).

The funny thing is after the early years of athletics, when kids are just learning the bio-mechanics of how to throw and catch, nearly every sport mistake they make will have a mental tag connected to the problem.  Unfortunately, most people still want to pin all the problems on the physical and technical aspects of sports — in the examples above, the batting stance or how an athlete throws a ball.  Of course, these are important aspects to address, but without any “mental toughness” teachings the athlete will likely continue to make the same mistakes as a result of poor focus and anxiety.

Mental training helps with the overall development of athletic success in a number of inter-related ways, including the following:

• Help with confidence, which is directly correlated with sport success
• Help with focus, which helps athletes eliminate outside distractions and think about only relevant sport cues
• Help with skill acquisition by using cognitive skills to master sport movements
• Help with motivation so that sport skills can be mastered
• Help with resiliency so that when the athlete makes mistakes (which he will) he bounces back quickly
• Help with interpersonal communication so that the athlete can work in a positive, facilitative way with his coaches
• Plus many more ways

The truth is every mistake made in sports has a “mental” aspect to it, and the sooner athletes devote specific time to training mental skills only then will the athlete reach his or her full athletic potential.  Physical breakdowns and mistakes do not happen without a mental component, so it behooves athletes to regularly spend time  learning about specific mental training skills that will help them ultimately play to their highest potential.

Check out our expanding line of performance enhancing products, including Mind of Steel, at www.drstankovich.com

Athletes with great mental toughness are often said to have “heart,” and fans love watching these types of athletes go all-out when competing.  While mental toughness is certainly an invaluable piece to peak athletic performance (Mind of Steel), it appears that some athletes may actually be too mentally tough for their own good.  In other words, being tough to the point where immanent danger is disregarded can lead to devastating consequences.

ESPN the Magazine (May 16, 2011) recently examined the great dangers some athletes face when they ignore dangerous warning signs in their pursuit of victory.   There are countless sport examples over the years where we have witnessed athletes seemingly completely disregard their physical safety – and in worst-case scenarios terrible things have occurred as a result.

Whether it’s the cage fighter who won’t tap out when being pummeled, or the gymnast that insists on completing her routine when visibly in excruciating pain, some athletes simply refuse to quit.  Recently we witnessed Boston Celtics All-Star guard Rajon Rondo come back to play in a game only moments after it appeared as though he may have broken his arm – a feat that amazed everyone.  Fortunately in Rondo’s case he finished the game OK, but what about the thousands of athletes who play against better advice?

Sports are unique in that success is primarily dependent on physical exertion – something we don’t usually worry about in our traditional 8-5 jobs.  Athletes often live by the gold standard of training – “No pain, no gain” – and as a result sometimes push their bodies to limits that are simply unattainable (and dangerous).  The paradox is that we want athletes to push to be the best, which often relies on this potentially dangerous “push.”

Making things even more complicated is the fact that tough athletes are rewarded for being tough, as evidenced by their legions of fans and followers.  The hockey fighter is appreciated for his dangerous play, further feeding future dangerous decisions.  It is for this reason some athletes push too far, often against their logical judgement.

The reality is that athletes risk great injury, and sometimes even death, when they continue to play when a serious injury seems likely.  Fortunately, in most cases a coach or official steps in and prevents something tragic from happening, but this is not always the case.  The key for athletes is to learn as much as possible about their own boundaries and limitations, and always keep lifelong health as the primary factor when dealing with risky athletic situations.

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