The Sports Doc Chalk Talk

Stress that occurs very quickly and prompts us to respond in an emergency-like fashion (like moving out of the way of an oncoming car) is often referred to as burst stress. Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics deal with burst stress everyday, as it is not uncommon for these people to receive emergency phone calls and quickly go from 0-100 MPH on the adrenaline scale.  Granted, athletes do not usually deal with burst stress anxiety in the same, life threatening ways as helping professionals do, but athletes do regularly deal with a wide range of stressors and emotional responses.  Athletes are especially at-risk for burst stress in fast-paced, tempo-changing sports, as well as those pressure moments in all sports when the outcome of a game hangs in the balance (Sport Success 360).

Being able to control and moderate arousal (or human energy) is a very important skill according to sport psychology research, and it is often what allows people to stay cool, calm, and collected while in the middle of otherwise stressful situations (like a police officer responding to a crime, or an athlete keeping his cool after receiving a cheap shot from an opponent).  As with most things in life, some people do a good job adjusting their focus and arousal appropriately (mental toughness), while others struggle trying to stay relaxed and focused when things become chaotic.  In sports, athletes who master mental toughness and keep it together in pressure situations are known as “clutch players,” while athletes who succumb to the pressure they experience are known as “chokers.”

If your son or daughter experiences great distress while trying to maintain focus, concentration, and calmness during pressure situations, consider the following ideas that can help:

• First, talk openly about things like stress and pressure – as well as provide examples of people (maybe even yourself) who have failed under these conditions.  Normalizing the fact that people commonly make mistakes and aren’t always perfect will help your child become more understanding and tolerant of himself when he, too, makes a mistake in a game.
• Practice stressful situations whenever you can.  For example, if you are working with your child trying to improve athletic skills, be sure to throw in surprise situations and gauge how she reacts.  Praise her hard effort and success, and shape her failures so that she can learn and improve the next time she experiences the situation.
• Use stress inoculation techniques.  Talk to your child about the reality that there will be bad games, errors, mistakes, and failure to be experienced while playing sports.  When these situations occur, teach your child how to improve his mental toughness by responding to the mistake with positive thinking and problem solving skills.  Remember, it’s not how many times we fall down, but how many times we get up.
• Dismiss the notion that only some people are gifted enough to handle pressure, while others have no control over it.  It is a myth that athletes who perform well in the clutch were “born that way,” and that other athletes can never improve in mental toughness because they weren’t born with the DNA to succeed in pressure situations.  Self-fulfilling prophecies can be quickly developed when young athletes think they “can’t” and well as they “can.”

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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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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.

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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.

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!

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Tiger Woods bombed at The Masters this weekend, even after ESPN did everything they could to manufacture his championship-caliber abilities again by promoting him far more than any of the other more deserving players in the field.  With only 1 win in the last three years, Woods was the main man in every ESPN promo of The Masters, yet still lost by 15 strokes.

I have been critical of Tiger’s excuses over the last few years as he regularly blames everything from caddies to injuries, but his biggest problem by far is probably something most sports fans take for granted – his mental toughness. Tiger Woods does something that most athletes do, and it’s actually a really big hindrance to getting better at a sport – more simply, he obsesses over a specific technical part of his game (his swing) while completely disregarding his anxiety, poor focus, and loss of confidence. Read the following from SI.com and follow up with some solid sport psychology advice (bold emphasized):

>Now his problem is his swing. He’s been reworking it with Sean Foley for more than 18 months, and it remains a work in progress.

”What’s frustrating is I know what to do, and I just don’t do it. I get out there and I just don’t trust it at all,” Woods said. ”I can get it on the range, I can get it dialed in there. We’ll work on the same things and it feels really good, and I go to the golf course and I just don’t quite trust it. It just means I just need to do more reps.”<

Woods is actually like most athletes – poor play only means more practice, right?  Surprisingly, the answer is NO! Lets take a closer look at passage above and how revealing it really is.

• First, it is reported he has been “reworking” his swing for 18 months.  While this dedication might sound admirable, it’s actually terribly counter-productive and can lead to focus and anxiety problems.  Remember, we are talking about arguably the greatest golfer of all time – his muscle memory is so refined and established that he certainly doesn’t need to rework a swing for a year-and-a-half!  A calm, focused, and confident Woods could make beautiful golf swings again (probably even blindfolded) IF he obsessed less on the swing and focused more on reducing his anxiety, improving his confidence, and refining his focus.  This is a very important message to all athletes because the common thing athletes do is practice more, even when the true skills they need to improve are actually cognitive/emotional skills, not physical skills! Sadly, most athletes simply “practice more” and never target their true areas of weakness, and the result is, in Tiger’s case, and 18-month long “search” for I don’t know what.
• Woods actually makes my point in his quote about playing well on the range but blowing it on the course.  Think about that for a moment – he gets “dialed in” when there is nobody around and no pressure, then seemingly loses it in match play.  Do you see the problem?  It’s almost impossible to “solve” an anxiety issue by simply going out and hitting tons of balls in a controlled, non-anxious condition (i.e. driving range) — is it any wonder all the old habits happen again?  You see, he hasn’t “solved” anything by playing beautifully on the range but never learning any skills to control his anxiety and sharpen his focus in real play. Take another example for a moment — lets say you have a child in Little League that is afraid of getting hit by a pitch.  Taking your child to the batting cage might help some, but batting cages throw precise pitches and usually do not present the real fear (of an errant pitch hitting the kid).  For more rapid and long-lasting improvement, the child needs to actually face his fear by gaining confidence against live pitching in real games – where there is a possibility he could get hit by a pitch.  The point is it’s tough to overcome anxiety by simply going back and practicing in very controlled conditions that do not represent the true anxious situations.
• Finally, Woods explains that the only way to improve his situation is “more reps.”  Actually, this is probably the worst way to improve athletic skills if you are really dealing with anxiety.  Don’t get me wrong, more reps won’t hurt (and it can actually help with muscle memory), but if you are anxious, unfocused, and have a tendency to get angry when making mistakes in games/matches, then you are really not addressing the true problems.  An analogy might be using a screw-driver to hammer a nail — if you hit the nail enough times with the handle of the screw-driver it might eventually drive the nail into the wood, but wouldn’t using a hammer make the job that much easier?!

Athletes who recognize their true areas of weakness and address the real problems are the ones who bounce back very quickly.  In the case of Tiger Woods, simply hitting a thousand balls a day at a tranquil driving range does little – if anything – to prepare him to make clutch shots during pressure times of matches.  Instead, a better way to go is to balance reps with cognitive/emotional skill building, like learning how to use relaxation strategies when pressure begins to set in during match play.  Unfortunately, the mindset of “more=better” still exists in sports, hence the reason why so many athletes still practice harder, not smarter – and see limited results from their efforts.

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Sports channeling occurs when young athletes are slotted for specific sports or positions based on factors like height, speed, overall athleticism, and even race.  For example, when a youngster is above-average in height he is almost always nudged and encouraged to play basketball (what chance do you think current Harlem Globetrotter  7’8″ “Tiny” Sturgess had to not play basketball?).  The erroneous assumption many adults make is that if a youngster has a talent, skill, or attribute that would help in a particular sport, then the kid must also love and want to play that sport.  Think about it — how many times have you witnessed a tall kid (boy or girl) be immediately directed to start playing basketball?

Sports channeling also crosses racial lines, as African American kids – especially in predominately white communities and schools – are regularly slotted in skilled football positions, like running back or wide receiver.  To date, there does not appear to be any scientific empirical evidence suggesting black kids are better than non-black kids at those positions, yet you regularly see this happening in schools and youth football leagues across the country.

It’s understandable that people like to make shortcuts (called “heuristics”) when making decisions and appraising talents, but some of the shortcuts that are being made are quite fallible.  In the previous examples, not all tall kids are good at (or even like) basketball, while not all black kids are the best for skilled positions in football.  Similarly, not every flexible kid wants to be a gymnast, nor does every tough kid want to go into wrestling.  Still, many people use these markers to make these decisions for kids.

The best thing to do is to keep open communication with kids interested in sports, and listen closely to what they say interests them (even if it goes against your sports logic).  Keep in mind it’s very possible that a tall kid may not want to play basketball, and a black kid might actually like to play on the offensive line.  You might even meet a tough kid who likes a relatively passive sport (like baseball), or a flexible kid who enjoys a sport like bowling more than gymnastics!

Regardless of what sport(s) a kid plays, the most important thing is that it’s a fun, safe, and meaningful experience – do your part to maintain an open mind and help kids reach this goal.

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The reality is that very few athletes will go on to play college, much less professional sports, making the sport experience a very temporary life endeavor for the majority of young athletes (Sport Success 360).  Still, there are countless skills that can be used beyond sports that can help with personal development, academic pursuits, relationship building, and career success.  Unfortunately, far too many kids “bottle up” and compartmentalize their sport experiences, often distilling them down to fun childhood memories without ever identifying the utility of their sport skills beyond the baseball diamond, soccer field, or swimming pool.

Aside from the countless athletic transferable skills that can be used in every experience in life, youth sports also teaches kids how to work with others on a team, how to develop self-confidence and mental toughness, and how to win and lose with dignity and respect.  In fact, it could be argued that participating in sports may be the best life “primer” when it comes to adequately preparing youngsters for many of the future challenges in life that they will inevitably face.

When young people cull from their sport experiences and apply what they have learned toward academic challenges, difficulties with interpersonal relationships, and various other life difficulties, they may be surprised to learn about the utility of their sport skills.  In essence, the sport experience can serve as a vehicle for future life success.

Have fun this summer with youth sports, but don’t leave all the life lessons behind at the field after the game has ended.  Sit down and process the sport experience with your child, and work together to come up with creative ways he or she can use the lessons learned in sports to become a more successful person, and not just a better athlete.

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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!

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Tiger Woods was at one time the most successful golfer on the planet, but today seems to be more of a master of spin and denial as he has faded back into the middle of the pack amongst his peers.  Woods regularly makes excuses about seemingly everything these days, including swing coaches, caddies, and various injuries.  In fact, it appears Woods is even developing a trend where he drops out of tournaments with what some would say are “phantom injuries” that only seem to arise when he is out of contention.  Sport psychologists might advise that Woods check his head more than his back, knees, or any of the other body parts he claims are causing his problems.

Tiger Woods regularly talks about being “ready to go,” but when he fails he seems to have every excuse in the world why things didn’t go his way.  Unfortunately, this unhealthy mentality is not unique to Woods, as many other athletes (and people) struggle with the inability to accurately face their problems.  In other words, they struggle with denial.

As with anything in life, the sooner we honestly appraise the problems we face in life, the sooner we can begin to improve upon them.  This applies whether it’s an athlete admitting to a loss of confidence, or an alcoholic admitting to the fact that alcohol has negatively impacted the health and safety of his life.

Denial seemingly “works” in the short run because it postpones reality — when you say “no problem here,” it directs attention away from the problem, which provides a respite from the stressors related to the problem.  Unfortunately, when we are in denial the problems we experience do not usually go away, and it is our denial that extends — and often compounds — the original problem.

For Tiger Woods, it would be nice to see him reject all the reasons he has given for his failures the last few years and simply admit that regaining his mental toughness and confidence has been a lot more difficult than he ever expected.  Unlike the days before his marital problems, opposing players no longer fear Woods, and instead view him as just another player in the tournament.  This, in turn, has decreased Woods’ confidence while increasing his own anxiety.  The result has been zero wins since before his marital transgressions made the news in 2009.

When I work with athletes, the first step of objectively “framing” the problem is usually the most important aspect of working to correct the athletic deficiencies.  When athletes are honest and own up to what is at the crux of their issues, only then can we begin to identify and construct appropriate techniques and protocols to help improve the situation.  Using Tiger Woods as an example, the longer he continues to point outward at everything but himself, the longer this losing streak will likely continue.

If you are a parent or coach of an athlete, then you probably already know how challenging it can be to help a youngster become honest with him- or herself when it comes to athletic shortcomings.  Many kids, for example, will attempt to blame their sport slumps on faulty equipment, poor coaching, or even the weather.  In most cases, the real reasons for their slumps have little to do with those factors, and instead much more to do with low self-confidence, poor focus, high anxiety, and low resiliency.

When kids learn that denial “works” in sports, it can lead to a recurring pattern of using denial for other life shortcomings, including school grades.  This is just one more reason why it’s important to help kids steer clear of denial, and instead learn to accept that we all have bad days, slumps, frustration, and failure in life — and that the real champions are the ones who are honest with themselves and work even harder to be better the next day.  There is nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to failure as it can be the best teaching tool if we learn how to control our emotions and learn from the experience.

We have a growing line of professional products designed to help athletes learn real skills that will help them improve their self-confidence while decreasing negative anxiety – you can learn more by visiting Advanced Human Performance Systems today!

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