I have written in the past about the tremendous opportunity
I am afforded when attending the sporting events of the young athletes that I
coach. It allows me to see them in
action and observe how their body moves when they are forced to react quickly
and frequently to random unrehearsed situations. However, it also provides valuable information beyond their
physical abilities.
Watching children perform in sports also provides a glimpse
into their character and how they handle the demands (both internal and
external) of competition. External
demands would be things like opponents, playing surface, weather conditions and
even crowd noise. Internal demands
are related in large part to how they handle these external demands. As an example if an athlete thinks it’s
too cold and wet they may talk themselves into an excuse for a poor
performance, or the belief that an opponent “plays dirty’” may force them to
play more cautiously or more aggressively (depending on the personality of the
child) than they normally would.
So in essence the external demands of competition can and often do
create an internal demand that must be addressed in order to compete
effectively.
There are many qualities that all athletic development
programs likely share such as; speed and quickness, core stability, balance,
strength and power. And these are
the qualities that parents and coaches are seeking when their child takes part
in a training program. It is my
strong opinion that the mental side of sport/competition is just as relevant to
their overall athletic development of children.
The importance of the mental game was highlighted during a
recent tennis match I attended for one of the young men that I coach. The match was part of a team tournament
at a local athletic club. I sat
with his family courtside on one end of the net. On the other end of the net about 15 girls and boys that
were members of the host club had gathered. The age range for this group of kids was probably 10-15
years. I admit to being a newbie
when it comes to the tennis-viewing scene but apparently when the player you
aren’t supporting hits a bad shot into the net it’s frowned upon to cheer at
that time. Only cheer your guy
when he makes a good shot. And to
add further potential fuel to the fire the boys make their own calls on balls
in and out of play.
Well guess what happened early and often throughout the
match? When the young man I coach
hit a bad shot the kids would jump up and down, yell, clap and cheer
wildly. There were frequent
disputed calls between the two boys that resulted in a stalemate and a
resolution process that I still don’t quite understand. I won’t go in to the details but the
mother of my athlete resorted in the end to calling over tournament officials
who had to basically watch the rest of the match to keep everyone in line.
There are a couple of issues that I would like to touch on
from this experience. First,
the boy that I coach was clearly the more skilled player but he lost his
composure and provided the crowd and his opponent and opportunity to exploit
his emotions. It clearly changed
the way he played and not for the better.
Once tournament officials arrived he was able to settle down and win the
match but there is no doubt that I came away from that match with a rather
significant issue to address. The
“fix” for his response to less than ideal external circumstances will take
practice but most coaches should and do have tools to address these issues. As an athlete you have only two things
that are within your control and if you relinquish them you give away your
competitive edge. An athlete can
control their approach to competition; in short they need a mental game plan
going into the competition that is reliable and consistent. If it’s cold outside tell yourself
before the game “it’s going to be cold but I have practiced and played in these
conditions before and have succeeded in spite of the conditions.” That is a positive approach to a game
that may be played in inclement weather.
Young athletes can also control how they respond to external
demands. If a hockey player takes
a shot at the net but the goalie makes an amazing save he can respond in two
ways he can slam his stick to the ice and grow frustrated or he can prepare for
the face off and return to his reliable approach. “The goalie made a great save, but it won’t discourage me
from taking that same shot again when I get another opportunity because it was
a high percentage shot on goal.” This would be a positive response to a poor
result.
As coaches we need to develop the mindset in young athletes
that results (statistics, wins and losses) are not within their control. The things they can control are their
mental approach to the game and how they respond to external demands. The best athletes in the world are not
raging infernos nor are they flickering lights. Rather the most consistent and reliable competitors give off
a steady supply of light and heat.
We have all watched the Olympics this past month and
marveled at the ability of the athletes to perform and maintain their exposure
in high-pressure situations. It’s almost as though when the heat gets turned up on
these athletes their blood pressure goes down and their nerves get calm. This is because they have learned to
embrace the pressure and have acknowledged that the lights, cameras and stage
are beyond their control.
World-class competitors on the field of play and in the game
of life have learned the essential element of success and it runs much deeper
than mere physical mastery. True
champions learn the art of self-control and mastery of the mental game.
Afterthought:
I nearly forgot to mention the second issue I gleaned from
the tennis match and that is another element of athletic development that must
be addressed and that is sportsmanship.
To compete and give your best effort is noble indeed but to resort to
jeering, trash talking, even cheating abandons the very essence of
competition. If sports aren’t used
as a tool to bring out the best in our kids why bother? Sports are a tremendous opportunity to
instill leadership at a stage in life when kids are in need of positive
guidance. I do not fault the kids
at this tennis match for their behavior.
Their coach saw it and told them to stop but they persisted even in his presence. This tells me the kids don’t respect
the words of that coach and that leadership and the mental game of athletic
development are not key attributes of that program. The best coaches will simply not tolerate that behavior,
they are developing athletes in need of guidance and winning just isn’t that
important in comparison.
A bonus tidbit here, the boy that I coach was waiting for
someone to bail him out, someone that would make the noise and jeering go
away. This really hit me when I
was watching him because he looked so frustrated and helpless. He was waiting for someone or something
to arrive and save the day. If tournament officials hadn’t arrived to calm things
down would he have responded as positively as he did? I can’t answer that for sure. I do know however that this young mean will face the same
situation several more times in the future if he aspires to higher more intense
levels of competition, and he does.
This lesson arrived early enough where it can now be
addressed. But as parents and
coaches it can hurt to watch our children suffer through awkward moments such
as this but I feel we provide them with a false sense of security if we always
try to break their fall or save the day.
One day they will be on their own and we won’t be there to bail them
out. If that ‘s the case will they
be prepared to handle the situation on their own? Remember when you or your child rode a bike for the first
time? I feel and cried a little
bit, ok a lot, but I picked myself back up on got back on that bike because I
didn’t want to be left behind.
Eventually I learned how to stay up right and avoid the pain. The process may have left me bruised
and bloodied in the short-term but I survived and it made me stronger in the
long run with a deeper sense of self-efficacy.
Complimentary Reading:
Though this article highlights the talent evaluation process
for professional baseball, it provides excellent insight into what many pro
scouts and college recruiters look for when evaluating young athletes (pay
close attention to the Beyond the Baseball Field paragraph):
Phil Loomis
Youth Fitness/Nutrition Specialist
No comments:
Post a Comment