Growing a winning belief in your athletesBy Dr. Alan Goldberg, Sports Psychologist
It never ceases to amaze me when I talk to athletes and they complain about how negative their coach is and how that individual always leaves them feeling badly about themselves. A recent conversation with a D-I softball pitcher from out West underscores one of the more costlier mistakes, performance-wise, that coaches make.
It seems that this coach is predominantly negative in all her interactions with her players. She is overly critical and never fails to take advantage of an opportunity to catch her athletes doing things wrong. By itself, this isn't bad. You can't coach without providing accurate and timely critical feedback. However, if all that comes out of your mouth is negative, sooner or later you'll begin to tear your athletes down rather than build them up and make them stronger.
In fact, this pitcher complained that her coach has left a number of her more talented teammates questioning their belief in themselves. One of the marks of a really good coach is that he/she has the ability to inspire his/her athletes to go beyond their preconceived limitations. Good coaches fuel their athletes' self-beliefs. They put their players into challenging situations and interact with them in a manner that communicates two very important and powerful messages: #1 "You can do it!" and #2 "I believe in you!"
While this may sound quite obvious and a bit elementary, far too many coaches miss the boat here. One way that you build beliefs is by demanding that your athletes step outside their comfort zone and "do the impossible" or at least what they think is impossible. By expecting an athlete to train harder, commit more and pursue excellence a coach is saying, "I know that you are capable of doing this and I expect you to rise to this level." Pushing your athletes and refusing to settle for mediocrity is fine as long as you intersperse this with building your athletes up.
If it's true that athletes and teams are always limited most by what they believe is possible, then it would stand to reason that one of your major jobs as a coach is to continuously build your athletes' belief in themselves on a daily and weekly basis. How do you do this?
1. Do not collude with, nor accept mediocrity - By having high expectations and being intolerant of less than optimal efforts & performance you communicate that "more is possible."
2. Challenge your athletes in every way - Coaches who don't adequately challenge their athletes lose that individual's respect. Without challenge, there is no motivation or satisfaction from accomplishment. Challenge your athletes physically, competition-wise, skill wise. Train them to continuously "Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable." They may kick and scream through the process, but in the end they'll thank you for pushing them.
3. Stay Positive - Critical feedback is fine and necessary to give. However, you must figure out a way to balance this negative with the positive. Don't just tell them what they are doing wrong. Underline and reinforce when they are doing it right. This is true even if you're working with college athletes. Catching people doing things right builds their self-esteem, reinforces their self-belief and motivates them to want to do more. You will get far more out of your athletes with positive than you will with the negative. Negative coaching produces negative athletes. If you continuously get down on your athletes you'll teach them to get down on themselves. Then, the next thing you know, you'll find them putting each other down.
4. Frame Your Critical Feedback Constructively - When you give critical feedback make it clear, specific and "positive." For example, "you let them score because you don't move your feet" is a negative frame. "When you move your feet on defense like this, (demonstrating), no-one can get by you" is a positive frame. In essence you're saying, "if you do this more you'll be successful." This focuses the athlete on the solution rather than just on the problem and will motivate them to take action to make the changes. This kind of critical feedback builds up, rather than tears down self-confidence.
5. Sandwich Critical Feedback Between Positive Feedback - When you do give negative feedback, try to sandwich it in between several things that the athlete is already doing well. A good rule of thumb is to balance the negative message with at least two or more positive ones. With younger athletes (12 and under) the ratio of positive to negative should be 4-5 to 1. As your athletes get older, the ratio can go down to, but not below 1:1.
6. Praise the Individual, Criticize the Group - UCLA legendary John Wooden's rule of thumb. When an athlete does something well he would single that athlete out in front of the entire group. "Look at what Bill did in this situation. This is what we all want to do, just like him." However, when an athlete would mess up, he'd stop practice and say, "In these situations we don't want to do x." Using embarrassment and humiliation as a coaching tool will not build self-belief. All you'll build in your athletes is a healthy fear of you along with a significant loss of respect for you as a coach and person.
Remember, one of the most powerful messages that you can give an athlete is that you believe in them. One of the most powerful messages that you can give your team right before a big game is that you believe in them. Your belief fuels theirs and how they perform is always heavily influenced by what they believe.
"I think I can. I think I can." The Little Engine That Could
Reprinted with permission from Dr. Alan Goldberg, nationally recognized expert, author and clinician in the field of sport psychology and performance psychology with over 16 years of experience working across all sports with athletes at every level.
|
|
