Category: Psychology

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Irish Grassroots Football Psychology

Motivating the players after a big loss..

This was the teams second season in the top division and it was always going to be a massive step up, particularly after losing 5 players from last years starting 11 along with 2 more from a squad of 15, this was a big re-shuffle. So we welcomed 8 new lads and we basically start again.

Come Sunday lunch time I was licking my wounds and writing like crazy on how I was going to approach training Tuesday. In the last 5 seasons we haven’t experienced a defeat quit like this one and it wasn’t like we didn’t try to play and keep the good habits; for parts we did but we also lacked the concentration & desire required to compete for entire game.

So when the refs blows his final whistle and the scoreboard reads the wrong way – a big loss. You start to look inwards and need to find solutions quickly. So after everyone left the park and went about their day, I hung on and spent sometime alone.

So how to turn a bad day into a good week, that was going to be key. I was looking for answers.

The first thing was to focus on the positives of the game. It’s too easy to focus on  what went wrong and let that negativity lead into the next game. I had to focus on what went right and how to correct the mistakes. Everyone made mistakes, including me, so my aim was to try and improve the lads by putting a plan in place.

Coach John Wooden once said

“Too often, coaches spend the time on everything that went wrong and don’t focus on the positives”. “Think about the positives things. How can we take the things that went right in the game into next week?”

John Wooden was always big on positive energy, not negative energy.

By focusing on the positives the players won’t dwell on the negatives.

So the questions I asked:

  1. Give me 5 things we did well?
  2. 5 things we didn’t do so well?
  3. What do we need to do in order to get better?
  4. What do we need to stop doing in order to get better?

At the end of training on Thursday, it was time to focus on the new goals and motivate the players for the weekends game.

  1. Speak to the players individually.
  2. Bring up the things they did well, even if they did things, not so well.
  3. Motivation and positive feedback, even an arm around them was key to getting the players ready for game 2.
  4. This was not going to be the time when I lay into the players. This was the time to build up their emotional tank.

“Losing is part of the game. If you never lose, you are never truly tested, and never forced to grow.”

Time to build up the emotional tank!

How? 

So, whether you’re a coach or captain, be sure to set new goals for the next game rather than focus about the most recent loss. Motivate the rest of the team with positive feedback and encouragement throughout the week ahead.

When we are having to motivate the players, we are talking about adding fuel to their emotional tank. If the emotional tank is full the players have the capacity to play their best.

What is this emotional tank, that I’m referring too? It’s like a gas tank in a car. When it is full, we run well, but when it is empty, we can’t go very far.

Why is it important that we keep each other’s tanks full?

If our Emotional Tank is empty, we become negative, and we give up easier. If our tanks are full, however, we are optimistic and are able to handle difficult situations. As the coach, I will do my best to help fill Emotional Tanks of players. I need to help them be as positive as possible in order to play well.

When  someone misses a clear chance and someone says, Nice miss (sarcastically), this is going to have a negative impact on the player. This can be know as draining the Emotional Tank.

When you criticise or insult the players, you make them feel worse and you drain their Emotional Tank. Sometimes you have to correct to help them learn the game.

As a coach, I will try to do this in a way that keeps your Emotional Tank full.

We win together and lose together. 

One bad back pass didn’t make the team lose the weekend’s game. While it is very easy to blame one player for a mistake, remember that the game is a team effort. In the past I might have pointed the finger but it takes 11+ players to win or lose a game. As a coach I have to make sure I’m there to lift the players up again.

“You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again.”

Time to think about the next game

The best way to motivate the team is encourage the players to move on to the next game. We either win or we learn (Thanks Drew). Last week we learned…we learnt a lot. I talked with players about ways to address aspects of the game that went right and ones that went wrong but once Thursday’s session was finished it was time to focus on the next game. I let the players know that come Sunday morning when they wake up, that is the start of a whole new week, so it’s time to erase the the past and focus on the here & now.

So ultimately what really matters the most is our mindset (a positive one), our work rate, our effort, our memories good and bad. The win’s and losses aren’t important. The most important thing is the experience, the journey and creating positive memories – because at the end of the day that’s what’s going to bring the team together, that’s what they will remember the most and no matter if we win or lose our effort and respect for each another is where the real winning lies.

This season is going to be an especially great season if we support each other and keep our Emotional Tanks full. With full Emotional Tanks, we will be ready to for the battle, and there is no limit to what we can accomplish.

I’ll end with this great quote,

“Losing is only temporary and not all encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it.” – John Wooden

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I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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Guest Post Psychology

Sport Psychology: Developing Sport and Life Skills

This week I chat to Sports Psychologist David McHugh. David is graduate from Liverpool John Moore’s University University with an Msc in Sport Psychology having studied psychology for four years in Galway and Nottingham.

TCD: When asked what sport psychology is how do you reply?

DM: I reply with the saying that it is strength and conditioning for the mind. It gives players and teams the ability to develop the mental attributes that will enable them to improve as players, supporting some on their journey to elite playing levels and supporting others in developing personal attributes that will enable them to develop as a person.

When the focus is on developing players a holistic approach should be taken focusing on physical, technical, tactical, psychological and lifestyle skills. However in Ireland are we teaching our players the skills that will enable them to develop as people and players? I do not believe we are. In most cases players are lucky to get adequate physical, technical and tactical support in their development.

What makes this lack of focus on the psychological skills of players surprising was when a group of researchers asked 8 coaches in different Premier League academies what the key attributes of those making it into the first team were. They all concluded that the psychological attributes of the players determined their success, not their technical, tactical or physical attributes.

TCD: So how can we address this deficiency in the development of our young players?

DM: Here are some practical ways coaches can support the development of player’s psychological skills:

Persevere in the face of failure: Players must be encouraged to view failure as a learning experience and as a part of the process in improving. Failure should be seen as feedback on ways you can improve as a player and team. If the player and team plays to the best of their ability and still loses the player should be made feel like a winner. This takes success beyond the traditional concept of winning and losing, and makes sport about being the best that you can be every day. This is not only important in sport, but an important life skill.

Your biggest competition is yourself: Players should be encouraged to view their competition as being themselves. This is something that is in their control. They can control the level that they play at and consequently they can focus on being better on a daily basis. They should not be encouraged to focus on the opposition or winning as this can lead to lowering of the player’s motivation for self improvement when they lose a game. The focus should always be on self improvement.

Take responsibility for your performance: When the players and team go onto the pitch they must be encouraged to take responsibility for their performance, good or bad. In how many schoolboy matches do coaches and players give excuses such as the weather, the opposition and the referee as the reason for poor performances and results? These are a result of not taking responsibility for performance. If the players and team are not encouraged to take responsibility for their performance they will always find an excuse as to why they did not reach their potential.

These three strategies can develop an environment which supports the development of young players so that they have the motivation to be the best that they can be. Some of Irish football players are getting the required technical, tactical and physical training necessary to improve as football players. However none of our young players are getting the support to develop the psychological skills necessary for what would be termed a holistic approach to development. Sport Psychology can fill this gap to support players and teams in becoming better people and players.

If you would like to find out more on sport psychology in football you can email David d.a.machugh91@gmail.com his website is davidmchughsp.wordpress.com

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I always like to hear your opinions. Please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com, if you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend.

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Psychology

Psychology: Key Factors in Sport

This following post is from an info-graph constructed by Ohio University’s Online Master in Coaching Education program. It visualised the ten ways psychology affects athletic performance.

Sports is not just about the thrill or the love for the game—it is about an opportunity for an athlete to discover his limits and push himself further, to challenge himself and excel. Although athletes are arguably different from the rest of us, there are factors that help them make the transition from great to outstanding.

Find out what these factors are and how they contribute to the overall conditioning of the best athletes in the world.

1. Being Aware

The best athletes are aware of their physical, mental and emotional states. From time to time, in the middle of practice or the game itself, an athlete must be able to “check in” and determine his or her level of preparedness and ability to perform. Looking inwards helps create awareness of important changes and modifications that need to be made. Awareness is a critical part of an athlete’s preparation to achieve a peak mental state. At this level, an athlete maintains better control at eliminating distractions and thoughts that have a negative impact on their performance.

2. Maintaining a Routine

There is a reason why athletes perform the same sequence of actions over and over again—to establish a routine. A routine is a way for an individual to develop what is known as muscle memory, which is a series of movements that have become familiar to the individual through repetition and frequent practice. A routine can also build condition responses, in which an athlete is able to perform a movement or action automatically. A routine, whether it is through physical, mental or emotional training, will help eliminate guesswork during an event, such as in a competition.

3. Setting Goals

A goal helps create a sense of direction and anticipation in an athlete and it can also be a good reference point when comparing progress during training. The key to successful performance in sports is being able to set specific and measurable goals that present a challenge, thereby creating a sense of fulfilment with each completion.

4. Visualising

Visualising a challenge or a problem is an important step in problem solving. Visualisation involves making a mental picture of a desired outcome to help in improving focus, confidence and calmness. It also helps identify any potential risks, challenges and negative outcomes so that the athlete is better prepared by either preventing the problem or finding a solution for it.

5. Self-Talk

Although they may have access to some of the best trainers and equipment, sports athletes only have themselves to rely on when the time comes to perform. One of the key factors that help them maintain their focus is self-talk—specifically, instructional self-talk. This type of self-conditioning trains the athlete to instruct himself about the specific steps he has to make to achieve a certain outcome. He could, for example, say something like, “Focus on the target… Breathe slowly… Raise the left elbow…” etc. Doing so helps the athlete work through the routine and motivates him at the same time.

6. Relaxation

Sports athletes utilize different ways to relax. They may, for example, turn to sleep, massages, deep breathing, music and meditation to help them manage stress and fatigue, improve their focus, recharge and visualize.

7. Concentration

Concentration allows a sports athlete to focus on the specific tasks that need to be done, from the starting position they make to their desired end result. The more focused an athlete becomes, the better he will be at doing what he does.

8. Developing Confidence

Sports athletes who have confidence in what they can do are far better at performing at the top of their game than athletes who are fearful, anxious or stressed. Knowing that they can rely on their athletic abilities makes them much more committed and focused, with better control of themselves.

For sports athletes, confidence is developed gradually over the years and is often a combination of many factors, including self-esteem, external support, reinforcement, reward, and perception. In some cases, even some harmless superstitious beliefs can make a difference. Athletes are either extrinsically or intrinsically motivated but either way are more likely to perform at their best.

9. Maintaining Flow Mindset

A flow mindset is a state where an individual attains heightened calmness, focus and confidence. Most athletes call achieving this state as “being in the zone”. Most athletes develop this gradually, then learn how to maintain it for a more successful performance.

10. Control

Control allows sports athletes to maintain balanced emotions and use what excites and triggers them in a positive way. Although they are acutely aware of potentially negative factors that may affect their game, they are able to control how they react and remain committed to their goals.

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Irish Grassroots Football Psychology

The Future Of Learning

What is going to be the future of learning? Could you imagine a future where kids didn’t go to school, read books and learn to write! The way we teach is changing.

This is an inspiring talk by Dr. Sugata Mitra, towards the middle of the talk he refers to the threat of learning and refers to neuroscience studies about the reptilian part of our brain which sits in the center of the Brain.

He says,

“When it’s threaten it shuts down everything else, it shuts down the prefrontal cortex the parts which learn. It shuts all of that down. Punishment and examination are seen as threats”

I’ll let you listen to the rest of the talk below: talk by Dr. Sugata Mitra

“It’s not about making learning happen, it’s about letting it happen”

Here is a counter argument by Martin Robinson 

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See also : Every Kids Needs A Champion 

I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com and if you don’t have anything to add, please pass this on to a friend.

As always, thanks for reading. I’m also on twitter  @Coachdiary

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Psychology

What to say….On Game day!

Many parents spend large amounts of times in the car with their kids. In fact in some cases this may be the only time we get to have a 1 to 1 with them. My advice is keep your eyes firmly on the road and whatever comes from your mouth make sure it’s positive and reassuring. Thousands of kids arrive at their game feeling anxious and worried about losing or making mistakes.

The last thing you want is for your child to feel this way because of you. I have put together a list of, Do’s and Don’ts on game day:

DO: 

  • Be calm and supportive.
  • Choose the right words.
  • Always ask if they are excited about playing.
  • When complementing, be specific about what they did and don’t be vague.
  • Leave the coaching to the coaches.
  • Take their focus away from performance and winning.
  • Ask if they have played the team before and if they know any of the opposition.
  • Try and make your child arrive at the game relaxed.
  • Be calm and make light of things.
  • Try and have a laugh on the way.
  • Talk about your time playing team sports.
  • Take note of your child’s mood before a game. Do they like to talk about the game, to be more relaxed or would they rather talk about something else?
  • Try not to talk about the game if your travelling long distances. It’s best not to discuss the game at least 2/3 hrs before hand.
  • Focus on effort and getting them to do their best. Things they can control.
  • Say, ‘Try to have fun’ and ‘Play with s smile’
  • Ask how your child how you can make them feel relaxed before a game. Some children prefer not to talk and maybe, just listen to music on the way.
  • Focus on the here and now.
  • Do teach kids to support one another regardless of what happens.

 “Remember when saying something, the words you use are just as important” 

Don’t

  • Don’t make them anxious the day of the game.
  • Try not to focus on things they can’t control, such as winning; scoring a goal of keeping a clean sheet. These are things they can’t control. If they don’t deliver on your comments they might feel you will think less of them.
  • Talk about winning or losing.
  • Interfere with what the coaches instructions. There might be a reason why they asked them to do a particular thing.
  • Refer to previous games against the opposition.
  • Speak about how good or bad the team (opposition) is.
  • Compare them to others players. Children develop at different stages and the last thing your child needs is to get the impression you think another child is better than them.
  • Talk bad about individuals on the team. Sports is about team cohesion and negative comments from a parent can break that connection. Children can forgive each other very quickly but they will always remember how an adult made them feel. 
  • Be aggressive on the line, shouting or raising your voice. Children will mirror what they see from adults and this can have a negative impact on your relationship later in life. .
Children don’t value winning as much as adults do and sometimes parents get caught up in thinking about their child, firstly as a player and secondly as a son or a daughter. If your child teams losses don’t make that feeling any worse by going over the game with a post-game chat. Most of the times, the words ‘I love to watch you play’ are what’s all they need to hear, regardless of the result.
“We look at wins and losses, and fail to search for happy faces, and proper developmental environments”
If you want your child to relax, then you must relax too. If you want your child to play with a positive mental attitude, then you must have a positive mental attitude.  If you want your child to bring the right attitude and mindset to the game, then you must bring the same mindset.

Smiling, joking and having fun will always help you child to relax.

The next time you attend a game, be relaxed, calm, supportive and positive. This will rub off on your son and/or daughter and the people around you!

Summary

*Give your child (player) freedom to make mistakes and try new things, allow them to discover on their own.

*You can work together on certain things, since real effort is one of the most effective ways to increase self-esteem.

*The best thing is to offer sincere, specific praise rather than making vague generalisations.

*Sometimes, a wink, pat on the back, thumbs up or even just quick squeeze conveys a lot more than words or simply say the words, ‘I Love Watching You Play’.

*The most important thing to remember is the game belongs to them; so let them take control of their experience and don’t keep offering an opinion.

*The sooner you release your child to his/her game, the quicker they take responsibility of it.  Sometimes silence is the greatest help of all.

*If you’re not having fun you can be 100% sure your child/players are not either.

“The Ride Home After the Game: It has always amazed me how a moment off the field can have such a detrimental effect on it, yet when we think about it, the toxicity of the ride home makes perfect sense. Emotions are high, disappointment, frustration, and exhaustion are heightened for both player and parent, yet many parents choose this moment to confront their child about a play, criticize them for having a poor game, and chastise their child, their teammates, their coach, and their opponents. There could not be a less teachable moment in your child’s sporting life then the ride home, yet it is often the moment that well intentioned parents decide to do all of their teaching” – Changing The Game Project

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Recommended this week to read: 5 Messages Your Kids Need To Hear also don’t forget, ‘Changing The Game Project’ talk on Friday the 29th August. ****Buy a ticket today and bring a friend for FREE****

 

I always like to hear your opinions. Please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. Thanks for reading. I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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Irish Grassroots Football Psychology

Every Kids Needs A Champion

and that Champion is you the coach, the teacher. As Rita Pierson say in this short talk, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like”.  A teacher who spend her entire life in and around the classroom. Rita F. Pierson died on June 28, 2013, at the age of 61. This is truly an inspiring talk. Why do all the wise people die to young!

Rita quotes others in this talk as well::

Stephen Covey had the right idea…”Seek first to understand as opposed to being understood.”
James Comer says: “no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.”
George Washington Carver says: “all learning is understanding relationships.”

 

“Sport is like a double-edged sword. Swung in the right direction, the sword can have tremendously positive effects, but swung in the wrong direction it can be devastating. The sword is held by adults who supervise children’s sports. Whether sport is constructive or destructive in the psychological development of young children greatly depends on the values, education, and skills of those adults.”- Ranier Martens

“There is very little difference in technical knowledge about the game among most experienced coaches. However, there is a vast difference between leaders in their ability to teach and motivate those under their supervision.” – John Wooden

Quotes from Rita:

“Parents make decisions for their children based on what they know, what they feel will make them safe. And it is not our place [as educators] to say what they do is ‘wrong.’ It’s our place to say maybe we can add a set of rules that they don’t know about.”

“While you won’t like [all your students], the key is they can never, ever know it.”

“Teachers become great actors and great actresses. … We come to work when we don’t feel like it, and we’re listening to policy that doesn’t make sense — and we teach anyway.”

“Every child deserves a champion — an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”

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I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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Psychology

Mental Toughness

Former Green Beret Mike Martel focuses on helping individuals, entrepreneurs, and small businesses get results and improve productivity. Here he discuses Mental Toughens and what separates the best from the rest.
 
Toughness as we know it, is always gaged on how tough you are or if you come from a certain background. We have a tendency to fear teams on their reputation. Anyone who studies or reads about sport psychology will know that is total nonsense.  Mental Toughness can be taught but very few are taught it. 
 

Mike’s post starts here>

Time after time you see a promising athlete come out of college and go into the pros only to bomb out. He or she had the best athletic ability, yet could not cut it at the professional level. Others might not have great athletic ability, get picked late in the draft and go onto become super stars. Tom Brady comes to mind as someone who wasn’t particularly outstanding in college who has gone on to be a probable first time inductee into the NFL Hall of Fame.

Personally I have seen the same. I spent many years in the US Army Special Forces. We would have tryouts who while in the best physical shape just could not make the grade to be a Green Beret. Others, who would seem to be nondescript, would pass the Special Forces Qualification course with flying colors and go onto to be an outstanding soldier.

You are probably asking yourself by now what is the difference? What do you need to perform at the highest levels, which is even more important than physical ability?

Mental Toughness

Mental toughness is what separates the superstar from the merely good. It separates the musicians that play small party gigs from the rock stars. Someone without mental toughness can have all the natural talents or ability and not make it as far as someone with mental toughness with average ability.

The key to mental toughness is applying consistently the traits of self motivation, positive attitude, emotional self control, calmness under fire, and being energetic and ready for action. Consistency is important. Through applying these traits day in and day out, you will be able to reach new heights in whatever endeavours you seek whether it be a sport, playing a musical instrument, coding a computer application or writing a novel.

“Frustration, setbacks and hardships are necessary for you to develop strength, skill and endurance. You don’t learn to get tough without going through tough times. Frustration and disappointment are simply temporary road markers on the highway to your dreams.
Parents: Do not try to protect your child from hard work, disappointment, failure and frustration. These experiences make them stronger and form the foundation of their motivation and ultimate success. Frustration and setbacks make athletes “hungrier” for mastery and success. It’s the struggle that builds character, resilience and toughness. Do NOT take that away from them!” – Dr Alan Goldberg

Let’s look at each of the traits of mental toughness:

Self Motivation

While some sports are team sports and other pursuits are done in conjunction with others life is pretty much played alone. Your motivation must come from within. The intensity of your motivation is determined by how badly you want to perform well.

Motivation can be strengthened many ways. Think back to a failure. That feeling can provide the motivation to keep going, keep practicing. A time of victory can also provide the motivation to reclaim that winning feeling. Use time as a motivator. While others relax you can be gaining on them increasing your skills.

Positive, Realistic Attitude

You are not going to be able to do everything. In Special Forces we always looked for what someone was good at and focused on that. By focusing on strengths, you gain confidence and inspiration from them. You can create your own positive attitude. For example, smaller pro basketball players do not try to go head to head with others over seven feet tall, they focus on their speed and ball handling skills. Focus on what your natural strengths are.

Emotional Self Control

People who are not in control of their emotions get upset when the something doesn’t go as expected. They alienate spouses, co-workers, teammates by petty, childish behaviour. Mentally tough people have tough skins and don’t let outside circumstances affect them. There will be many times whether in a game or in life that things happen outside your control. A mentally tough person keeps their emotions in check and keeps on with the game plan they had in mind from the beginning.

Calm Under Fire

Anything worth going for is going to be high pressure one time or another. Mentally tough people are at their best under pressure. Calmness under fireisn’t something you just switch on. The key here is to seek out pressure situations working up from low pressure to medium pressure to high pressure situations. Perform in front of larger and larger groups. Seek out better and better opponents, games top participate in. What seemed like high pressure before will become the new normal for you.

Energetic and Ready For Action

Mentally tough people get themselves fire up and ready to go for the battle, performance, game or whatever it may be. It might be the middle of the night, you might have played two other performances the same day or you might be under the weather. The pride you get from doing your best in less than optimal circumstances makes it that much easier to succeed in all circumstances. The third performance of the day might not be your best ever, but it should be the best you can possibly give. The next time when conditions are better you will play better for times you pushed yourself to give it all.

Conclusion

The great thing about mental toughness is that you are not born with it. You don’t have to learn it at a young age. Mental toughness comes simply from the decision to consistently apply the traits I have talked about. You can start today and reach levels of your game, relationships, and success that you never thought possible. Outstanding athletic prowess, superior intellect, musical talent will take someone so far. Without mental toughness they will not reach their full potential.

We would like to thanks Mike for this post. A really interesting insight into Mental Toughness. Have you got Mental Toughness?

You can follow Mike on twitter @MichaelMartel

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Worth a read this week: Interview with Fredrik Sundqvist by Footblogball

I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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