Paul SapsfordCYSA DoC

Contributors:Dr. Steve Miller,

Dr. Deane Lamont, &Dr. Derek Marks.

St. Mary’s College of California

Introduction Educate coaches, so they may educate their players and parents:

1.Self-esteem, coaching feedback, & why parents make excuses for their children 2.Effort/Improving vs Winning3.“But what does he/she need to do to get more playing time coach?”4.Motivation5.Importance of Technique, Henry’s SAID principle & 10,000 hours6.Preparation for USSF ‘E’ License

2 Questions for participants:(1) How do you raise self-esteem in others?(2) Is it wise for parents to tell their children they have a host of wonderful attributes?

Dr. Carol Dweck, Stanford University (Recommended reading: Mindset) “Self-esteem…is often portrayed as something we

give to children by telling them they have a host of good things inside them…these beliefs lead us to lie to children – to exaggerate positives, to sugar coat negatives, or to hide negative information entirely. We fear that criticism will damage self-esteem” Dweck (2000, p127).

Telling children they have a host of wonderful traits can lead to a sense of entitlement, an avoidance of risks, to doubt themselves when they fail, and cope poorly with setbacks (Mueller & Dweck, 1998).

Blackburn Rovers Football Performance Director, Tony Faulkner, meets Carol Dweck. Promising players weren’t reaching their potential. WHY?British soccer culture held that star players are born, not

made. If you buy into that view, and are told you’ve got immense talent, what’s the point of practice? If anything, training hard would tell you and others that you’re average!

So, Dr. Dweck explained: The key isn’t ability, it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed.

People who attribute their failures to lack of ability become discouraged and lose confidence & motivation. Those who thought they simply hadn’t tried hard enough, on the other hand, are fueled by setbacks.CONTINUED…

Blackburn Rovers Football Performance Director, Tony Faulkner, meets Carol Dweck.

The Blackburn Rovers youth players didn’t think they lacked ability. Quite the opposite: they thought their talent should take them all the way. But their “I have natural ability” mind-set explains their aversion to effort.

Consequently, Blackburn Rovers are starting workshops with recent recruits to encourage a ‘growth’ or ‘improvement comes through effort’ mindset.

The team’s talent scouts will be asking prospective players about views on talent and training—not to screen out those with a fixed mind-set, but to target them for special training.

How coaches can communicate to enhance the child’s athletic experienceInstead, praise the process: Strategy, Improvement,

Technique & Effort (think SITE acronym) Praise effort, why? Avoid feedback that emphasizes that the player is

gifted or has natural talent. Why?Coaches, players and parents should adopt the

mantra: Set-backs are informative (you learn more when you fall short).

How can the coach reward Effort & Improvement ???Constructive criticism is important, examples of

which are….

So self-esteem is not something we necessarily give to children. However, by teaching kids to focus on EFFORT & IMPROVEMENT we provide them with the tools to be responsible for the development of their own SELF-esteem.

You’re the parent1. Imagine your teenage child had a poor

performance. Would you blame the coach/referee after the game to protect their self-esteem?

2. What would you say in the car journey home from the game following the poor performance by your teenage child?

AnswerFirstly, the car journey home might not be the best

time for the parent to discuss a poor performance/loss

Blaming the coach doesn’t build the habits necessary for success: 1. Reduces responsibility of the child 2. Reduces child’s perceptions of control =3. lower motivation, 4. increased anxiety, 5. and a decline in effort.

The player must OWN the performance, good or bad, and make no excuses for it. "I attribute my success to this - I never gave nor took any excuse." - Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910)

8 Simple Self-esteem tips(1) Avoid comparing oneself with others (Duda & Ntoumanis,

2005) (2) Positive self-talk, analyze the conversations you have with

yourself, everyone has them, no-one like to talk about them! (3) Become a great actor, act confident even if you aren’t feeling

it (4) Surround yourself with positive people (5) At the end of each day write down 3 things that went well for

you (Seligman, 2012) (6) Live by the mantra: Am I doing what’s right, am I doing the

best I can, and am I treating others the way in which I would like to be treated.

(7) Adopt the mantra: Set-backs are informative & and an opportunity to learn (I learn more when I fall short).

(8) Accept applause, but don’t expect it (don’t let it be the reason for your motivation). Instead focus on effort to measure yourself

COACH & PLAYER SHOULD FOCUS ON ‘SITE’ NOT WINNING

Application of Attribution Theory (Bernard Weiner) for Coaches & Players1. We lost because of the ability of the opposition2. We won because we applied the greatest

effort3. We won because we have greater ability4. We lost because of the referee5. We won because of the referee6. We lost because the opposition were lucky7. We lost because we didn’t produce enough

effort to create space for each other

John Wooden on EFFORT“You cannot find a player who ever played for me at UCLA that can tell you he ever heard me mention ‘winning’ a basketball game”…. “the last thing I told my athletes, just prior to tip-off, before we would go on the floor was, ‘When the game is over, I want your head up – and I know of only one way for your head to be up – and that’s for you to know that you did your best. This means to do the best you can do. That’s the best; no one can do more. You made that effort.’”

Focusing on aspects you cannot control (i.e. winning) increases anxietyIf the young athlete believes that mistakes are

a natural part of the learning process, and does not experience the coaches' wrath after an error, they experience less anxiety (McArdle & Duda, 2002)

When the coach focuses on improving the player, rather than winning, the player experiences less anxiety and more enjoyment (Newton & Duda, 1999), whereas focusing on winning increases anxiety. (Vazou, Ntoumanis, & Duda, 2006)

Pre-game coach communication emphasizing EFFORT

“At the end of the game, if you can look at your-self in the mirror and say you gave everything you had, then you should be very satisfied”.

Baltimore Ravens’ Linebacker Ray Lewis: “Wins and losses come a dime a dozen, but effort? Nobody can judge effort. Because effort is between you and you”.

How can a coach assist athletes to play ‘In the Zone’? What is ‘Flow-State’ (Mihiy

Csikszentmihalyi, 1990)?Conditions for Flow –

intense and focused concentration on the present moment

a loss of reflective self-consciousnessWhy an excessive focus on winning doesn’t

help achieve it

Dr. Alan GoldbergDr. Alan Goldberg received his doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has been working in the field of applied sports psychology doing individual consultation for over 28 years and is considered to be one of the leading international experts in the field today. Dr. G is a former #1 singles player for the UMass Minuteman tennis team and twice Conference Champion. His background also includes 22 years of professional tennis coaching experience

Jose Ramon Alexanco – FC Barcelona Youth Director & Landon Donovan“We don’t demand that the youth teams win, we

demand that they play good soccer. We don’t use the word ‘Winning’. Not until after the players reach 16 is there fitness training. Before that age we mainly play soccer. Everything is with the ball”. Jose Ramon Alexanco.

“It’s amazing to me that people put so much emphasis on trying to be tactical and worry about winning when it doesn’t matter when you’re 12 years old. We’re going to have big, strong, fast players. We’re Americans, we’re athletes. But if we never learn at an early age to be good on the ball, then it’s just useless”. Landon Donovan

“COACH, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET MORE PLAYING TIME?”

How coaches can answer the question “What do I need to do to get more playing-time?”“I want you to focus on controllable factors such

as the effort with which you put forth in closing down the opponents’ defenders. Your strength is your long-range shooting, but an area to improve would be the quality of your first touch. Here’s how to improve this aspect….”

No promises of playing-time are provided, however particularly at the recreational level, it is important that the coach considers effort and improvement when assessing players’ time on the field of play.

MOTIVATION & COMITTMENT

What youth athletes are saying:McElroy & Kirkendall surveyed youth athletes, and asked; “what’s the most important reason for playing sports?” to defeat your opponent or the other team (winning orientation—13.5% boys & 4% girls) to play as well as you can (personal performance—51% boys & 48.3% girls) - FLOWto play fairly, by the rules at all times (fair play—24.4% boys & 37.6% girls) everyone on the team should get to play (participation—11% boys & 9% girls)

Motivation: Advice for individual player meetingsGROW Acronym – Dr. Dan Gould, Michigan State UniversityTo understand the individuals’ motivations & have them make commitments (Dr. Dan Gould, Michigan State University):Goal questions: “What are your future goals, dreams and aspirations?”Reality questions: “What have you done previously to you achieve your goals?” and “where do you stand in terms of your current level of performance?” Also, “what are your strengths?”Option questions: “What do you need to do to improve?” or “What has worked for you in the past?”Will questions: “Given what we’ve discussed today what can I expect to see from you in the future?” Or “what will you work on in the coming weeks?”

TEACHING MOTOR SKILLS & LEARNING

Teaching motor skills & learning: Applying Fitts & Posner modelAt the Cognitive Stage the learner is devoting a

great deal to thinking about movement. COACH: “Can you do this” (Also: Coaching Interference, Demonstrate, Repetition, Reinforce correct technique)

Associative Stage: Provide opportunities for the athlete to assess their own performance. For example??? Introduce Guided Discovery e.g.: “How could you….”, “Is there another way to…”, “What happens if you…”

Autonomous Stage: Concentrate on how & when to apply the skill, for example??? & increase strategic instruction, for example???

Features of effective coachingPractices that focus on the end-product

rather than processes have detrimental effects on learning and motivation (Piaget, 1962; Wiersma, 2000).

How do you enable children to become self-reliant and not dependent on coaches’ to feel good about themselves?

John Wooden commented; “A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment”.

Reflect on your coaching sessionWere your drills/activities appropriate for the

ability of the players? Did your coaching affect the players? If so how?Did you use guided discovery by asking thought

provoking questions of your players?Did you ‘Show it’ rather than ‘Talk it’? (A picture

paints a thousand words)Were you pleased with how the players responded

to your feedback? If no, how might you address this next time?

How might you improve the training session?What will you focus on next time?

Player safety considerationsHeading the ball poses 2 challenges to young players.

Firstly, does the child possess adequate neck strength? Secondly, are the motor nerves in the neck developed sufficiently to make repetitive heading safe? Research in this field is equivocal, however it’s safe to assume that heading for 9 year olds and younger places the participant at considerable risk, and thus inadvisable.

Allow for 'hydration' breaks approximately every 30 minutes (more often ~15-20min when it’s hot and/or your athletes are 12 years and younger). For young athletes (aged 12 and younger) water is almost always adequate.

PREPARATION FOR THE USSF “E” LICENSE

Motor Learning, Skill Acquisition & USSF LicensingAn example of Blocked practice is a player passes the

ball 30 times along the ground against a wall from 5 yards, then 10 yards, then 15 yards etc.

For beginners it appears that blocked practices have value in terms of skill acquisition (but motivational?) (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2004).

Variable practice involves changing the aspects of one particular skill, for example striking a driven pass when the ball and target are moving. Studies reveal it leads to enhanced transfer to new tasks (Utley & Astill, 2008).

If the athlete is sufficiently competent, research reveals that the most beneficial learning environment is small-sided games which provide a combination of random and variable conditions.

Example of a practice coaching plan (and preparation for E license)What are the Coaching Points you want to

focus on? Common mistake is???Warm-up should link with the objectives to

comeMain activity: Concentrates more specifically

on objectivesGradually increase pressure by???Always end with a game or modified game

that’s very similar to an actual game

Example from USSF E License CurriculumStage 1: Technical warm-up (preparation for activity ahead, allows max repetitions) Stage 2: Small-sided activity (individual & small group tactics)Stage 3: Expand small-sided activity (Direction of play crucial & add PRINCIPLES OF PLAY)Stage 4: The game (no conditions, use a formation, offside & laws of game)

Required components per stage: *Introduce some level of opposition by Stage 2*Introduce a specific attacking and defending direction by Stage 3*Introduce the un-restricted game environment by Stage IV (including goals + GK)

The Principles of Play – Allen Wade (underlined should be covered on the field)

ATTACK DEFENCE

Penetration: Is there a forward pass?Delay: Should the defender apply pressure or drop-off?

Support (to retain possession) Depth (defensive support)

Width Concentration (Compaction) Mobility (speed of play, movement, Balance (position of defenders inter-changing of positions other than 1st & 2nd) Improvisation/Creativity Discipline/Patience (the higher the level of play, the more

patience required)

Technical Development & 10,000 hours Researchers have illustrated the need to devote 10, 000 hours to

achieve skill mastery, for example… K. A. Ericsson "Making of an Expert". The Harvard Business Review. G. Covin's “Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class

Performers from Everybody Else?” Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice by Matthew

Syed D. Coyle's “The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's

How” The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance

(Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology) Berkeley Professor Franklin M. Henry posits the human body adapts

specifically to imposed demands. SAID Principle: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands.

COPING WITH THE STRESS OF COACHING & COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

Coping with the Stress of Coaching & Communication Strategies.

Educate players and parents before the season (e.g. what’s your philosophy, code of conduct & players owning their performance – show parents Dr. Goldberg PT video)

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” Epictetus quotes (Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics, AD 55-c.135)

“The strongest of all warriors are these two -- Time and Patience.” Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace.

Practice empathy: “I see”, “I understand”, smile, & look person in the eye.

Preparation reduces stress“Another way to be prepared is to think negatively. Yes, I'm a great optimist, but, when trying to make a decision, I often think of the worst case scenario. I call it 'the eaten by wolves factor.' If I do something, what's the most terrible thing that could happen? Would I be eaten by wolves? One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist, is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose. There are a lot of things I don't worry about, because I have a plan in place if they do.” Randy Pausch, (2008) The Last Lecture.