In sport, we are all taught from an early age to chase winning and to avoid losing at all costs. Over time an association is established between winning and pleasure, and losing and pain. This association develops slowly and so, as a result of both perceived and real experiences, it becomes deeply entrenched. But the effect that this particular measure of success has on our attention in competitive situations, and its consequent impact on the likelihood of achieving success, is worth examining.
Winning generates a great feeling; it provides satisfaction and feedback that we have accomplished something, and it deserves to be celebrated. It can validate the hard work and long hours that athletes and coaches dedicate to practice and preparation. The desire to win is accentuated through ever-changing internal and external influences like rewards, praise, and satisfaction. What commonly exists in parallel, however, is an ingrained fear of losing due to equally significant influences like criticism from coaches and / or parents, negative attention, and a sense humiliation. Whether one is motivated to win or, alternatively, driven by the fear of losing, the point is that either outcome is essentially out of our control. Athletes, coaches, and support staff can do everything in their power to prepare for competition; however, the nature of sport provides too many uncontrollable elements like referees, weather, opposition, field conditions or equipment as examples, that can influence the outcome, for the dominant focus to be on that end state. If athletes develop the ability to maintain focus on controllable aspects of performance, they will most likely perform as desired and in most cases are required, as their focus is directed on the process and not the result along with all the perceived outcomes of winning vs losing. Focusing on performance will also result in athletes experiencing an enhanced ability to withstand inevitable distractions when they do occur. Performance, in any discipline, requires engagement. When we shift attention from the task at hand to something that may, or may not, happen in the future like winning/losing and their potential repercussions, we undermine our ability to perform in the moment. This is when we typically experience momentary lapses in performance due to poor decision making, hindered motor control, or lack of concentration. When our attention shifts to outcome, we also are likely to experience heightened hindering anxiety or, potentially, complacency, both typically having adverse effects on our ability to perform. The ability of an athlete to put the outcome aside and be fully engaged in performance will be a key determinant of success. This is not discrediting winning, or a striving to win; however, it is important to recognize that maintaining focus on performance in the moment or thoughts drifting to winning/losing, are two different things, and involve different motivations. Coaches strive to facilitate athletes’ mindsets that are conducive to optimal performance, which is commonly referred to as "the zone." The most common approach to this is through "psyching" or "pumping " the athletes up, rationalized by the coach’s desire for the athletes to understand the importance of the competition and, therefore, be highly motivated to perform ( or in many coaches speak, WIN). Now, one could argue that only coaches whose teams or athletes don't win often would talk about how winning isn't everything or that the process is more important focusing on the win. I have been accused of that often. Anyone with internet access is free to look at my win-loss record and draw the conclusions they wish. From afar, from the outside, it is easy to assume that when a team isn't winning, it means the coach isn't good, or doing a good job, or that he or she isn't able to motivate the players. Opinions are look a certain body part, everyone has one. However, if you look at the truly successful coaches, those who have had results over time with different teams and athletes, I am sure that you will find those coaches are the type who focus on the process. It is important that key figures in an athlete’s or team's inner circle help to facilitate a mindset that will enable them to perform towards success. There are many articles , book and online resources that talk about this and I will add my personal opinion on the matter. It is important to develop a constructive definition of success. Sport allows for only one winner, which makes important the ability to self-reference success and identify quality performances, as well as areas requiring improvement. There are many instances where we are confronted by opponents who are more skilled than we are. If we perform as well as we can and come up short, is this actually failure? Further, is success accomplished by performing poorly yet still beating a team that we were expected to? The reality of sport is that in every league, there is only one winner or champion at the end. Does this mean that every other team and every other athlete on these teams is be default a loser? I think that success in sport can also be about the peace of mind or sense of accomplishment that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did everything within your control to become the best possible version of yourself as an athlete. Buying into this mindset can provide one with a sense of personal control over success and, therefore, a greater sense of autonomy. When athletes, or by extension, teams feel in control, they are more likely to exhibit greater focus and motivation, and diminished hindering anxiety. As a result of a more relaxed, but ready, state of mind, performance will likely be enhanced and, therefore, outcome success is made that much more likely. Competitive sport at pretty much every level comes with a certain level of stress, whether created by internal or external factors. Highly successful athletes have the ability to maintain focus under stress. When an athlete is able to maintain attention on controllable elements, it will likely lead to greater performance. This is due to focus being directed at what needs to be accomplished in order to be successful. This is the paradox of shifting attention away from winning, in order to increase the likelihood of achieving outcome success. It is important that support personnel (coaches, administrator, parents, university recruiters), do not contribute to distractions that inevitably confront the athlete during performance. Identifying process goals to focus on for performance that will contribute to outcome is a commonly used strategy to assist with maintaining focus on the performance. It likely contributes to enhanced performance as focus is directed at the task at hand, but also minimizes the risk of becoming overly anxious or distracted by external elements. One of the foundations of my coaching philosophy is " Focus on the process not the results" . It is something I believe in completely. Therefore, by extension, I consider it crucial to reinforce performance and not outcome. What does this mean concretely ? It is important to think about the language and behaviors coaches and support staff use and reinforce around athletes, as it has a significant influence on how athletes define success and failure, as well as the degree of pressure they experience. A first question following competition focusing on whether the athlete/team won, rather than how they performed, is conducive to athletes developing self-doubt or complacency. Feedback regarding the performance highlights the process as the important element, independent of winning or losing. What coaches typically reinforce during training and after games will influence the mindset of the athletes. Now, let me be very clear, as a person, during my playing days and throughout my coaching career, I hated losing. I thrived ( in some ways I still do) on success. So when I am talking focusing on the process and not the result, I am in no way trying to devalue the importance of winning but rather trying to give athletes the confidence and skill set to take ownership and accountability over their sports success. When it works, it leads to heightened levels of autonomy, confidence, and relaxation, while at the same time increasing the possibilities for success. Such a mindset subsequently allows athletes to perform free of constricting thoughts, thus making success (however defined) that much more likely. As much as a coach should never make winning the ultimate and in some cases only measure, a coach should never send a message that appears to indicate that losing or more importantly no performing up to potential is acceptable. For the majority of us in coaching, I think it is important to create an environment that makes our athletes be accountable for their own success both individually and in the case of team sports, as part of a bigger entity. As Bill Belichick would say " Do your job". A good coach knows who to give the athlete the ability to understand their role and take accountability to do everything within their control to do it at their best. Once the whistle blows and the game starts, hopefully more often than not, the desired outcome will occur.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|