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The Power of Positive Motivation
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Almost every team will lose a number of games this season due to critical mental errors that are committed in those dying seconds with the game on the line. The difference between the team that just drops a couple of these games vs. the team that drops half a dozen of these games (or perhaps worse) is the mental toughness each of our athletes routinely exhibit in these key moments. Mental toughness is much more than mere commitment, maximum intensity, and ‘pushing through fatigue,’ which should be a baseline ‘given’ for any elite team. True mental toughness relates to the level of poise, focus and confidence each athlete routinely exhibits in those key moments that decide the outcome of a game. Athletes can develop mental toughness in clutch situations with disciplined mental skills routines involving key inner voice words, images and attitudes that become automatic and second nature in key situations. This article will discuss how coaches and coaching styles can develop and influence the mental toughness of their athletes through positive motivation.
One of the biggest barriers to establishing consistent mental toughness in big games and key situations is the unfortunate notion that athletes are best trained to be tough by first developing a level of fear in their coach that is greater than any fear they will have of an opponent. While on the surface this remains fairly logical, below the surface, the adage that ‘if they fear you in your presence, they will hate you in your absence’ remains so very true. Athletes do not work as hard for a coach they fear, nor do they emotionally buy into the success of a program for a coach they do not like. Yet, many coaches who use fear and emotional abuse as their primary teaching tools and motivational weapons will have a hard time admitting that this really is their coaching style. Many of these coaches will proudly profess that their goal is ‘respect’ not fear, and that they are a ‘respect driven’ coach, not a ‘fear driven’ coach. ‘After all,’ those coaches may say, ‘I ask my players’ opinions on things, I occasionally invite them over to the house, and these kids play really hard for me’ Yet, this coach may also use forms of emotional manipulation, public embarrassment, and other forms of emotional abuse intertwined with moments of great coaching, teaching and mentoring. This last coaching style arguably describes a few coaches on the men’s and women’s side of sports who have been very successful. However, there is a danger in considering that a great winning streak is the positive result of every facet and habit of a coach. Let me explain. When the Olympic 100 meter dash male and female gold medalists step off the podium after receiving their medals, folks want to immediately know about their nutrition plan, their training techniques for explosion out of the blocks, their running form in the acceleration phase and how their strength and flexibility training regime was structured. The prevailing thought is that each of these areas of athletic excellence must have contributed to the success of that athlete. I am fortunate enough to work with two Olympic programs, and while most of the athletes involved in these programs pursue excellence in almost every facet of their training program, occasionally, one or two facets are far from excellent. I personally know of one gold medalist in Beijing who stood on top of that podium following a pre-Olympic steady stream of burger and fries fast food nutrition for the 12 months leading up to the games! Some athletes win because they are just so gifted in other areas of athletic excellence. In a similar manner, some coaches win because they can flat out coach individual skills as well as anyone in the country, because they can break down game strategy like a chess master, because they (and/or their assistant coaches) have incredible recruiting networks and ability, and their programs have incredible tradition and star power. Please forgive my directness, but great teaching and great leadership is not necessarily the same thing. Athletes in the 21st century need to be taught and motivated in different ways than athletes 30 years ago. No secrets here. Yet, we are currently reading USA Today articles and watching ESPN news bites on coaches who have not been able to adjust to this fact. Following issues of emotional and/or physical abuse, some coaches have just been asked by their institutions to quietly resign. Those are the fortunate coaches. At worst, it is a public firing and pending lawsuit from the athletes that has hit every news wire. Emotional and physical abuse of athletes was not right 30 years ago and it is not right today. The difference in the 21st century is that these overly negative and emotionally abusive leadership styles and motivational techniques are no longer permissible.
To come full circle in this discussion… is this topic on positive vs. negative motivation just about ethics, integrity, and doing what is right by the athlete? Absolutely not. It is also about mental toughness and winning. Research demonstrates that motivational techniques that elicit positive emotions (such as joy, enthusiasm, humor, positive engagement etc) vs. negative emotions (such as fear, anxiety, embarrassment etc) translate to better game time poise, decision making and confidence, especially in the clutch. As an example, a 2008 empirically based study at a major Division 1 university examined whether positive vs. negative emotions elicited in college athletes resulted in a greater single repetition maximum jump. And in a separate experiment at the same university, whether positive vs. negative emotions elicited in college athletes resulted in greater free throw accuracy. The results were fascinating. The evidence showed that gross motor skill patterns (such as a 1 rep max effort in the broad jump or high jump) were equally powerful and effective for heightened negative emotions as they were for heightened positive emotions. However, for fine motor skill coordination and motor patterns, much greater free throw accuracy was obtained from the athletes who experienced heightened positive emotions vs. heightened negative emotions (as compared to each of the athlete’s pre-test baseline scores).
It is important to note that I am not advocating being ‘soft’ on athletes. Far from it. The real world beyond high school and college is tough, competitive and sometimes very unfair. Athletes need to be accountable for their mistakes, they need to be accountable for less than optimal intensity, and they must be accountable for poor execution. However, the great coaches are able to make corrections, get their points across and see results while still preserving the self-esteem and emotional health of their athletes. The truly great coaches of any era who understand this concept would be at least moderately successful to very successful in other eras too. It is not hard to imagine the success that Mr. John Wooden would also have in the 21st century were his prime coaching years given to this generation of athletes. |
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