January Newsletter
We are all too familiar with the vision of watching an athlete spin out and crash under the pressure of competition. They might start out confident as they find their footing, then a challenge arises and they crack. More mistakes follow with a visible downfall in their attitude, effort, and body language. It is hard to watch and even harder to experience personally. But this doesn’t have to be the norm.
These types of negative snowballs occur because the athlete doesn’t feel capable to persevere through the challenge they are facing. Whether its because they feel they have to prove something to overcome the initial mistake leading them down the road of forcing things and stepping outside their preparation (never a good idea, we practice for a reason), or they feel defeated by the challenge and play it safe until they are out of the woods (also not a good idea, trying not to make a mistake usually is followed by a mistake).
The options athletes have after a mistake or a difficult situation are clear-Cope with it and recover or struggle through until its over. A lot of athletes will try to push their way though fighting until the last second, but too often that fight is misdirected by unproductive and ineffective coping mechanisms. Those usually look like rumination on the challenge or unregulated anger leading further down that rabbit hole of mistakes. However, if an athlete can use that same fight and grit but redirect it into coping mechanisms that are more fruitful, that cycle can be broken and they can overcome the challenge building their confidence and resilience in the process.
So, what are those coping mechanisms? They can look different based on each athlete but generally, the research shows (top athletes can attest to this), that resetting, cognitive restructuring, and adjusting focus prove to be the most supportive through difficult competitive circumstances.
Resetting can be as simple as taking a deep breath and pausing giving the athlete time to emotionally regulate and start from ground zero.
Cognitive restructuring looks like adjusting how the athlete is viewing the situation-ie. a bad call can be seen simply as information moving forward rather than a spark for anger.
Adjusting focus is making the switch from focusing on things outside of ones control (refs, past mistakes, etc) and refocusing on what is presently in the athletes control (their immediate next step)
There are more options to cope through challenging situations during competition but these three options lay a strong foundational base to build off of and avoid those negative snowballs in the future.
For specific research on the matter:
November Newsletter pt. 2
For a long time it was thought that progress could only be created through physical work, however, as more research has come out, we have realized that the brain is a very powerful tool to not only support physical performance on a cognitive level, but it can also create growth similar traditional to physical training.
Research has found that imagery is an incredibly powerful tool to not only support athletes mentally (build confidence, work through problems, develop focus, etc.) but it can also significantly increase physical performance capabilities. A recent study showed that athletes who partook in regular imagery saw a statistically significant increase technical physical abilities compared to their counter parts who did not utilize imagery.
These findings are a really big deal! This shows that not only athletes who are training hard already can increase their rate of growth even further, but athletes dealing with an injury can experience significant physical growth without physically practicing.
So, what is imagery? It is essentially the cognitive rehearsal of a physical task that includes as many of the senses as possible (sight, touch, movement, sound, smell, and even taste). These elements help imagery feel as real as possible to the brain and support physical growth. We basically are trying to trick our brains into thinking were actually doing the thing we are imagining.
Attached is the research article that shows the findings described above:
November Newsletter
Attached is a study in regards to the psychological stress and well-being of coaches. It’s not a surprise that the study found high levels of stress among the coaches involved in the study. It is a stressful job that requires a lot of the individual and there is no avoiding that. Frankly, some of that stress, including positive stress is why a lot of coaches chose to do what they do. The big games, challenges they get to work through, and juggling a lot of different things all at once are some of the draws to the job, but absolutely create stress. However, enough of the bad stress can impact not only physical health, but how well a coach can do their job. Heightened stress can impair critical thinking, reaction time. decision making abilities, how we interact with others, and so many other factors that contribute to performance.
The caveat to all this stress that comes with the rollercoaster that is the coaching industry, is to find a way to manage it productively. This study suggests monitoring stress levels, finding support through the stress, and finding productive interventions to manage that stress, all of which can be extremely beneficial.
Monitioring stress levels simply means to understand your baseline level of stress (where are you operating on a daily/lower stress level day) and acknowledging when that stress hits. This awareness is the first step in using that stress for good.
Support for stress can look like a lot of different things depending on the person. This can look like talking about stressful situations to people who can help you problem solve, Checking in with other members of your coaching staff, or even writing things down to go back to when you’re in similar situations in the future.
Managing stress is also a really personal experience that varies person to person but a few of the heavy hitters that work for a lot of people include stepping away from the situation for as long as allows (even 3 seconds is helpful), slowing down your thinking to support problem solving, and working on your perspective of challenges. All of which are tools and skills that can be grown and developed.
What ways do you manage stress and where are you lacking?
https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2024.2344847