The Big Break

I’ve sat court-side for much tennis racket abuse. Rackets smashed, stepped on, bitten, and thrown clear from the courts (in my mis-spent tennis youth I may have even participated once or twice). On the golf course I have witnessed a three-wood broken in two and then thrown into a nearby lake. In the squash box I’ve done my best to avoid flying graphite as a racket met its untimely demise upon the wall again and again and again (@thinksport may have been involved..). On the ice I’ve been moderately amused by the poor wisdom of slashing and high sticking the goal’s crossbar. I have worked with a ball player who’s bat had an affinity for meeting water jugs on a regular basis.

Baghdatis put on a formidable display of racket abuse to the amusement of Chris Fowler and onlooking Australian Open fans. I can hardly believe I’m commenting on such nonsense, but ESPN’s Aussie Open notes titled Players Rationalize Racket Rampages have me opening my big blog-mouth.  Sure it is somewhat cathartic, but is smashing a tennis racket really a bright idea for a player (bank account implications aside)?  I guess I have a few quick thoughts for consideration on the matter:

1. Does breaking a tennis racket improve you game? For every ten times you smash a tennis racket, how many times does it improve your play? If your answer is north of 50% of the time, perhaps it’s a bright idea. Honest reflection likely leaves you with odds of improved play not being one’s you would take to a casino.

2. Does misshaping your racket help your focus? When you step in to return the next serve is your focus filled with the yellow ball that is about to be fired at you or is it filled with thoughts like, “Wow, I’m a real $@#*&!%.”?

3. Along these same lines, do you feel good about yourself after a few good cracks of graphite? Are you sacrificing short term release for later shame (cue Slapshot: “All bad. You do that, you go to the box, you know. Two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know.”)

Djokovic: “I’m not doing it as often, which is good for my coach, good news. But when I have a smash of the racket, smack of the racket, I usually feel relieved afterwards. I feel that the pressure is out. But a bit embarrassed, as well. So I try to hold my composure.”

4. It’s not easy to show racket wrecking restraint. Yet, each time you show restraint, it will be easier to maintain composure and focus during play in the future. A bit more restraint… see 1-3… yields better feelings, better focus, higher performance.

Jo-Willie’s dad has it right, “”My father told me all the time, if you broke the racket, I broke you. So I go easy with the racket.” Breaking a racket breaks you. The ESPN article had a lousy title. Read the player’s quotes closely there is little to suggest it is a bright idea. Athletic anger mismanagement is a momentary feel good release, good for the fans, good for ridiculing friends… lousy for good play and high performance. Take #4 as a challenge… energy and focus towards playing the game is a bright idea.

Is “Shirts and Skins” Outdated?

As my eight year old daughter and I walked into the gym the other night for her basketball practice, we were both confronted with a first.

My daughter had never seen a group of boys playing full-court basketball, with one team not wearing any shirts.  I had not seen a group of young boys playing “shirts on skins” in some time, myself, and it was the first time since the Sandusky and Fine sex abuse scandals.

We both were hesitant to walk in the gym.  Naturally, my daughter was embarrassed to see a bunch of 4^th and 5^th grade boys running around in nothing but their shorts and shoes.

Seeing the kids instantly brought back uncomfortable memories for me, too, as I always hated being a skin. While very athletic, I did not like my skinny pre adolescent body and I did not like taking off my shirt to play sports.

As my daughter and I peered through the little windows of the gym door, debating if we should or should not walk in, I noticed that many of these kids looked just like me.

Uncomfortable.

Stuck in the small gym lobby, I started thinking to myself, is playing “shirts and skins” appropriate anymore?

In light of the events over the past few months, I wondered if such a commonplace norm in men’s sports, especially in unstructured sport, was appropriate for youth and adolescent participants in 2012.

As a kid of the Cold War era, shirts and skins was a standard practice.  There was no choice, you were either a shirt or a skin, no questions asked.  In 2012, I am not so sure this is appropriate anymore in structured youth sport environments.

I am torn because, on one level, I hated being a skin and I know that there are generations of boys who would agree with me.  There is another side of me, the traditionalist, who says this is simply one aspect of sport that used to be commonplace and should continue as a right of passage from adolescents to manhood, something that is handed down from one generation to the next.

I know there are those out there saying “If you don’t have the confidence to play without your shirt, then you don’t have the ability to play out there anyway.”  This may be correct, yet the point of youth sport is not about how good you are, it is about participation, inclusion and providing an environment for kids to feel comfortable enough to learn about and engage in their sport.

At a societal level, I do not see a place for shirts and skins anymore with boys under the age of eighteen in structured and organized sporting events.   Don’t get me wrong.  I have nothing against getting a tan and staying cool while playing if you are outside, in hot and sunny weather.  I am not trying to advocate taking any fun out of a game of basketball.

Yet, I do have a difficult time accepting that it is ok for young boys to be running around, barely clothed, in structured and organized practices.

The Sandusky and Fine molestation cases force us to question and rethink any “old school” practices that place kids in vulnerable and uncomfortable circumstances.  I now find myself in daily quandaries, as I am now questioning many long standing traditions in sport.

Many of these traditions were innocently born in the unstructured environments of the playgrounds of the past, yet now it is our obligation to consider consequences and be vigilant about outdated practices that have now become questionable and debatable.

We can no longer assume innocence and claim ignorance when it comes to the motives of adults who coach, teach and mentor our youth.

If we do continue with this blind trust, one day we will read a story about a youth basketball coach, accused of molesting children, who loved to divide their team into shirts and skins.

The Top 20th Percentile on January 15th

It’s January 15th. According to research, approxiomately 80 percent of the population who set a New Year’s Resolution has already admitted defeat. Self improvement is difficult and takes considerable discipline. These 3 keys can assist in attaining a new personal standard, regardless of the time of year or habit to be refined.

1. Choose the Right Challenge

Is the change truly worth the struggle about to be faced? If the change is worth it – where is the bar set for “successful” achievement? We know that a challenge set too low will become stale and boring. We also know that a challenge set too high will lead to frustration and quitting. Be thoughtful.

2. Work the Process

What are the daily actions required to reach the challenge? There are many aspects of life that are outside of one’s control. Working the process means that the individual acts upon a small, daily action that is fully under their own control. Small, daily action becomes significant, monthly action in 30 days.

3. Evaluate (#1 & #2)…and Revise if necessary

On a daily, weekly, and monthly basis - evaluate… (#1) whether the change is still important enough to struggle through & is the bar set at the appropriate level; and (#2) are the controllable, daily process goals being fulfilled to the appropriate level? If yes, continue to embrace the struggle to success. If no, choose whether a revision is more worthwhile than total defeat.

We all have the best intention for self improvement. It’s just a much more complicated process than we care to admit. For more insight on this topic please follow this link to a previous entry on our blog by Dr. Doug Gardner http://prosportpsychsym.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/april-fools-on-new-year%e2%80%99s-day/

 

 

 

How’s The House Tonight?

How’s the house tonight?

After I had wandered through club entrance, past the bar, across the dance floor, around the stage, through labyrinthine hallways, and into the dressing room, one of the first words out of Rob’s mouth were, “How’s the house tonight?”  He knew my journey had taken me past whatever freaks, geeks, fans, and college-kids that had show up for the show.  Rob Fried was a gifted percussionist, filled with creativity, love, and passion for tying songs together by whatever musical means possible.  After he had completed his sound check and his pre-show warm-up, he would sit backstage amongst the sundry and silly of the rock and roll lifestyle sipping a bottle water anticipating the show.

How’s the house tonight?

In performance psychology one is so often encouraged to focus on themselves and let that which surrounds them fall as it may (i.e. decent advise when tryouts are on or scouts are in the stands).  A focus on the audience at a concert seems to contradict such a tenet.  Yet, perhaps the tenet is a bit wrong or at very least short-sighted.  In her book The Shelter of Each Other,  Mary Pipher alludes to the potentially misguided wisdom of focusing on one’s self during the therapy process… when considered, it’s a bit narcissistic.  High performance psychology leads to narcissism… that seems a bit depressing.

How’s the house tonight?

Concern and care about “the house” may highlight a core aspect to motivation at its deepest levels.  Self-determination theory is widely accepted as a good guide to understanding motivation for high achievement and a fulfilling life.  A quick look at the theory leads one to notice that intrinsic motivation is the preferred form of motivation.  The novice eye stops there… “Be internally motivated if you want to perform well.”  It seems straight forward enough, but motivation, like much in life, is more nuanced than that.  Dig a bit deeper into the theory and notice the concept of “relatedness.”  The feeling of a deep, genuine connection to others – feeling part of something greater than one’s self alone.  This is an incredibly valuable motivator and supporter during the challenges and opportunities that arise during the journey of life.

How’s the house tonight?

I never got the slightest sense that Rob asked this question from any place of ego.  It was not out of a need to have a full room  to play to or a “hey look at me” desire.  It was a question that came from a thirst for connectedness and community.  A passion to share the joy he felt with every cymbal clash and drum beat.  Truly a great performer because he stepped on the stage to share.  Not to beat, but to share the energy of performance and play.

Outside the Box High Performance Reads

It’s Christmas time and books are always a great gift. I’ve commented on books that I felt were good reads for anyone trying to learn more about high performance (see 5ish Good Reads and No Secrets, No Shortcuts), but this time around I want to get a bit outside of clear cut sports or clear cut psychology books. The following three books were terrific and explored high performance experiences in some interesting ways:

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson (2005)

The story of deep sea scuba divers discovering a German U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey. In the life or death sport of wreck diving, it’s made clear how thirst for adventure, a quest to be the first to discoveries, and the thoughtfulness of preparation come together.  Diver John Chatterton’s “indisputable truth” list on page 81 can translate well to most endeavors. It begins with, “If an undertaking was easy, someone else already would have done it.” Get the book, read the rest, and read it all.

The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman (2001)

From the smothering pressure of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) master chef exam to Michael Symon’s creative kitchen of Lola (Cleveland) to Thoms Keller’s care, treatment, and precision that elevates dining to heavenly levels, this book paints clear pictures of high performance. The CIA is all about performance under pressure. Symon typifies creative excellence. Keller’s kitchen combine the two. Throughout the pages one gets a sense of the athleticism of culinary pursuits.

West of Jesus by Steven Kotler (2006)

“Surfing, science, and the origins of belief,” a sub-title that really says it all. Written with a voice that is witty, self-aggrandizing, and insightful, the pages fly by. This is well beyond a, “Dude, surfing is a spiritual experience,” book. Kotler artfully blends neuroscience and a world wide pursuit of a theological understanding of flow. Whether it is the brooding about “the weatherman” or thoughts on the brain science of dropping in on a big wave, it’s worth a read.

Enjoy them all. Give them as a gift… or get them for yourself. Happy holidays.

 

Time and Space = Victory

Offensive players that have time to set up and space in which to execute get points.  Defenders who force attackers to speed up their play and give them little space within which to play prevent points.  This is true in many, many sports – basketball, rugby, hockey, soccer, football, to name a few.

Time allow players to settle themselves and find optimal targets.

Space gives players a sense of comfort and freedom, and allows full energy to be committed to the task at hand.

These are basic principles that when understood and execute reap huge benefits in the win and loss column.  Time and space allows players to be their best.  Perhaps an iteration of these principles should be adopted for the development of mental toughness.

Between practices, games, injury management, meetings, social commitments, and all of the business of life (student-athlete class demands and professional athlete professional obligations) there is not much place for time and space in athletes’ lives.  Hustle and bustle are staples of the competitive and deadline-laddened lives many of us lead.  Hustle and bustle often robs us of time and space and there are costs as pointed out in a recent Boston.com Child in Mind health and wellness blog – When Time and Space Is Treatment (take a moment to read over the article and substitute in “athlete” for parent, “coach” for doctor, and “performance” for child).  There’s nothing wrong with hustle and bustle, but time and space needs to be created regularly if most positive outcomes are to occur.  This sounds a lot like sports – a lot of hustle and bustle, but when time and space found great things happen.

sports – a lot of hustle and bustle, but when time and space found great things happen

During the course of a season is time and space deliberately set aside for athletes or does hustle and bustle reign supreme?  If any player is to max out his mental game, time and space needs to be found in the midst of travel, taping, playing, and all the rest.  It is the difference between going through to motions and making the motions competitive.  So often mental training is thought of as executing a mental skill or doing some mental exercises… perhaps a bit, but in truth about applying the simple principles of time and space to practice habits.

Gratitude…it’s the Holidays, after all

Now, in the wake of Thanksgiving, may be an appropriate time to acknowledge the parallels between the holiday and athletics.  The New York Times recently published an article offering some practical advice for cultivating an “attitude of gratitude”.  Research outside the sporting arena has linked gratitude to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others.  Some suggestions were dispensed for enhancing one’s gratitudinal strength:

 

• Keep a journal listing five things for which you feel grateful, like a friend’s generosity, something you have learned, a sunset you have enjoyed.  Research has demonstrated that people who do this once a week for two months will report more optimism and happiness, fewer physical problems, and more time working out.
• Try it on your family.  Do one small thoughtful or generous thing for a member of your family, perhaps once a week to start.
• Write a short letter to someone who changed your life for the better. Be specific about what the person did and how it affected you. Deliver it in person. 

 

The tradeoff seems rather advantageous: make a list, do a generous deed, write a letter, and better health & heightened quality of life await.  Granted, completing these tasks won’t guarantee a better life, but living your life purposefully – with a bit more gratitude – is sure to make at least a bit of difference.

 

There’s wonderful applicability to athletics.  Research within sport has identified a relationship between gratitude amongst adolescent athletes and increased team satisfaction, less athlete burnout, and greater overall well-being. 

 

But, being grateful for what, exactly?  The trees?  The dirt?  Making the team?

 

Gratitude, for the purpose of this discussion, can be defined as “an estimate of gain coupled with the judgment that someone else is responsible for that gain”.  Estimating and appreciating gain (performing well; being promoted from bench player to starter; recognizing physical improvements in the gym) and identifying that other people were involved in making it happen, then, appear like important steps towards feeling grateful.

 

Here’s a splendid example: the former Olympian Carl Lewis reports in his autobiography that feeling grateful to his competitors became part of his competition routine.  Without opponents, Lewis could not have been personally challenged to the extent that he was with opponents.  He could not have experienced victory without opponents.  There would be no Gold without opponents.  Lewis chose to embrace the presence of his competitors as required figures in his quest for performance excellence. This attitudinal shift seemed to serve him well.

 

I suggest you live your sporting life purposefully, with a bit more gratitude, and you will become more embracing of each competitive experience, too.

Performance Cycle: The Key to Continuous Improvement

Athlete development is a long-term process. Although many gadgets, instruments, and training aids are sold as the ultimate “must-have” item, unfortunately there are no shortcuts or magic pills that allow an individual to reach their ultimate potential without time, energy, and introspection. It should be understood that the only way for an athlete to get where they want to be is through preparation, experience, and continuous learning through evaluation. I utilize the following model to ensure each one of my students gets the most from themselves and their training on a daily basis. This model assists athletes in their journey to reach their potential on and off the field by creating a mindset of continuous improvement.

 

The prepare stage of the performance cycle is the longest in duration for all athletes. These are the days, weeks, or months set aside for training between competitions. This time is used to develop the technical, tactical, physical, and mental skills required to compete at a high level. This stage of the performance cycle typically starts with a high percentage of instruction in order for the athlete to learn new skills and improve technique. As the cycle continues, the athlete engages in quality repetition of movement to create the feel and trust required to compete without excess technical thought as competition nears.

The compete stage is the time to execute and showcase the skills that were developed and improved during the prepare stage. This is not the ideal time to try something new or uncomfortable that has not been practiced. Competition is naturally a time of higher stress, so an athlete’s mind and body will automatically revert to doing what it currently knows best. This will allow the individual to see where their game actually stands. The compete stage is the opportunity for an athlete to measure their current potential and show how well they can manage the physical, tactical, and mental  aspects of performance in a public forum.

The evaluate & active rest stage of the performance cycle is often skimmed over or eliminated altogether because it may not show any immediate results. However, if the athlete does not have an opportunity to assess themself and take time for other off-the-field needs, long-term development suffers. Success in life is a continuous process of evaluating, learning, and developing; which takes a significant amount of time and energy. Without proper evaluation and rest, athletes typically lose perspective on their sport and life as a whole, which results in burnout and shorter, less fulfilling athletic careers. Once the evaluation is complete, it’s time to create the next training plan to increase overall potential by preparing once again.

This model is clearly the opposite of a “must-have” item or magic pill. It is a training plan that exhibits the time, energy, and evaluation required to excel in sport and life. After going through this cycle a few hundred times, elite performance and skill mastery might begin to show itself.

Getting Better Making You Worse?

Working hard to develop one’s self as an athlete is a noble ideal. Just recently, Dwayne Wade said that he took part in rigorous tests at the Gatorade Sport Science Labs in order to find any edge possible. Athletes are encouraged to lead monk-like lives and are lauded for tremendous off-season commitments. Again, all noble efforts, but one must ask when is enough enough? Perhaps more importantly when is self-improvement making you worse?

Tireless efforts and never being satisfied with one’s current level of performance can actually be performance inhibitors. An off season of extra practice and added discipline in the gym can create heavy expectations if an athlete is not careful. Great efforts prior to a contest can too often leave the athlete “hoping” that investments will reap great dividends… rather than “trusting” that the game will unfold as it should and they are ready. Furthermore, the athlete that is truly never satisfied with his performance level has a difficult time settling in and playing the game at hand. In order to truly compete freely one needs to accept herself and what she has to give that day on the playing field (dig through M. Scott Peck’s Golf and the Spirit for a rich explanation of this concept).

Tireless efforts and never being satisfied with one’s current level of performance can actually be performance inhibitors.

Alina Tugend published a nice piece in the New York Times recently, Pursuing Self-Improvement at the Risk of Self-Acceptance. It is worth a read. It provides a nice lens on the negative consequences of a cult-like approach to self-improvement. Happiness and high-performance is not found in perfection, but rather in acceptance.

It is so easy to trip and tumble over one’s self once you try to improve. Overtraining runs rampant… so often that is simply self-improvement run amok. Pressure to perform can be smothering… after dedicated practice, great outcomes seem required rather than something healthy to strive towards.  Confidence too often is fleeting… if constantly under critical scrutiny it is difficult for self-belief to get a true foothold.

Most days an athlete would benefit from putting forth a solid effort and accept himself as a good athlete. This certainly does not suggest that one is not trying to get better, it simply means that he is not obsessing on it. As a mentor, coach, and friend of mine Paul Assaiante says, “Perfect is the enemy of good… and good is good.” I trust him… he’s won a lot of national championships… 13 and counting.

Technological Failure: Considering Sport and Exercise

Play… sport will be more important than ever in the 21st century because of technological innovations. This is the essence of a premise that Drew Hyland, professor of philosophy at Trinity College, shared with his Philosophy of Sport class in the mid-nineties. He was working off the premise that great technological innovations will make us more efficient and create luxuries of free time that we could commit to play. He was right in that play is more important than ever in this century. However I do not believe its importance is not due to technology, bit rather in spite of technology.

Technology has and continues to change our lives each day. The ability to swap messages across time zones instantly, to do more work faster, and to analyze information in a matter of seconds is a matter of fact rather than science fiction. Keyboards are working their ways towards obsolescence, the internet is accessible anytime and anyplace, and walking a city sidewalk without eyes locked on a mini, personal computer screen is a thing of the past. Innovative technology has had grand impacts on our lives since the above ideas were shared in the liberal arts classroom in Hartford, Connecticut. Technology however has not expanded our time and opportunities for play.

Technology has expanded our need for play… physical activity… sport.

Like an animal in Skinner’s box unable to resist the potential treats, many humans cannot escape the blinking red announcement light on their Blackberry. After “work hours,” during weekends, while on holiday, in the midst of baptisms, weddings, and funerals the glow of the IPhone display lures like a siren.

Yes, these are valuable tools for personal communication and hold many recreational apps, but they still lack the insight to turn off when their proud owners need to turn off. Facebook inundates the workplace while our workplace inundates our weekends. The machines, our stress reducers have too often become our stress inducers. No longer can today’s problem be healthily avoided. No more can the international news of the day be lost when vacationing.

This is where play has become more important than ever. Yes, if active enough (i.e. too sweaty for an earpiece and too action oriented for reading 4 pt font and typing with thumbs) it is a sure escape from e-mails, texts, and all the rest. More so perhaps it combats some unfortunate technological creations… stress and lack of connectedness at an in the flesh human level. As simply stated by psychology of exercise expert Michael Otto, “Exercise works for your mood.” Play takes us off the ongoing roller coaster of good e-mails, bad e-mails, and junk e-mails. Furthermore any team sport (or individual sport team (i.e. running and cycling)) provides opportunities for genuine connectedness – relationships built out of fun, struggle, support, and mutual sharing.

The idea of technology giving us time for play is a wonderful one. There is no doubt it has made us more efficient. Yet rather than rest, we do more because we can do more. Perhaps play gets lost in the shuffle. Because of technology, play is more important than ever… find it and embrace it.