Researchers Frost & Henderson (1991) studied the personality dimensions of perfection striving athletes and found 2 important dimensions. The 1st dimension is the athlete’s personality standards (his/her drive towards being perfect); while the 2nd is concern over mistakes (how much energy the athlete consumes worrying about making mistakes.

Let’s take a look at personal standards: if the athlete’s personal standard of performance is perfection – he/she has chosen a really tough benchmark. Anything less than perfect is going to be unacceptable and highly disappointing. This mindset is problematic, as the only outcome that will be acceptable is perfection. This does not leave much room for anything else! An athlete could have a mediocre performance and still win a competition. However, for the athlete who is perfectionistic, winning with a mediocre performance wouldn’t suffice. He/she would still be disappointed.

Concern over making a mistake (our 2nd dimension) relates to how much the athlete is focused on making mistakes. This is the exact opposite mindset we want our athletes to have. A perfectionistic athlete is spending much of his/her mental energy and focus worrying about making mistakes instead of what they control and how to execute his/her game plan. Think about this for a minute. If a golfer is standing on a tee box and about to take his/her tee shot over a small lake on a par 3 hole, the last thing he/she needs to be focused on is the ball going in the water. Yet, the golfer who is over concerned with mistakes will think “Don’t go in the water!” Even though they want the ball to land on the green – he/she focuses upon the mistake. Guess where the ball goes? IN THE WATER! This happens because his/her brain was on the water; and not upon what they really want to happen. A mistake focused athlete will make far more mistakes than one who is relaxed and focused on his/her strengths.

Let us take a look at an example situation. Jason has made it to junior nationals but is ranked 20th in his age group. He has extremely high personal standards and is focused on a perfect performance and winning nationals. He has worked hard, and has been in competitive gymnastics for 10 years. Jason is excited to be at national, however he finds himself focused upon what mistakes he might make and what could go wrong. His thinking is off focus (on mistakes) instead of what he does well, (clean execution of the elements, and feeling in control). So, going into the initial rounds he is striving for perfection, focused on mistakes, has a high level of body tension (not ready and relaxed) is worrying, and consuming a great deal of physical and mental energy. An athlete that cannot accept mistakes or problems has no mental/emotional flexibility, and thus cannot problem solve. This is a dangerous place to be, particularly in a big game or competition. It is dangerous because it leaves only 1 acceptable outcome; perfection!

Winning Edge likes our athletes to have high standards such as growing new skills, improving play, increasing confidence, having the ability to consistently control his/her focus, and having a well-structured and practiced competition plan. In our example with Jason we would make a few changes before he ever made it to nationals. We would help Jason define his goals for the season – with a focus on consistent performance and high quality. We would also eliminate the word perfect from his vocabulary. This may sound silly, but it is an important change. Perfection as a mindset allows Jason only 2 outcomes: great or horrible. Eliminating perfection opens up the entire spectrum of outcomes; going from fantastic to great, to good, to above average, to average, to below average, too bad, to horrible.

Second, we would train Jason to use direct focus cues in practice that direct his thinking to clean execution of movements and elements. This type of thinking keeps Jason in the moment and directly on what he wants to happen. Focus cues generally translate into consistent and quality performance. Third, we would train Jason to clear negative thoughts or feelings as he goes through practices. Clearing is an important technique that helps athletes quickly recognize negative or unwanted thoughts/emotions and eliminate them. This helps keep the athlete focused on what he/she wants to happen. Fourth, we would teach Jason body awareness techniques and energy management skills to keep his body relaxed, feeling energized, and ready for competition. Fifth, we would have Jason performing daily mental practice with his confidence through simple and effective confidence tools. Finally, we would wrap these skills together into 3 organized groups of routines: Jason’s pre-performance routine, his during performance routine and post-competition routine. Having this organized and structured plan of physical and mental performance provides Jason with a consistent, familiar, and comfortable routine that he can use anywhere in the world and keeps him positive, focused on quality outcomes and relaxed.

Contact Winning Edge Sports Psychology for more on how we may help you or your team achieve their personal best!

References:
Frost, R.O. & Henderson, K.J. (1991). Journal of Exercise Psychology (13) pp. 323-335.
McCann, S. (1989). The Perfect Performance. Olympic Coach Magazine Vol. 8 (3) p. 9.

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These are common worries of athletes in all sports who are injured and return to play. Just because your orthopedic surgeon has cleared you to play or the physical therapist says you are ready, does not mean you feel mentally and emotionally ready to play.

At Winning Edge we work with injured athletes at all levels from high school to professional. An NHL hockey player who had shoulder surgery was afraid of being checked – fearing that his shoulder would pop out. His worries got in the way of his ability to focus on the ice, focus on the puck and play hockey. He found himself worrying on ice about getting hurt instead of seeing the puck and following the plays on ice. We used self-awareness tools to help create a means to know where his emotions were taking him. We developed breathing and muscle relaxation routines that helped him feel emotionally and physically in control at practice and games. We then worked on focus cues as well as clear and simple practice goals that helped him direct his energy and focus while on the ice.

By layering together these mental skills together, we developed a plan where he felt in control emotionally and physically. Feeling in control allowed the feeling of confidence to grow and subsequently focus to return. The mental skills we teach are tools that we utilize with athletes of all ability levels.

Being mentally ready is critically important for return to play. If the athlete is not mentally ready they may carry more muscle tension in their body at practice and in games, be hesitant on the field/court/ice, and be more prone to making mistakes.

At Winning Edge we understand the emotional and mental process of injury, rehabilitation and returning to competition. Let us help you return to play with confidence and intensity. Worries are a normal part of the process of returning to play; however, we don’t want the worries to dominate what is happening on the field/court.

Give us a call or send us an email to start the process of getting you back into competition at full speed!

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Being optimistic does have its benefits. Being pessimistic generally does not have too many; unless you like feeling down and being negative. My goal is not turn every person I meet into an optimist; however I would like my athletes to learn some of the tricks of the natural optimist. This article introduces you to some of the benefits of being an optimistic minded athlete and how to begin to shape your thinking.

I am going to discuss the 3 P’s of confidence and competence: Personalization, Pervasiveness, and Permanence. As I discuss the 3 P’s I will compare and contrast the optimist and the pessimist take on the 3 P’s. The 3 P’s dictate whether or not you become an optimist or pessimist.

1. Personalization refers to an athlete taking responsibility for things that are under their control, while not blaming themselves for aspects of their performance that are beyond their control. How an athlete personalizes their performance has a great deal to do with their ability to maintain confidence, maintain motivation and perform consistently.

The optimistic athlete owns their successes. This means that they take credit for their success and enjoy it. This does not mean that they gloat and brag; instead it means honestly taking credit for success and enjoying a win or good performance. When it comes to setbacks or losses, the optimist is good at understanding what part of the setback or loss was in their control and own them; even better they are good at not taking credit or owning things that were not in their control.

The pessimistic athlete disowns their success. They defer the success to things such as luck, a lucky break or the other team had a bad day. The pessimist tends to take ownership of setbacks and losses and looks at them as a personal character flaw. Basically they see themselves as the mistake or the loss – they personalize it, take it to heart and see themselves as “bad”, “horrible”, or in a negative light. Pessimists make it worse by attributing their failures to their own personal inadequacies. When the pessimist does this they shoot down their own confidence, experience a drop in motivation and consistent performance goes down the tubes.

2. Pervasiveness refers to the degree to which an athlete believes that the cause of their successes and failures will generalize to all areas of their lives.

Optimists make global attributions for their successes. This means that they see success happening in all areas of their life and that they are a successful person. They believe they will succeed. Even more importantly, the optimist makes specific attributions (reasons) for their failures. This means that the optimist limits their failures to a specific instance and point in time (one play, one at bat, one practice, or one game). They limit how they let a mistake/loss affect them; they mentally “box it in”

Pessimists on the other hand limit their view of success. They view success as a one time event and in only one area. The pessimist narrows the success to just one event or time period and does not believe that it will become a larger part of their life. The biggest mistake they make is perceiving mistakes and losses as indicative of their overall ability. This means they see mistakes and failure as a regular part of themselves and expect more mistakes/losses in their lives.

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Life stress has been found to be a predictor of possible re-injury. However, stress itself does not cause injury. Psychological research has demonstrated that a high level of major life stress (moving, divorce, death of a family member) or a high level of daily ‘hassles’ (unwanted daily stress such as a flat tire, getting a speeding ticket, losing your cell phone) can place the athlete at increased risk for injury.

Stress is thought to increase the risk for injury because the athlete may have difficulty with focus and attention as well as high levels of muscle tension. Research by Jean Williams Ph.D. at the University of Arizona indicates that athletes who have high life stress, few psychological coping skills, and little in the way of social supports have the highest risk for injury or re-injury.

Parents and coaches can increase the risk of an athlete to be injured or re-injured. Two mindsets towards injury can be harmful to the athlete. The first risk is when a parent or coach views injury as a weakness which leads an athlete to hide injury and continues to play. Hiding injury obviously increases the risk of injury and can lead to permanent physical damage. The second risk is a parent or coach who emphasizes winning and the team regardless of the athlete’s physical status. This mindset of sacrificing one’s body for the good of the team or winning again places the athlete at significant risk.

These risk factors do not mean that the athlete will become injured, however, research has repeatedly demonstrated that athlete with the combination of high life stress, few psychological coping skills, and little in the way of social supports have a higher injury and re-injury rate. William’s theory of psychological factors of injury suggests providing athletes mental skills training to reduce risk for injury/re-injury.

Having a team atmosphere which allows discussion of injury and promotes treatment and rehabilitation is best for the athlete and team. Teaching the athlete to listen to his/her body and distinguish between the normal pain of training and competition versus strain/injury is important. Athletes who do not understand this difference are at higher risk for injury as well as overtraining syndrome and burnout.

Jean Williams Ph.D. research and work with athletes suggest coaches, parents and trainers be observant of athletes who have high life stress, few psychological coping skills and little in the way of social supports. Teaching the athlete mental coping skills to manage daily life stresses is recommended. For athletes who have experienced a major life stressor referral for counseling may be beneficial. A team atmosphere that promotes social support as well as an athletic department which may have classes or groups that talk about the demands of the student athlete or injured athlete can be beneficial.

Hearing from an upper classmen that has been injured, explains his/her rehabilitation, and his/her experience of returning to play can be helpful to the newly injured athlete. Finally, instruction on deep breathing and muscle relaxation skills has been demonstrated to be beneficial to athletes. This instruction and training teaches the athlete to understand his/her body’s response to stress, regulate his/her breathing, and monitor and regulate his/her muscle tension. Educating the athlete with mental skills is the role of the sport psychologist; which can help the athlete handle daily stresses with less ‘hassle’ and decrease his/her risk for injury.

Referral to a sport psychologist for the athlete who has a high level of life stress or recent injury is beneficial. Meeting for three or four sessions helps the athlete learn new life coping skills which can reduce his/her risk for injury as well as facilitate his/her return to play. Formore information about our service or to refer an athlete please call our offices:

Saint Louis, Missouri 314-995-7201

Vail, Colorado 970-926-3144

Naples, Florida 314-229-7361

References:

Williams, Jean (2006). Applied Sport Psychology: Personal growth to peak performance. 5th ed, Mcgraw Hill.

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We all have dreams, desires and goals. We all set goals in some form or another, but most people are generally not good at achieving their goals. There is a sub-group of people who are incredibly good at setting and achieving their goals. This group includes leaders in business, successful entrepenuers, professional athletes, successful actors, musicians, writers, politicians, researchers, high level educators, trial lawyers, and top physicians and health care professionals.

Most people have trouble setting goals properly. People think about goals and talk about goals, but very few write them down. Even fewer develop a specific plan of action which puts goals in motion with a time frame.

The fields of business and sport psychology have researched goal setting over the past fifty years. Over 90% of the studies on goal setting find it to be an effective technique. The trick to moving forward, setting goals and most importantly achieving them; is using a simple yet effective system. This article will help you learn the simple steps and guide you through the process.

You do this naturally already

You have probably dreamt of something you wanted to learn how to do, achieve, or own. Dreaming is the beginning step of goal setting. Dreaming is the informal skill of “visualization”. Visualization is a skill used in sport psychology of “seeing” the desired outcome in your mind. The athlete uses visualization through “seeing” the desired outcome of the performance, (executing a skill, making a move, scoring, making a stop), on a daily basis. Daily practice with visualization makes it become part of their regular routine.

Seeing an outcome is important. It helps you set your course. Roy Williams, the head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina says it well “without goals you are like a ship without a rudder – heading in no particular direction”. Coach Williams set goals for himself and his teams every season. He has earned a national championship with his teams at UNC as well as been in 7 final fours, as well as been in 20 consecutive NCAA tournaments (the University of Kansas and University of North Carolina).

Your mind is naturally processing information all the time and heading you in a particular direction. This happens whether you realize it or not. The unconscious mind is always thinking and processing and moves you in a direction even when you have not actively chosen one. When we decide upon a particular goal, the mind focuses its energy, directs our actions, can re-direct, and re-focus until we reach our target. The most important thing to remember is, “you cannot reach a target if you don’t know what it is” (Versari, 2008).

Why We Should Regularly Set and Work Towards Goals

There is a Buddhist saying “the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step”. In order to begin a journey we have to act – take a step. The first step includes the direction we want to go.

When we define goal setting it helps clarify what the process is and what it can do for us. Locke’s (1981) goal setting theory explains the four ways that goal setting affects behavior:

• They direct focus and actions to important task elements
• They help us mobilize our efforts
• They help us increase our efforts and persistence
• Goal setting fosters new learning strategies

To explain Locke’s Theory in every day terms, goal setting will help us:

• Define a sense of direction and purpose
• Move beyond self doubts and overcome fears
• Enhance performance in all areas of life
• Increase your intrinsic motivation – the most powerful type of motivation – where you feel an increased sense of self control and increase in self confidence

The Goal Setting Exercise

Please complete the following questions. This exercise is for you and your personal growth. You will be asked to answer questions about the process, so please answer all questions honestly. The best way to learn about goal setting is by doing it.

When setting your goals, keep the following points in mind:

• Be specific and state exactly what you have in mind
• State your outcome in positive terms
• Be in control – your outcome must be initiated and maintained by you. It does not depend upon other people having to change themselves in order for you to be happy

#1. Write down everything you want to achieve, have, feel, do and share in your life. Don’t worry about how you will achieve them, just write them down. Remember that the key to goal setting is “you have to see it to achieve it”. Let yourself visualize your targets. Write them here.

#2. Go over your list and write down a time frame next to each goal. This is the time frame by which you will achieve your goal. It might be 3 weeks, 3 months, 1 year, 10 years.

#3. Pick the three most important goals you want to accomplish within the next year and re-write them here.

Goal 1

Goal 2

Goal 3

#4. Make a list of the resources you will need in order to accomplish your goals.

#5. Make a list of the resources you already have

#6. Describe the kind of person you would have to be to attain your goals.

What qualities and character traits would you need to have as a person to achieve all the goals that you desire?

#7. What qualities do you already possess?

#8. What prevents you from achieving your goals now? What are obstacles you place in your own way?

#9. Who do you know that is getting the results you want? Find a role model and ask that person what is their secret to success and how do they do that? Ask them how and write down their suggestions.

#10. Our actions determine whether or not we succeed in achieving our goals. To guide our actions we need a plan. The best plans are step by step plans that clearly state each step we need to take. Write down 3 actions per outcome and 1 action you can take by next week:

Goal 1: Action 1

Action 2

Action 3

Goal 2: Action 1

Action 2

Action 3

Goal 3: Action 1

Action 2

Action 3

#11. Now, make a list of the things you have been putting off and start doing one now!

#12. Post this list of goals with your action on your mirror, door, in your day planner so it reminds you of what your targets are and what actions you need to take. Seeing the plan in writing throughout the day reminds you of what you want to accomplish and helps you know where you are headed.

#13. At the end of the week evaluate how you are doing. If you are making progress and moving forward, congratulations! If you find yourself not taking action, examine what forces within have you keeping still. Don’t throw out your plan, re-evaluate your plan, your commitment and start with a smaller step.
Don’t beat yourself up if you have not yet moved to action; instead, focus upon taking a small step and achieving that success. Then move to the next step. Remember “the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step”.

The more you stick with this action-based system of setting goals, the better you become at achieving them. Remember to post your goals and actions plans where you will see them during the day as well as to evaluate your progress each week. Following this simple plan will help you make setting goals and achieving them a life habit.

References:

Versari Ph.D., Cristina, San Diego University of Integrative Studies on Goal Setting.

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