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Background on Myself: *******
4 yrs. HS Varsity Bowling Team Graduated 2012
Didn’t know what I really wanted to do Community College
Volunteered to be JV Girls Coach *found what I want to do for the rest of my
life.
For me this is more than coaching. This is my legacy. I want everyone to
remember me as the coach who built amazing strong programs with even stronger
athletes. I want my athletes to look back at their time with me and think “this was
the point in my life where I realized my potential as an athlete.” You see there are
bad coaches, there are good coaches and then there are great coaches. But I think
there is one more level beyond great coaching that includes those who leave behind
legacies. And that’s what I want to do. I want to build my legacy. And to do that as
a coach it starts with my athletes. Now, I can stand here and say that these few
years volunteering as a coach were all I needed to persuade me to follow a career
path into coaching but that would be a lie. ******
You see, 2 years after I graduated high school I was recruited to bowl for this small
school called Olivet College and you might think Olivet College? Where is that
even at? It’s about 30 min south of Lansing. A town so small we have only one
stop light and our fast food is subway. I started looking into Olivet and realized
there was no bowling program! How was I supposed to bowl with no program? I
started talking to friends and family and the coach at Olivet and a plan started to
form in my head. This was my opportunity to get back on the lanes and compete
collegiately, before I began my coaching career. One thing I’ve noticed over my 3
years at Olivet is the differences between competing, then coaching and then
moving back into competing. The mindset is completely different. I’ve caught
myself a few times thinking “okay if I was coaching me what would I say right
now?” getting the opportunity to compete again really solidified my decision to
become a coach. I know what it’s like to be an athlete trying to motivate yourself
and I know what it’s like to be a coach motivating your team. The balance between
the two is what has sparked my curiosities about coaching the mental side of
athletics. I’m now completing my senior year of college and will be graduating
with a Bachelors of Arts in Sports Psychology while Minoring in Coaching.
I get lots of questions asking what is Sports Psychology because I’ve never heard
of it. What I always tell people is I’m basically a counselor for athletes. I focus on
the mental aspect of athletics versus the physical component. As I enter my last
few months of college I’ve been asking myself what type of coach am I going to
be? How am I going to teach my athletes the skills that I’ve learned over the years?
Sports to me mean more than just winning. I want my athletes to be successful on
and off the field. I also want my athletes to be confident enough in their own
abilities that they won’t need me. And I know you’re thinking: “Bailey, that
doesn’t make any sense. If your athletes don’t need you then you’re out of a job.”
Fear not because I plan on coaching for a very long time. What I mean is I want
my athletes to be self-reliant. I don’t want bowlers turning around to me asking
how many boards to move their feet for every spare. I want my athletes to be
confident in their own abilities and actions. So, how do we do that? How do
coaches coach confidence? I started doing some research on this topic and came up
with a few ideas on how we, as coaches, can build our athletes’ confidence levels
through our own behaviors and actions. ********
OVERVIEW
What is Confidence?
Definition throughout my presentation this is the definition of confidence
that I will be referring to.
****
At the beginning of every season we as coaches lay out our expectations for the
year. Usually, these expectations are universal for everyone on the team; however,
as the season progresses our personal expectations of certain athletes develop.
I came across a paper written by Mageau & Vallerland that described how
coaches’ expectations can influence self-confidence in every athlete. Within their
paper they explained that low expectations (from the coach) will result in low
performance from their athlete.
When we as coaches watch or evaluate our players; we develop an expectation of
what that athlete can accomplish within the season and beyond. This expectation
that develops is sufficient enough and sometimes strong enough to change our
behavior toward that individual athlete. Examples of coaching behavior
manipulated by low expectations include:
Nagging small details emphasizing mistakes
Question commitment of athlete to team/sport ignore successes
The perception of low expectations (from the coach) will begin to affect the
athlete. This individual begins to adopt behavior that we would see common of a
low-performance athlete. They know the bar is set low and instead of trying to
reach past they settle for what is expected. ** Important to note within the context
of their paper Magaeu & Vallerland describe that despite the actual potential of the
athlete the perception/expectation from a coach weighs heavier on behavior than
their real potential ** Behavior of an athlete participating in a low-expectation
setting include:
Feelings of “never being able to do anything right” no motivation
Fighting to prove worth preoccupation with coaches opinion =
distraction from task … they realize that they aren’t expected to do much so they
don’t focus as much attention on the task at hand.
*****
In contrast to low expectation = low performance Mageau & Vallerland concluded
that a coach with high expectations will see high performance from that athlete.
Again, this is regardless of actual potential for that athlete. Our high expectations
toward an athlete can result in our behavior changing around that individual.
Behaviors of a coach with high expectations would include:
Increased amount of verbal communication encouragement (V&NV)
Constructive criticism one-one help
These high expectations will influence the behavior of an athlete. Behaviors of
athletes who participate in these high-expectation settings include:
Pride in accomplishments relaxed approach to mistakes (more willing
to learn from them) high confidence/motivation eagerness to be @
practice & put in time and effort
Expectations from both athletes and coaches can interfere with confidence and
communication on both sides. We need to be aware of what our expectations are
and how it may impact athletes. *******
Another study that was done compared coaches’ feedback and their athletes’ levels
of self-perception (perceived competence, expectancy for success and self-
confidence). As we give feedback our athletes will internalize the information and
use it to evaluate their actions. 100 junior high softball players and 5 coaches
participated in this study. The results yielded some interesting information. The
effectiveness of coaching behavior depends heavily on the situation in which the
behavior was given. Practice behaviors were more influential and important to
athletes than game day behavior. This means that athletes are most likely paying
attention during practice; even though some days I’m sure it does not feel like it.
Our practice behaviors carry a lot weight with athletes more so than game day
behaviors.
The second part to this study requested that the athletes rank themselves from most
skilled to least skilled on the team. The players who were rated as having the most
skill saw greater gains in their self-competence than those listed towards the
bottom (as having little skill or ability). This is important because coaches’ positive
responses’ were identified as negative behaviors toward competence. Constructive
feedback from coaches was more positively associated with gains in competence.
I’m not referring to a simple “good job” being bad. The study noted that praise in
excessive amount was perceived as demeaning to low skilled athletes. A perfect
example would be when a new bowler hit pins or keeps the ball on the lane instead
of throwing in the gutter their coach may start yelling good job! Basically that
coach is saying “good job you didn’t fail”. As coaches we tend to give our highly
skilled players more constructive feedback than those perceived as having little
skill. Low skilled athletes saw excessive praise as inappropriate and not helpful
because the praise given carried little to no informational/constructive feedback.
*********
So, let me ask you this. By a show of hands: how many of you have used one or
more of these phrases in your career as a coach? WAIT Alright, so most if
not all of us have said something like these. *********
READ FIRST BULLET we need to make sure that we are giving all our
athletes the same constructive feedback especially the athletes we perceive as low
skill (freshman, new bowlers etc.) How do we make sure our feedback to an athlete
is constructive so they don’t feel belittled or to keep things equal between every
athlete? *********
There is a method called “The Sandwich Method” that was designed to improve
performance through coaching feedback. We start with the bun which would equal
our opening statement. We want to start feedback with a positive statement. READ
HITTING MARK. The “meat of the conversation is the constructive feedback we
want to teach the athlete. READ KNEES BENT. To finish the “sandwich” we end
with another positive statement. READ FORM. By following this method we will
have greater success with giving feedback to our athletes that will be more
constructive and positive.
This method works really well in practice environments because we have enough
time to work through every “layer”. During game situations there may not be
enough time to go through this whole process. Simply going straight to the
positive/constructive feedback will be okay. Things change so quickly during game
situations that quick conversations are better to keep athletes focused on the
current frame/game. Even though our feedback is verbal our athletes are going to
pick up on our non-verbal (physical) behaviors.
******
Physical behavior has more influence than we realize. As coaches we use body
language to communicate with our players and can even convey our emotions
without having to say a single word. While displaying these emotions, through
body language, athletes will perceive and interpret our behavior. ******** While
watching and absorbing our behavior an athlete will try to recall if he/she has
experienced/seen this behavior before. Whether or not an athlete is familiar with
the given behavior he/she will interpret the meaning behind the gesture and react
accordingly. After said athlete reacts to the physical behavior we as coaches
interpret/evaluate our athletes’ reaction. If we like their reaction (deem it
appropriate) we will continue to encourage and help the athlete. If we dislike the
reaction we are given we will sometimes interpret the response as distrust or
disrespect from the athlete. Most often this disrespect will result in punishment or
an emotional wall will be built between us and athlete. This wall can prevent
further encouragement which can result in low levels of confidence for the athlete.
This cycle of physical behavior, perception/recall and reaction was developed into
a flow chart by Frank Smoll & Ronald Smith. Smoll & Smith have created a
diagram that physically shows the relationship between a coaches’ physical
behavior and their athletes’ reaction/interpretation. **********
Explain: coach behaves = athlete perceives/recalls = evaluate & react =
coach perception of attitude = physical behavior
The cycle of communication between the coach and athlete happens quickly and
we often don’t realize we are responding to one another. When we communicate
with one another we “code” our messages with meaning. When I ask an athlete
“did you hit your mark?” it’s a coded message of “did you do what you were
supposed to?” the person receiving the message (in this situation the athlete) has to
“decode” the message and answer/respond to the original message. Sometimes
there are variables that interfere with how these messages are coded and decoded.
To effectively understand each other’s messages we need to know what variables
could interfere. These variables or interferences include:
The coaches’ individual differences
The athletes’ individual differences
The situational factors (circumstances of play)
Coaches’ Individual Differences: Coaching goals/motives – every coach has different goals and motives.
Sometimes these can interfere with communication Behavioral intentions – we as coaches behave in ways to help our athletes
sometimes our intentions are not perceived the way we want them to be thus causing misinterpretations
Instrumentalities – influence over entire team Perceived coaching norms/role conception – every area/school/program
has norms for their coaches that may not be the same in other programs. Being around others who have different norms may result in perceptions being different
Inferred player motive – as coaches sometimes we think players are part of the program for specific reasons. Sometimes our reasoning for a player being part of the team is not the same as their reasoning for being there.
Self-monitoring – also known as self-awareness: being aware of our own actions while coaching
Sex – men and women have different ways of communicating and that can interfere with perception
Athlete Individual Differences Age/Sex – male vs female and young vs older athletes all perceive things
differently Perceived coaching norms – if any athlete has competed under the same
style of coaching they will expect that type of coaching wherever they go. This can cause miscommunication if they move to another program or school where the coaching norms are different
Valence of coach behaviors – emotional compatibility with coaching behaviors. If an athlete is more quiet they would not communicate well with an outgoing/loud coach
Sport-specific achievement motives – some athletes expect to achieve certain accomplishments within sports arenas. Sometimes trying to achieve these goals will interfere with communication
Competitive trait anxiety- trait anxiety is the athletes’ genetic traits regarding anxiety. This would be what they are predisposition to
General/athletic self-esteem – how confident is an athlete in themselves on and off the field?
Situational Factors Nature of sport – some sports are fast paced, others physical and others
mental all will change communication abilities Level of competition – younger athletes may not communicate as well as
older athletes Practice vs. game – practice situations are more open to communication than
game day situations Previous success/failure – previously succeeding or failing will impact the
ability to communication effectively because emotions may get in the way if they are strong enough
Preset game/practice outcomes – there may be specific outcomes that we as coaches want accomplished
Intra-team attraction – how well does the team get along with one another?
What all of this boils down to is that perception of behavior is (coach or athlete) is
more impactful than the behavior itself. ******
In order to assess athletes’ perceptions on selected/specific coaching behavior
Kenow and Williams developed a Coaching Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). This
questionnaire uses 28 statements concerning five different aspects of coaching
behavior and measures an athlete’s perception and evaluative reactions to both
positive and negative coaching behavior. When taking the questionnaire the
athletes rate the statement on a 1-4 scale (1=strongly disagree / 4=strongly agree)
READ PPT!! *****
Kenow & Williams put the CBQ into application. They assessed female basketball
players from non-scholarship programs. The athletes not only completed the CBQ
but also measured the athletes … read ppt
trait=genetic state=situational somatic=physical.
Athletes who scored high in trait/cognitive anxiety and low self-esteem were more
likely to perceive their coaches’ behaviors negatively.
Athletes who scored low in trait/cognitive anxiety and high self-esteem are more
likely to perceive their coaches’ behavior positively.
Despite our actions being right/wrong every athlete will perceive our behavior
differently. Athletes who have high anxiety (either genetic or situational) may need
additional attention when it comes to communicating effectively. One time while I
was coaching during my first year I had an athlete refuse to talk to me for an entire
practice. I have no idea what had happened but there was no communication going
on between us. Once practice was over I called this athlete over and asked them if I
had done something to upset them? Immediately, this athlete broke down and said
No! I thought you were mad at me because I did so bad a practice yesterday.” Now
I’m really confused because not only was I not mad but this individual was
shooting above their average the day before. I asked why do you think I’m mad at
you. And you know what their response was? They said I waved at you in the
parking lot and you didn’t wave back or say hi to me when we got inside. Okay,
now I’m really surprised because I never saw them in the parking lot and we didn’t
get a chance to say hi before practice began. Needless, to say lesson learned about
behavior and perception. This athlete thought I was mad yet I was just going about
my daily routine. As coaches we need to be aware of how what seems normal and
passive to us may come off and anger or being upset because athletes will perceive
it incorrectly. **********
Perception of behavior can be so different from person to person especially if the
relationship between those two people is a coach-athlete relationship. Often we see
discrepancies between how coaches’ perceive their own behavior and how
athletes’ perceive the same given behavior. Another study was done using the
Coaching Behavior Assessment System which compares the differences in
perception of behavior. The assessment breaks down reactive and spontaneous
coaching behaviors into 12 categories. In this study 81 professional b-ball players
and 8 head coaches took the assessment to see how the coaches’ behaviors were
perceived. **********
The results showed that READ 1 ST BULLET than what their athletes recalled that
behavior being. READ 2 ND BULLET . The coaches also claimed READ
BULLETS 1-3; however, players said that these behaviors did not appear as much
as coaches thought. Coaches also claimed that they ignored mistakes of players but
the athletes claimed otherwise. These four categories listed were the only ones
with significant differences in how coaches perceived these behaviors compared to
how athletes perceived the same behaviors. *********
This study shows that as coaches we need to be more self-aware of our behaviors.
I’ve coached at a few bowling tournaments and let me tell you my personal
behavior was not at the top of my list of things to worry about. Usually I was
thinking: “okay is everyone here?” “did we forget any equipment?” “how are the
lanes playing?” “why are these two arguing?” “Oh jeez she stepped over the foul
line.” And I’m sure there are plenty of other things to worry about but we need to
be aware of our behaviors especially because our athletes can interpret things
differently than how we mean for them to be. The best way to become more self-
aware is to talk to those around you. Assistants, athletes and parents can all be
resources that will help us become more aware of how our behaviors are being
perceived by our athletes. ********
I bet you’re wondering: how do I take all of this information and implement it into
my coaching style? The first thing to remember is that you are HUMAN! Coaches
feel emotional during practices and competition more so than athletes. The key is
keeping our emotions and behavior consistent every day. This includes practice
and game day situations. By keeping our behavior the same there will be little
room for mis-interpretation. If you’re calm, angry, nervous, excited, anxious or
happy it’ll show if you let it. Athletes can read our emotions. There’s a phrase that
I started using my first year of coaching and it not only kept my emotions in check
but it kept my athletes in check. No matter the situation I would tell my athletes if
I’m not upset you don’t get to be upset. You’d be surprised how annoyed athletes
would get when I would remind them after a bad shot that they couldn’t be upset
because I wasn’t. It may seem silly but it worked. I knew they were looking to me
to see how I reacted so they could react accordingly. I didn’t want their emotions
to get in the way of their ability to bowl.
Keep lines of communication open with your athletes. A simple tool to use to make
sure athletes understand what you’re saying is to ask them repeat your instructions.
There were many occasions where I would ask an athlete to repeat my instructions.
You can’t imagine how many times they weren’t able to repeat what I said. The
line of communication was severed and we needed to get that back. Asking an
athlete to repeat your words will help if there is miscommunication because they
will tell you what they heard and it could be different than what you said. When
this happens you know that they perceived your instructions differently. This
doesn’t always mean they weren’t paying attention when you were talking. They
could simply have miscommunicated what you were trying to say. Younger
athletes may take more time to process the information you’re telling them. Make
sure to give them time to process and respond with their own thoughts.
We can also use the phrases “bank this information” or “remember this feeling”
during practice so that they can build a connection between their movements
during practice and game day situations. The closer make practice situations
similar to game day the easier it will be for our athletes to make the connections
that we are trying to teach them. It is hard to practice knowing that during
competition it will be louder and more compact with all the bowlers. Encourage
your athletes to really focus on their body movements during practice because even
though everything around them may change their movement will not. If they can
rely on their own consciousness movements hopefully they will feel more relaxed
and comfortable during tournament or match play.
From all this I have learned that I need to really get to know my players. There are
so many different variables that could alter their perceptions of what I’m saying. If
I am able to get to know my athletes more than just what is on the surface we may
be able to work past some of the variables and eliminate others. I want to teach all
my athletes that they have the ability and potential to be great. I want to give them
the opportunity to stand on their own and be confident in doing so. I want to coach
a new generation of athletes to be not only confident in who they are on the field
but who they are off the field. It’s important to make sure we are aware of our
behaviors around our athletes and I’m going to work on really challenging myself
to see my own behaviors from their point of view. ********
So, in conclusion:
We want to make sure as coaches we are building up our athletes’’
confidence. Our expectations can influence our athletes to either reach for their
best or fall below their potential. Our ability to give feedback will be vital to our
athletes’ self-perceptions. Non-verbal behavior will play an equal role to physical
behavior when communicating with athletes. How our athletes’ perceive our
behavior may be different than how we intended the behavior to be taken. And
finally: EVERY ATHLETE IS DIFFERENT! One style of coaching will not work
for every athlete. We need to be open to change and make sure that we are building
our athletes’ confidence up so that they can perform at their best now and always.
Thank you very much for being here and allowing me to speak to you today. I have
enjoyed this experience so much and will cherish it for a lifetime. At this time are
there any questions or comments that you would like to bring forward?