Performance psych for gifted kids

Steve Portenga, PhD, iPerformance Consultants

Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, PhD, Center for Talent Development, Northwestern University

Tracy Cross, PhD, College of William and Mary

Frank Worrell, PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Rena Subotnik, PhD, American Psychological Association© iPerformance Consultants 2012

Sport and Performance Psychology: What’s In It for Academic Talent Development?

National Association for Gifted Children Annual Convention, Nov 16, 2012

Monday, November 19, 12

Long-Term Athlete Development

© iPerformance Consultants 2012

Optimal training, competition, and recovery programming with relation to biological development and maturation


“You can’t make the grass grow faster by pulling on the blades”

African Proverb


This starts with you!



Build overall motor skills

Learn all fundamental sport skills

Build the ‘engine’ and consolidate sport-specific skills

Fine-tune the ‘engine,’ skills, and performance

Maximize performance, skills, and ‘engine’








The 10 year rule


It takes 10 years of extensive practice to excel in anything !

10 year or 10 000 hour rule (Ericsson and Charness, 1994)

For the athlete and coach this translates as slightly more than three hours of deliberate practice daily for 10 years


Chronological/Biological age vs. Developmental age


Typically training and competition is based on chronological age

Athletes can be 4-5 years apart by maturation level


Introduction to the Psychology of Performance



The Mental Side of Sports


Sports are NOT 90% mental!

But the head is the gatekeeper to the body

There are no shortcuts, quick fixes, or pixie dust


What is FOCUS?

It is

• Confidence

• Concentration

• Composure

• Poised

• Courage

• Commitment

• Resilient

• Totally in the moment

• Ready

• Engaged

• Control

• Choice…

And it’s COOL!!!

It’s WAY MORE than just CONCENTRATION!

This is the wellspring of FLOW!


Competitiveness


Competitiveness is having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to:

Generally, cope better than your opponents with the many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sport places on a performer.

Specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, confident, and in control under pressure.

(Jones, Hanton, & Connaughton, 2002)


Performance Psychology Skills



Cool undercabinpressure.PREPARATION

Concentration: Prepare DeliberatelyMonday, November 19, 12

Prepare Deliberately


The major difference between experts and amateurs is the capability to deliberately practice

“The practice, in itself, is nothing special; the care and consistency with which it is made is”

(Chambliss, 1989)

The difference between expert and amateurs’ practice has more to do with the quality of training than the quantity


Prepare Deliberately


Coaches and parents:

• Need to help younger athletes learn how to practice effectively

• Teach discipline; “If you’re going to do it, learn to do it right”

• Challenge on a daily basis and celebrate small improvements


CommitmentMonday, November 19, 12

Developing achievement motivation


Four key questions1.Can I succeed?2.Do I even care about this?3.Why do I want to succeed? What defines

“success?”4.What do I have to do to succeed?


Why do I want to succeed?


Three basic human needs

• The need for autonomy

• The need for competence

• The need for relatedness

Autonomous motivation: goals connected to personal interests/values

Controlled motivation: goals based on external or internal pressures


ConfidenceMonday, November 19, 12

Confidence


A sense of “pre-knowing” that you CAN deliver, that you WILL deliver, and that you will SUCCEED!

Surely it is preferred over …Doubt…Worry…Anxiety…Fear

There are two basic principles for experiencing confidence, and they each require the individual to make a personal choice.



Competence Builds Confidence

Focus confidence on the performance, not the outcome


Composure: React Adaptively to DistractionsMonday, November 19, 12

Adaptive Reactions to Distractions


To develop in youth: 1. Give them lots of experiences to learn from2. Teach achievement comes from effort, not inborn abilities3. Encourage them to believe that they can turn adversity

into opportunity4. Highlight times when they do so!

Turn stress into a problem to be solved: Do not cope by avoiding

• Ask: “How could it be better or worse?”

• Then take action to make it better



Panel Reactions


Questions?


[email protected]


Documents

Performance psych for gifted kids