Creating a winning buzz in the dressing room

  Creating a winning buzz in the dressing-room

 

Introduction

Often in professional sport small clubs out-perform teams that are leagues above them.One explanation for this is that the smaller team has managed to collectively create a unit that is stronger than sum of its parts. This article puts forward some useful techniques to help galvanise and strengthen the team-unit in sport.

 

1. Inspirational Quotes

Many successful teams and sports clubs fill up communal areas with inspirational quotes. These quotes are usually compiled from all walks of life, often being drawn from famous figures of our time. Inspirational quotes are usually displayed with the purpose of evoking positive feelings within the team members that view them. Confidence, drive, passion, commitment, and team unity are some of the more popular feelings that positive quotes are designed to create. In team environments it’s important to display inspirational quotes that are short and straight to the point. It’s very unlikely that during the pressure of heated competitions, athletes and coaches will take the time to read quotes which are too long. Short sharp ones however may catch the eye of the athlete and spark match-winning emotions within them. Here is a list of several quotes that have been used by teams in the past: ‘Simplicity is genius’ Anonymous ‘If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail’ Benjamin Franklin ‘Man becomes what he believes himself to be’ Gandhi ‘Sports do not build character they reveal it’ John Wooden

2. Music

Motivational music is regularly used to create a positive team atmosphere. However the process of building a set of music tracks, especially for team sports can become complicated. Music preference is highly subjective, with tastes spanning across a wide range of genres. Consequently it becomes difficult to produce a team compilation that satisfies everyone’s musical tastes. Coaches can get around this by composing a list of 20 tracks that are renowned for their ability to fire up sports teams, and allow each athlete to shortlist their three favourite tracks. The coach or the team captain can then take the highest overall ranking track and select it as the team anthem to play in the dressing roomThe one track approach especially for team sports can have a number of listed benefits: ·        It can create a sense of community, as everyone has contributed to the selection of the track. ·        It creates positive internal states within individual athletes when the music is played, increasing the likelihood of delivering a positive performance

·        It streamlines the athletes focus in the dressing room, reminding them that its time to perform.  

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3. The first to rise and the last to sleep

The human brain prioritises information in an unusual way. Think of a string of 7 numbers that you have to recite. In terms of recall and recollection you are more likely to remember the first and the last digits of this string. Therefore when coaches are communicating team tactics, and expressing words of encouragement to their athletes and other coaches, it is a good idea to place the most important information at the beginning and at the end of their talk. By doing so, they dramatically increase the likelihood that the important information is retained and applied in the competitive arena by their athletes.

 

4. Group Visualisation

The brain does not distinguish between real and imagined events, and because of this basic tenet, visualisation is regularly seen to have a profound effect on those that use it. Some argue visualisation is more effective if it can be performed as a group exercise. Perhaps 5 minutes before the team have to go out and perform in training or in a competitive situation, the head coach can use this time to get the team to visualise their individual and group successes. An effective approach to conducting a group visualisation would be to first get the team feeling relaxed and focused by taking some deep breaths. Once the head coach is happy that all the athletes are relaxed and in a resourceful state the coach can proceed with the group mental rehearsal. Two highly effective group mental rehearsals would be to get the team to visualise how they want the up and coming event to unfold as a team performance, and/or to get the individual team members to mentally recreate times when they performed at their best. A typical transcription from a coach introducing a team rehearsal may be: Right guys take a minute to get yourself into a comfortable position. Take a few deep breaths to make sure that you are relaxed and focused, and in your own time close your eyes and allow your mind to take you back to the last time you performed at your best. PAUSE (3 seconds) And when you have located one of your best performances, recreate all the sights, sounds, and feelings that you felt during this match winning performance. Imagine that you are sitting in a cinema viewing yourself on large panoramic screen, viewing a picture that is big, clear, and full of vivid colour, with loud and sharp sounds. As you continue to watch yourself playing at your best, drift into the video screen so you are now viewing everything from your own eyes. Take a few minutes to notice how good it feels when you perform like this, and become aware of the fact that you can perform like this whenever you want to. Now only open your eyes when you know that you are going to deliver your best out there today Notice the constant use or ‘and’ and ‘as’ in the transcript. This typical hypnotic language is used to keep the flow of speech smooth. If the speech delivered by the coach stops and starts, it becomes increasingly difficult for the athlete to effectively follow the coaches instructions, consequently weakening the impact of the visualisation exercise.

5. Team affirmations

Affirmations are positive verbal statements used to streamline focus and create a positive inner state. Affirmations are even more powerful if they can be spoken out aloud collectively. Soldiers in the armed forces regularly have to participate in group chants to focus their minds on their job and their duty. The same can be applied in dressing room for all team sports. Much like quotes, team affirmations need to be short, sharp and have impact. Developing effective verbal statements to express out aloud will often work to pull the team together, helping to direct the athletes’ minds and bodies towards their common cause. Team affirmations can also have the added benefit of intimidating the opposition. The New Zealand National Rugby Team are famous for performing the world renowned Haka, which can be likened to an elaborate team affirmation. Whether the team affirmations are used in the privacy of the dressing room, or publicly like the All Blacks do, they are all effective in raising the sense togetherness of a team unit. Remember: The louder, and the more powerful the affirmations are the more effective they are in creating their desired effect.

6. Physical Contact

During the build up to an important competition making physical contact with fellow coaches and team-mates can help to unify the team’s sense of presence. A regular sight in team sports is the famous team huddle in the competitive arena. This is a common example of team physical contact that usually has the effect of creating feelings of commitment and togetherness within the team. Shaking hands and hugs are also common acts of physical contact that also help to raise the spirits of the team and its members.  

7. Sometimes less is more

At the top level of professional sport all athletes will have to mentally manage stressful and pressurised situations.When the human mind experiences pressure, it is liable to lose some of its capacity to retain information. In pressurised situations it is advisable that team talks become condensed to only communicating the most important messages to the athletes. If a team is overwhelmed with a hundred and one things to remember it will only feed their feelings of apprehension and tension, and consequently damage their performance.

8. Team goal-setting

One of the biggest predictors of success is direction.

Arguably the most effective way to install a sense of purpose and direction in a team unit is to devise collective goals.

Many sporting legends and teams that have produced remarkable results have always paid testament to the importance of goal-setting.

It is important that when team goals are formed everyone contributes and forms an agreement on the decided target.

It is advisable that teams develop goals for short, medium and long-term time frames. From individual match targets all the way up to seasonal and even life-time targets, goals can be infinitely flexible.

When setting team goals it is important not to set too many of them. If there are too many goals in the team’s regime then the team is likely to lose its focus by trying to accommodate an overwhelming number of targets.

 

9. Placebos and rituals

The power of belief is prominent in all walks of life. In the field of medicine there have been countless examples where placebo drugs have equaled and sometimes even bettered the performance of real medicine.

There are many anecdotes from the world of sport that highlight the benefits of the placebo effect. Athletes that insist in sitting in particular seats in the dressing room, wearing one of their socks inside out, getting dressed in a particular order, and kissing lucky charms are just a handful of ritualised behaviours have been observed.

All of these rituals have no intrinsic effect of their own on the athlete’s performance, but the belief that they will improve their performance only seems to yield positive results.

It is possible for the coach to integrate the power of placebos within the dressing room.

For example the coach could tell the team that they are in the in a lucky away dressing room, or invite the players to touch a lucky charm before they enter the competitive arena. If the athletes attach positive meaning to such rituals then they become important in their own right, and consequently become an important weapon in helping to produce performances that are full of belief and self confidence.

Being creative with the techniques used to create placebo effects is important however remember the more believable and convincing they are, the more powerful they become.

 

10. Motivational video compilations

Most professional sports today have access to video analysis facilities. Teams and individuals often build compilations of their best performances as a tool to strengthen team-cohesion.

Positive performance compilations also work to build confidence levels by reminding the athlete and the team of what they are capable of achieving.

Coaches should experiment with the videos they produce. Introducing a musical backdrop to the video, and experimenting by shooting trigger words across the screen while the footage is running is possible. Words such as focus, belief, and passion are some of the trigger words that may be applicable.  

11. Laughter is sometimes the best medicine

Internal state is one of the biggest predictor of behaviour. The rule of thumb is that if you feel good, you are more likely to perform well.

By making the dressing room light hearted by introducing humour and banter to the proceedings, athletes and coaches consequently generate positive states which are likely to impact positively on subsequent performances.

If competitions are taken too seriously there is a danger that the athletes will over analyse and ruminate over the approaching performance.

Studies have shown that when an athlete over thinks about their sporting performance they recommit their automatic sporting actions back to the conscious mind.

When this happens their sporting actions become cumbersome, and paralysis by analysis sets in.

12. The consultative approach

Some sporting environments can be too didactic at times with the coach spending too much time instructing their players what to do.

Sporting environments also need to incorporate a consultative approach into coaching, allowing the athlete to put forward their own views and opinions.

If a sporting performance is not going as planned it is sometimes more effective for a coach to ask the athlete what they feel they need to do in order to improve their performance, instead of the coach telling them what he thinks they should do. The same applies to athletes when they consult with their team-mates.

Answers to problems are always more effectively implemented if they come from the individual who has the problem.

Often athletes can provide the solutions to their own performance problems if they are given the chance. The following benefits are observed when the athlete is invited to solve their own sporting problems:

·        When the coach invites the athletes to put forward their views it shows them that the coach respects their views and opinions.

·        It creates an environment that cultivates responsibility and independence, helping to raise the athlete’s sense of autonomy.

·        When independence of thought is promoted studies have shown that athletes consequently make better decisions under pressure.

·        It increases the level of communication between the coach and the players.

13. Process-orientation

Professional sport is driven by results. If athletes fail to achieve in the competitive arena they run the risk of jeopardising their careers.

Unfortunately over-emphasising outcomes and results can be highly damaging to the athlete’s performance.

Arguably, in the dressing room, it is important that the instructions from the coach are delivered in terms of processes and not outcomes.

When the coach’s instructions are solely composed of outcome driven information such as winning, playing well, and beating the opposition the athlete is provided with little value.

For example generic instructions like; ‘do your best’, ‘go out and win’, and ‘play well’ hold no useful information to help the athlete obtain their desired outcome.

Therefore it is important the dressing-room language is process driven, making sure the emphasis is on what the athletes and coaches specifically need to do in order to win, instead of on the outcome of winning.

Key processes vary for each sport. In the world of football some of the important processes may include keeping your eye on the ball, making sure you track your opposite number, and keeping your body weight forward when you strike through the ball.’

Whatever the sport make sure that the language between coaches and players is process and not outcome driven:

By focusing on the correct key processes within your sport, the desired outcome of performing is likely to follow.

 

14. More of something not less of something

In the dressing-room it is important to communicate with an emphasis on what you want to achieve instead of what you want to avoid.

For example it is far more effective to focus on increasing the number of successful passes during a competitive match, compared to focusing on making fewer passing mistakes.

If the athlete focuses their mind on not making mistakes, then the athlete must first focus on the mistake in order to know what to avoid. Consequently the athlete is now thinking about making mistakes.

You get more of what you focus on, therefore if you think about avoiding making mistakes you increase you increase your chances of making more of them.

Therefore team talks should always focus on doing more of something and not less of something. Here are some examples of positive and negative statements that are often expressed in dressing room situations:

• "We need to concede fewer points" - is an example of an ineffective statement
• "We need to improve our defence" - is an example of an effective statement
• "You need to overcome fatigue" - is an example of an ineffective statement
• "You need to work harder and play with more energy" - is an example of an effective statement

Conclusion

In the realm of professional sport games are won and lost by the smallest of margins. By employing mental skills strategies and basic psychological techniques in team-environments, performances can be improved dramatically.

 Author: Sam Kotadia Managing Director Mindsport Ltd

Graduating in psychology and completing a Masters degree at the University of Essex, Sam delivers high performance coaching for a wide variety of clients. Among some of Sam’s high profile clients includes Phil Parkinson, the assistant manager of Charlton Athletic Football Club. Sam worked alongside Phil Parkinson for 3 years at Parkinson’s former club Colchester United, in which they saw the club win a historic promotion to the Championship Division.

For information about Mindsport’s sport psychology seminars click here.