The Mid-Season Check-in All Coaches Should Do with Struggling Athletes
When an athlete is struggling at mid-season, without doubt an intervention is necessary. What’s more, it’s up to coaches to identify the type of intervention the athlete needs. The first step a coach must do before they can decide on the type of intervention is to identify if the athlete is struggling due to mental or physical skills.
Just because an athlete makes a technical or tactical mistake repeatedly, doesn’t mean that they are having a technical or tactical problem. On the contrary, it could be a mental skill the athlete is lacking. To distinguish between the two, I suggest coaches use a basic performance assessment.
This performance assessment focuses on four categories of performance. It comes from the framework sport psychologist Robert M. Nideffer, PhD suggest in his book Psyched to Win.
1) Assess Satisfaction
Are you satisfied with your skill level when you are playing well?
If the athlete is not satisfied with their skill level, then focus on a physical intervention. If the athlete is satisfied with their skill, then focus on a mental intervention.
2) Assess the Pattern of Mistakes
Do mistakes occur randomly, or do they increase in pressure situations?
If mistakes occur randomly in both pressure and non-pressure situations, then focus on a physical intervention. If the mistakes only occur in specific pressure situations, then focus on a mental intervention.
3) Assess Emotional State When Problems Occur
When you are having a problem, how do you feel?
If when problems occur the athlete feels confident and in control of their thoughts and feelings, then focus on a physical intervention. If when problems occur the athlete feels panic, pressure, rushed, confused or overloaded, then focus on a mental intervention.
4) Assess if the Problem is Narrow or Broad Reaching
Is the problem affecting only one aspect of your performance or are several things going wrong at the same time?
If the problem is narrowly happening in just one aspect of their technique, then focus on a physical intervention. If problems occur broadly across multiple (possibly all) techniques, then focus on a mental intervention.
Choose a Path and Stick With it
Once a decision is made on the intervention type, it’s important to stick with it through the end of the season. Nothing hurts a struggling athlete more than a “wishy washy” approach to solving their struggles. If an athlete has trust in what they are doing to get better, then they will get better. On the other hand, if an athlete is constantly trying different suggestions to eliminate what’s causing them to struggle, nothing will help them.
Ohio State head wrestling coach Tom Ryan says it best.
A good plan that is completely trusted is far better than the greatest plan with little trust…trust proceeds progress.