The human brain is instinctually geared towards self-preservation.
When the safety of the body is perceived to be at risk the brain becomes focused on the danger to such a degree that other perceptual and cognitive functions become muted if not completely ignored. Commonly known as “fight or flight’ or perhaps, “lizard-brain”, the phenomenon applies to the preservation of the psyche as well.
Consider the brain of an adolescent engaging in youth sports. Hormones, growth spurts, physical changes and socially awkward moments are constantly influencing the developing individual. The brain of an adolescent has reason to be highly sensitive in social and structured settings; consequently the attitudes and actions of the adults in charge of any such activity can and will be the most influential element of the athlete’s perceived experience.
That is worth repeating, “the athlete’s perceived experience”…coaches and parents must recognize that young people have a tendency to misperceive the facial expressions and the emotional tones that adults often times set out. This is actually a function of their developing brain as the organ itself is reorganizing the way it sends and interprets information. The result is that athletes and students often times are feeling bad about the way they were addressed by a coach or teacher.
It is crucial that coaches of young athletes realize that they have great power to influence the emotional tone of the practice and or game time situations. The athletes are actually expecting to follow the role modeling set forth by the perceived leader of the activity, so it is not reasonable to expect them to do as you say if that is in conflict with how they see you behave. When athletes perceive the coach to be friendly and safe (another way of saying for kind, caring and respectful) they begin to trust the instruction of the game and the real lessons of sports can begin. When athletes perceive coaching as punitive, demeaning and critical, then the brain of the athlete will actually become very limited in its ability to learn and perform as it is naturally shutting down cognitively in order to preserve it’s sense of safety.
When this happens consistently over time the young person does not say, “I’m not cognitively capable of listening to the coach’s instructions because my brain is focusing on the threat of getting yelled at or swimming extra laps”. Instead, the parent hears “I don’t really like this sport anymore, it used to be fun, do I have go back?”
How many young developing athletes quit their sport because a coach simply did not realize that their harsh words and punitive methods could be preventing the athlete’s brain from even hearing their instruction and from performing adequately. It only takes one bad experience with one bad coach to scare off a potentially great talent.
Creating a ‘presence of safety’ is the first of 12 essential elements towards creating a “brain responsive” coaching environment.
Some of the greatest minds in coaching have provided a “presence of safety’ simply by virtue of their naturally gifted sense of how to treat others. Names like John Wooden and Tom Osborne come to mind. Coaches who achieved great success and who expected great things out of their athletes. Coaches who provided a presence of safety as a foundation for being able to challenge and push young athletes without sacrificing dignity and respect.
Today’s youth deserve the opportunity to learn how to play their game without the fear of ridicule or harassment of any kind while they are learning and growing. Coaches working with young developing athletes must accept the responsibility of teaching fundamentals and playing games in such a way as to place the emphasis on participation and fun. Winning and losing is truly insignificant at developmental stages.
When coaches focus on participation, fun and safe learning tactics, development happens naturally and athletes will decide and determine for themselves which is their sport, and how far they wish to go. Playing to keep the win loss record in tact at the expense of participation and fun risks placing too much emphasis on mistakes and short-comings at the end of a competition. Learning is likely to be sabotaged by the negative emotional states associated with having lost the game. Learning is meant to be fun, everyone wants to play; when the coach is not overly upset or excited about the outcome, then the athletes can remain focused on the fun they had and the lessons they learned. Leaving them all more likely to come back to practice with a desire to improve and continue.
10 Ways to Create Safety
1. Smile, smile, smile…
2. Be kind and friendly.
3. Use first names and use them often.
4. Be clear about expectations, keep it simple.
5. Respond to mistakes as learning opportunities.
6. Ask the athlete: What did you do that worked?
7. Ask the athlete: What could you do to improve next time?
8. Listen to the athletes.
9. Remember it always was and still is, just a game.
10. Love yourself, love your sport, love your athletes!
There are obviously many aspects to coaching young athletes, and I will cover as many as possible in future blogs and eBooks, but creating a presence of safety is a prerequisite to all others. It is the beginning of a rewarding player-coach relationship that can and will last a lifetime when the player knows he or she was safe and respected.
Coach to the brain, and the heart will follow.
