By Larry Lauer, Ph D

“I wouldn’t want to coach her, she is a head case!”

“He will never be a great player. He is so mentally weak.”

Have you heard coaches, spectators, television and sport talk commentators mutter these words? I certainly have heard these jabs at very capable professional and amateur athletes, and it is frustrating to hear it as a sport psychology professional.

That is why Ana Ivanovic’s win at the French Open is a win for all the athletes that have suffered from nerves in the big match. You can beat your demons. You can show others that would consider you a head case that they don’t know you, and they underestimate your mental toughness.

In last year’s French Open Final, Ivanovic admittedly had a bad case of nerves against Justine Henin and meekly went away in a blowout. This had some critics pondering whether Ivanovic had the mental toughness to win a slam. Her tough loss at the Australian Open only served to support those that didn’t believe Ivanovic had the mettle.

“It was very tough loss for me, and I had few sleepless nights after that, honestly,” said Ivanovic. “But, yeah, it’s something I learned from. I was again in that final, like in Paris it was much better but still, part of me was already thinking about possibly holding a trophy. So this time I really tried to change that and don’t think about that at all and just focus on my game.”

And change she did! Despite feeling nerves at times during the match (the match itself was described as a very nervous one), Ivanovic hung tough and kept battling. She allowed Safina to make the mistakes. Eventually Ivanovic was rewarded for her commitment winning the title 6-4, 6-3. She fought through the nerves and finished off her first grand slam.

The win was not without some nervousness, but Ivanovic is happy with it all the same. “Obviously you’re nervous”, admitted Ivanovic. “You want to make one step more and win a title. But, you know, the last two Grand Slams were great learning experience for me. I’m only 20 and it was my third final already, so that kept some pressure off me. Just trying to enjoy it and that’s what I did today.”

“I’m just really proud about my efforts today. It wasn’t [an] easy match. You know, it was a few mental games out there today, so I was really happy that in a key moment I managed to stay strong and calm, in the second set, especially.”

“Obviously there were a lot of emotions inside, but till the last point I tried to, you know, don’t think about the occasion and just focus on my tennis. So I was really happy I managed to do that today.”

Just because you have a history of nerves doesn’t mean you will always have nerves. You can overcome these demons. Ask the best player in the world, Roger Federer. He defeated his nerves to become the best player in the world. Yet, he still gets nervous at times.

“I felt the pressure. I’ve had an upset stomach, shaky hands, I’ve had it all,” said Federer talking about his nerves during the 2007 US Open.

“But it is just great to be back in a Grand Slam final and win it. I really enjoyed today and the entire two weeks.”

Federer’s quote is interesting. He felt nervous and had a great time! This shows the level of emotional maturity that Federer has. He understands that at times you are going to get nervous. He also recognizes that he can play through it and still win.

I think Ivanovic’s and Federer’s quotes highlight something very important. Mental toughness is not about being perfect, and it is not about 100% confidence and composure. It is as much about being able to deal with adversity, like feeling nervous in a big competition, by recognizing that it happens and playing through it.

For those of you out there that struggle with nerves there is reason for optimism. You can beat your demons like Ivanovic did at Roland Garros. And, this can be achieved by recognizing that nerves are a part of sport and that sport is not perfect. Finally, you might just want to hone your stress management skills so when the nerves appear you have a tool for dealing with them.

One method for beating your demons you read from Ivanovic was staying in the moment. That is when she was able to refocus back on playing the game and not on the impending championship or the nerves of trying to serve out the match. Ivanovic focused on the “productive”.

When you are in a stressful situation, try visualizing your game plan being played out or a specific tactic you plan to implement. This technique will help you stay in the moment and productively deal with your nerves.

Ivanovic quotes from Day 14-An interview with Ana Ivanovic-Saturday, June 7, 2008. Retrieved at http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/interviews/2008-06-07/200806071212853882999.html
Federer quote from ROUNDUP: Federer overcomes nerves to write more tennis history. Retrieved at http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/226003/ROUNDUP_Federer_overcomes_nerves_to_write_more_tennis_history

About the Author:

Larry Lauer PhD is currently the Director of Coaching Education and Development in the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports (ISYS) at Michigan State University. His role involves working closely with the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) and Think Detroit PAL to conduct high quality coaching education programs, training instructors, evaluating the program’s effectiveness, and developing curricular materials. In addition, Larry conducts cutting-edge youth sport research at the ISYS and develops resources for youth sport organizations, parents, athletes, coaches, and administrators. For instance, Larry has worked with USA Tennis to develop junior parent education presentations on getting started as a junior tennis parent and developing your child’s talent. Also, he has spearheaded the development of a book of mental skills and drills for junior tennis. At this same time, Larry completed a Ph. D. in Exercise and Sport Science, specializing in sport psychology, at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Larry has been consulting with athletes on performance enhancement and personal development issues for the past 8 years. He has worked with athletes from a variety of sports including tennis, ice hockey, soccer, cross country, swimming, figure skating, volleyball, gymnastics, and baseball. These male and female athletes have ranged from youth to collegiate to professional in their experience. Larry has been very involved in youth ice hockey in performance enhancement and reducing aggressive play. He has created a “Playing Tough and Clean Hockey Program” to help players develop emotional toughness and avoid dirty play on the ice. This Program is now being disseminated to youth hockey coaches through a partnership with the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association. Larry also has worked a great deal with coaches and parents providing educational presentations and resources, and private consulting. He conducts coaching clinics throughout the state of Michigan for high school and youth sport coaches, and parent education workshops. Larry has 7 years experience instructing in the USA Hockey Coaching Education Program. A former coach of baseball, hockey, tennis, and basketball, Larry has also received USA Hockey’s Advanced Level coaching certification. Larry served as hockey director for over two years in Philadelphia/South Jersey and Charlotte, NC. Specifically, he worked for the Philadelphia Flyers rink development department and Flyers Skate Zone for 14 months as a community youth ice hockey director.
Lauer & Associates, Championship Performance Consulting
Office Phone (517) 353-5395 Email: lauerl (at) msu.edu

By Cheryl Coker, Ph.D, New Mexico State University, appearing in the Mind Games section of the USOC Olympic Coach E-Magazine, Winter 2008 issue. Here’s the link to the issue.

The importance of providing athletes feedback regarding their performance is without question. Unfortunately, a number of feedback traps exist that coaches can fall into. These traps reduce feedback effectiveness or worse, create unintentional consequences that can hinder performance. Here are five common feedback traps that should be avoided:

Trap #1 - More is not better!

Feedback serves many purposes. It can reinforce a behavior, provide information about the correctness of a performance attempt, explain why an error occurred, prescribe how to fix an error and motivate athletes to continue working towards their goals. Accordingly, feedback facilitates skill development and performance. It stands to reason then that one might think that the more frequently feedback is given, the greater the gains in learning and performance. This however, is not the case and in fact, can be detrimental.

If feedback is given too often, athletes become accustomed to receiving it and can develop an overdependence on the coach. When this occurs, they are no longer actively engaged in processing and assessing response produced sensory information but instead simply wait for the coach to tell them what happened and how to fix it. The danger with this strategy is that the athlete is no longer forced to develop necessary problem solving skills to develop their own error detection and correction mechanisms. In other words, athletes will not learn how to ascertain the specific cause of an error nor will they be able to determine the adjustments necessary for its correction. Instead, prompt athletes to evaluate their performance prior to providing feedback. This strategy promotes reflective thinking that leads to superior learning.

Want the rest of the traps? Read the article or the PDF version of the issue.

For Podium Sports Journal by Stephen Walker, Ph.D. and Alec Baker, B.A.

What happens when you combine the speed of five great athletes in helmets and pads sprinting on ice skates straight at you? Oh yeah, they’re also bearing weapons. A simple collision, of which there are many, often sends metal blades and long sticks every which way. Their real target is you—the one thing keeping them from their objective—the one guarding the net. You are a goalie—and you must learn to thrive on stress.

The goalie has one of the most mentally demanding positions in any sport. When you combine the speed and mental skills required of a goalie with the danger of the sport, ice hockey is tops. Each goaltender has different strengths and triggers for both optimum and lackluster performance. There is no substitute for a coach knowing the right buttons to push.

The problem is that many coaches rarely interact with their goalies because they don’t know how to coach them. Few coaches have actually played the position. With the emphasis on scoring and offensive play, some coaches minimize drills that emphasize defensive support. Goaltending is a solitary enterprise. When the team’s success is measured against your performance between the pipes, the stakes are undeniably high.

Many factors contribute to a goalie’s abilities and competence. Physical conditioning, preparation, nutrition and fueling, stretching, warm-ups, skating ability, shooting, passing, stick handling, rebound control, net location sequences, etc., are all important to the making of a great goalie. Every goalie at every level has great days and off days, but consistency is the hallmark of greatness in this endeavor.

Here are six mental conditioning skills that distinguish big time goalies. They are studied, practiced, and rehearsed on and off the ice, and instinctively integrated into the arsenal and mindsets that define greatness in goaltending.

Tip #1: Goaltenders must learn to be mentally alert, yet physically relaxed to enhance their speed, quickness, focus, accuracy and rebound control.

Arousal control is the key to developing optimal physical relaxation and mental alertness. This type of stress control involves the use of controlled breathing patterns that self-regulate the autonomic nervous system (see this article on controlling arousal and use of the centering breath). Neuromuscular bracing responses to stress often contribute to poor performance because they contribute to chronically tense muscles, fatigue, slow reaction time, lost precision and an inability to focus.

The centering breath, specifically, and breath control in general, is highly underrated. These skills are not easily mastered. Multiple practice sessions on a daily basis contribute to enhanced breath control in a variety of situations both on and off the ice.

Many mind/body practitioners are familiar with biofeedback and various monitoring systems for physiological functioning. Sometimes biofeedback can be used to improve the goalie’s awareness of both subtle physical sensations and different levels of arousal. Techniques like progressive muscular relaxation (PMR), threshold relaxation, autogenic training, yoga, tai chi movement, somatics and other disciplines can help an athlete relax and acquire expert arousal and motor control.

Speed and quickness can also be developed through certain neuromuscular mental preparation techniques designed to maximize fast-twitch motor unit recruitment. These mental skills are practiced and rehearsed daily if they are to be performed instinctively. (See: Ross, C, Journal of Sports Medicine 2001;31(15):1063- 82).

Tip #2: Goaltenders must learn, practice and employ routines for
pre-game preparation, net location sequences, focusing drills, and refocusing progressions that enhance consistency in performance.

Spatial ability and multitasking are crucial to the goalie’s performance. The ability to focus on and integrate several factors simultaneously separates the great goalies from the good ones. Positioning and efficiency are key at all times. Goalies must systematically develop the ability to keep track of where the men are off-the-puck. They must integrate how well their teammates are reacting to the attacks and positioning of the opposing team. Goalies are ultimately responsible for managing the efficiency of defensive play. Threat awareness is but one part of the many factors processed and accounted for by a competent goalie.

No one questions the role of a quarterback in directing play for a football team, but people often misunderstand the importance of a goalie directing traffic in and around the crease. Coaches with varying experience regarding goalie play can either facilitate or impair how each goalie prepares and practices the drills, routines and communication patterns that help establish their team’s cohesiveness and overall success.

Goalies, like athletes in many other sports, can create successful mindsets and pre-game routines. Sometimes these routines are regarded as superstitious. Certain routines that they believe contributed to a great game one time might become incorporated into that athlete’s standard operating system for game preparation. High performing goalies seeking consistency tend to employ refresher drills—on and off the ice. They do them to boost eye-hand-stick coordination, visual tracking exercises, spatial relations and efficient movements centering on the net. Some of these pre-game routines are physically practiced while others employ imagery, written reminders or sound files recorded on MP3 players. These may include:

* Pre-Game study—relaxing the “butterflies,” review of confidence boosters.
* Know Your Net Drills —Ritually performed net location sequence for every rink.
* Focusing Drills—Visual focusing, threat awareness, movement senses
* “Now” Practice —Analyze a mistake—Integrate (correction)—Forget
* Read —Read—React—Recover—Reposition
(From McDonnell’s Technogoaltending Vol. 1 “Cobra in the Crease.”

All athletes experience jitters before a game. Some may characterize this sensation as anxiety and find it unnerving. Some might say they are excited and happy to get on with the game. How an athlete defines that experience may dictate the proper structure of their pre-game preparation. Even if an athlete is jittery, don’t assume that he is mentally alert. Nutrition, blood sugar metabolism, emotional maturity, life balance, the ability to keep things in perspective, and the ability to manage distractions are key factors for readiness to play. Drills, routines, and rituals can be developed to enhance these factors. There is no substitute for daily practice of these mental skills!

Sean McCann, sport psychologist for the USOC states boldly, “Thoughts impact behavior…and consistency of thinking results in consistency of behavior.” If one seeks to perform reliably between the pipes, then his preparation should guide his thinking and game behavior accordingly.

Tip #3: Goaltenders must learn the art of letting go of mistakes. Perfection and shut outs are what we strive for, but they are never expected.

Perfectionism can be a good friend or your worst enemy, depending on how it is used. Any goaltender who expects to win by shutting out the opponent may be remarkably confident or just plain naïve. Shots ricochet off of traffic in the zone, teammates misplay a clear, power plays create position dilemmas, poor defensive support can leave you without backup, rebounds can bounce in any direction. All of these things and a dozen more happen to a goalie in the course of a game. In order to be effective, goalies must learn from their mistakes and disengage from the emotional angst that accompanies failing to protect the goal. A proper sequence for letting go of mistakes and implementing corrective measures will keep the goalie focused in the NOW—which is essential to success.

Coaches and teammates play an important role here, as well. Coaches often simply demand that the goalie keep the puck out of the net. This speaks to how little most coaches know about the position itself. It also illustrates that goals are frequently attributed to the goalie alone. In ice hockey, the goalie is often treated as a scapegoat.

When a head coach approaches goalies in this way, the goalie will have a much harder time shaking goals off. The goalie may be thinking about whether or not he will be pulled after letting in some goals; he will end up playing tentatively. This preoccupation can only impair his performance and increase the likelihood that he will let in goals.

A goalie’s response to giving up a goal reveals a lot about him as an individual and about the team as a whole. What lesson will they take away from the situation? Will it shake the team’s confidence? Will a teammate’s mistake erode the unit’s cohesion? How long will the mistake eat at the goalie, distracting him from his task? Robin Vealey proposed the use of “P3 Thinking” to keep the athlete focused on his purpose, productively engaged and striving for the possibility of success. A goalie schooled in this routine will be able to disengage from a mistake and reorient to competition quickly. Other tools for letting go might include the Thought Pattern Interrupt (see: http://www.podiumsportsjournal.com/2007/02/04/the-thought-pattern-interrupt-tpi/) or Target Thinking where an individual systematically reviews his intention, focus, and chosen attitude (optimistic vs. negative) following a mistake.

Tip #4: Goaltenders must learn how to keep their self-talk productive and positive—and exercise the discipline to keep their internal conversations centered on their performance, confidence and team focus.

Goaltenders have more than their share of surges and flats depending on how efficient their team may be offensively and defensively. Self-talk is a constant for almost every athlete. When productively engaged in the task at hand, and strictly focused in the moment, self-talk is characterized as a key component in the peak performance zone and is routinely helpful.

Problems occur when goalies engage in “could-a, should-a, would-a” self-talk berating themselves on a mistake made in the past. Athletes whose self-talk is focused unproductively in the future, as in “What if this happens?” or “What’s going to happen next?” put themselves at a disadvantage and can actually cause themselves to panic by anticipating the future. Some athletes think too much and engage in self-talk that reviews a thousand and one details on all the things to remember. Athletes who tend toward this type of internal dialogue put themselves at a disadvantage by analysis paralysis.

Overt criticism from teammates and coaches can often undermine positive self-talk. Even well-meaning coaches who don’t understand the role of goalie as quarterback directing defensive traffic in the zone may lose an opportunity to enhance team cohesiveness by ignoring suggestions and input from their goalie when developing defensive schemes.

Tip #5: Less is more: efficiency and positioning are key. Goaltenders must incorporate spatial integration, focus and anticipation in their mental preparation and execution.

Goalies are responsible for filling in the holes in their team’s defensive scheme. This is almost instinctual in goalies that compete at the highest levels. They always seem to be in the right place at the right time. These athletes appear to have a supernatural ability to anticipate the flow of the game. While they are rarely considered to be flashy or acrobatic in net, their success commands respect. Think for a moment about your favorite goalie. What do you notice about his efficiency and positioning? Spatial abilities combined with an ability to control, divide, and prioritize their focus is what sets these individuals apart and makes them masters of anticipation.

Efficient use of practice time is the best way for a goalie to improve in this area. Goalies must use the repetitive nature of practice drills to their advantage. This means observing the tendencies of the other players (e.g. how subtle differences in shooting angle and position of defenders influences an attacker’s decision making) and experimenting with different strategies for reacting to them effectively. It is imperative for coaches to help their goalies work on this skill. This means designing drills that incorporate three main elements. These are:

1) a variety of shot locations and pre-shot puck movement patterns
2) the recreation of a variety of game situations that involve different numbers of skaters
3) progressively increasing drill difficulty.

These elements speak to the power of exposing goalies to as many different and challenging situations as possible. Over time this exposure will help them learn to recognize and focus on what information is most important to their decision making—and use it efficiently to become masters of anticipation.

Tip #6: Develop teammate and coach communication skills: goaltenders must learn how to be a vocal team leader.

Great goalies recognize their role as quarterback in the defensive zone. They have to let defensemen know if they have men on them when they come back to get the puck, tell them to clear a screen in front of the net, and remind everyone when a power-play ends among other things.

Coaches need to encourage these behaviors and also tell their goalies how they want them to do things like handle the puck during breakouts or manage the clock and tempo of the game by covering the puck. Goalies should expect this type of instruction and solicit it if they are unclear about what their coach expects of them. It is also a good idea for coaches to make a habit of checking in with goalies about these things during period breaks and practices so that the goalie can continue to focus on them.

Coaches should look to their goalies to be leaders on the ice and initiate communication with their teammates. Goalies are the only players who have the opportunity to experience every minute of a game from the ice. This gives them a unique perspective on what is happening throughout the course of the game and puts them in the best position to make strategic adjustments on the fly. For goalies, maintaining this sort of communication requires solid knowledge of the team’s strategy and the confidence to be a vocal team leader.

About the authors:

Dr. Stephen Walker is a therapist, coach, athletic and personal performance consultant who has consulted with world record holders, national champion and All-American collegiate athletes, Olympians and professionals in IAAF, USATF track and field, USA Cycling, USATriathlon, UTI triathlon, USA hockey, PGA golf and other team sports. He has done considerable consulting with Mark Sample of GDI Hockey and continues to enjoy the special challenges goalies face. For more information visit his website: www.drstephenwalker.com

Alec Baker, B.A. is currently a PsyD candidate at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology. In 2005 he earned a B.A. in psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. Since that time he has worked as a goalie coach in the Philadelphia and Denver areas. This work has been with goalies of all youth ages and skill levels from Mite to Midget AA. As a goalie Alec spent 4 years with the Philadelphia Junior Flyers and was a member of the USA Hockey National Championship Tournament quarterfinalist team in 2000. He was also a two time member of the USA Hockey NTDP Select Festival team from the Atlantic/Southeast Region (1998–1999). This team was awarded the bronze medal in the Select Festival in 1999.