by Stephen Walker, PhD, CC-AASP, USOC Registry of Sport Psychologists

My dentist has a sign in his office that reads, “Just floss the ones you want to keep.” Playing conscious golf involves the same principle. Mental conditioning for good tournament play is not a matter left to happenstance. In fact, many of the key factors that help people enjoy the game more require them to improve the way they manage their minds and hole-by-hole execution on the course.

I’ve known zillions of club players who defeat themselves before they reach the 1st tee, and it is no surprise that competent competitive golfers achieve that distinction for a reason. They understand and practice the precursors for playing conscious golf and their preparation before the round is both strategic and vital to sound play. Here are the pivotal steps for tournament preparation….

A proper warm up before play includes a good stretching routine, a process for relaxing the body, and bringing the mind into the “NOW” moment. Techniques are employed before one even picks up a club. Breathing in a deliberate manner is essential and at least a dozen different techniques exist to help calm or energize the body by choice. Focusing techniques follow with the really competent players starting with the short game employing techniques such as “soft” hands to enhance feel. “Quieting the mind” is a trained technique that requires disciplined self-talk between every shot practiced on the range. Conscious golf specifically employs routines to center oneself, to recover on demand, and effectively maintain the mental toughness to manage distractions, chatter, and our own mistakes….to play our best and enjoy the challenge completely. There is no better method than perfecting the pre-shot routine to maximize consistency and when properly constructed, this routine enables us to set ourselves up to score.

I call this approach “conscious golf” and have found that it is never more valuable than in competition. Competitive golf includes tournament play of all kinds. Match play or stroke play, alternate shot, one-on-one, four-ball, member-guest socials and even slug-fests qualify. Informal competition amongst friends and family where the stakes might be no larger than beers at the 19th hole may be more relaxed, but the one thing that does stand out is that we really want to perform well.

I like to tell the story of Billy Bob, who was practicing 4 footers, and had sunk 25 of them in a row. Just then his “buddy” showed up and bet him $50 bucks that he’d miss the next putt…..which he certainly did miss, costing him 50 clams. He was so upset that he broke his $200 putter. Competition comes in all forms and it’s important that we’re consciously ready for it when the challenge presents itself.

This article is dedicated to those who choose to put themselves on the line, purposely engaging in competition to hone their wits and their skills in performance. The tournament enthusiast may be professional or amateur, is committed to their game, loves to win and hates to lose. There are four aspects of conscious golf that this article is dedicated to, all designed to help you better prepare for tournament golf. They involve preparation (on and off the course), the 80/20 rule for scoring, and finally, course and game management.

Preparation On and Off the Course

Preparation begins when we sign up for a tournament. In almost all cases, we’ve got to pony up an entry fee so there’s more at stake than just pride. Every tournament is a little bit different. Some are city wide and involve play on consecutive days at multiple courses. Others may involve a summer long commitment in match play where a different opponent is faced each week until one is eliminated. The important thing is to understand the mechanics of the tournament, assess the competition as best you can before play begins, and to be familiar with the layout of the course by having scheduled a couple of practice rounds in the weeks preceding tournament. Sometimes tournaments involve teams, with best ball and alternate shot formats. Choosing your partner can be fundamental to the outcome. Make sure you think about the goodness of fit amongst personalities. My favorite choice of a partner involves someone who has a good sense of humor, is positive, has substance, keeps their cool and realizes that perspective is all important when keeping the stress levels manageable.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about fueling our bodies nutritionally the night before and prior to the beginning of the round. By keeping certain foods in our bag, we can keep our blood sugar and hydration needs met. Fueling ourselves optimally might involve a banana to keep our potassium up and a power bar to keep from bonking on the course. The first symptom of bonking on the golf course is a mind that spaces out, makes a mental mistake and fails us in managing our attitudes or committing to the shot (not second guessing our choice as we stand over the ball).

After a couple of practice rounds, it’s a good thing to have a course yardage book to go by. A good many courses now have GPS yardage and distance guides with graphics, distance marks to and from hazards and recommendations for optimal approaches to scoring. These books are likely to cost about $4-5 but are fabulous tools in preparing for tournament play. Since few of us are scratch golfers, and we’re not shooting for the million dollar prize money in a PGA tour event…..it is important that we take into consideration the best and worst of our game in planning our strategy for playing a tournament. Some holes should be played as a par 5, even though they may be listed as a par 4 for the scratch golfer. Choosing our shots before a round, so as to minimize trouble and maximize our course management is always a good strategy. Mistakes will happen. However, our ability to minimize lost shots and “blow-up” holes often makes the biggest difference in our ability to score. Preparation before the round should focus on the short game the most – putting and chipping – because 60% or more of our score will be comprised of these kinds of shots.

Dedication to P3 Thinking

P3 thinking is an applied sport psychology technique coined by Dr. Robin Vealey. It requires us to be disciplined in our mental preparation before, during and after the round. The first characteristic of P3 thinking is that our mental preparation is purposeful. We have a purpose and an intention as we approach the round, and each shot within the round.

The discipline is never more apparent than the self-control employed in thinking productively. There are two prerequisites to productive thinking: focusing in the “now” moment, and attuning oneself to the “task at hand.” Selective memory comes into play in this circumstance, with the qualifier remaining productive, constructive, useful, centered and focused on execution. Swing thoughts are kept simple. They employ a fixed point concentration on “how” we will execute “this” shot.

Possibility thinking characterizes the third characteristic of the disciplined mind in tournament play. Each shot is shaped in our mind. A clear target or landing area is not only recognized but planned for. This aspect of the game is managed with flexibility and resiliency, and, it depends on how we may be striking the ball that day, weather or course conditions. Possibility thinking, however, NEVER involves anticipating a score or even calculating numbers during the round. The possibilities are channeled into the execution of one shot at a time, period.

The 80/20 Rule for Scoring

The 80/20 Rule for scoring comes into play most often the closer we get to the hole. The first rule is to “do no harm”. Keep the ball in play. Out-of-bounds and lost balls do happen, and can destroy the best of rounds. By playing a par 4 as a personal par 5, we can choose shots that increase our likelihood of staying out of trouble and those that put us in position to score. A difficult tee shot might best be made with a 5 iron instead of driver. The distance may not matter nearly as much as the ability to play for position and even avoid trouble.

Most golfers in tournament play give away shots unwittingly around the putting green, chipping and putting. Target selection and club selection are paramount here. A chip shot over a sand trap, with a short landing area is not a good percentage shot, especially if we chunk it into the bunker. Choosing the play that puts us in position to score is first priority. Oftentimes, that means we avoid the trouble strategically and purposely. The terrain approach and pin position will dictate our shot selection. Having the ability to pitch and run a 5, 6 or 7 iron vs. lofting a wedge may teach us about the speed of the green and allow us to read the green better for the putt that follows. Watching our opponent’s ball (and not our opponent) can let us learn from both their successes and their mistakes and give us valuable information we can use later in the round.

Partner golf (best ball/alternate shot team play) is a particular challenge in both the ability to stay in synch with one another, but also in communicating effectively to maximize the partnership… thereby minimizing lost shots to mistakes. In best ball play, “ham and eggs” is a good thing and refers to how one partner scores optimally while the other is having a less than stellar hole. Teams that effectively communicate shot selection and strategy increase the effectiveness of the partnership. In alternate shot play, it is really important to consider each player’s strengths and weaknesses in course management and to agree on strategy before each hole.

Attitude adjustment is probably the single most important aspect of the 80/20 scoring rule. Choosing an attitude that has a short memory for poorly played shots, and a long memory for successes is hugely beneficial. Letting go of self-criticism, guilt over failing a partner and any thought that intrudes on our ability to “Be Here Now” and sustain the principles of P3 thinking is imperative to play your best.

Course and Game Management

Anyone who plays this game with any degree of consistency will tell you they are not sure who is going to show up on the 1st tee. We have our ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ games and we can’t always tell when we are going to see which. The ‘A’ game, of course, is the one we most want in tournament play. We are “on” and in the “zone”… hitting the ball crisply and putting in such a way that we see the hole like we’d see the Grand Canyon…big. Sometimes we have that ‘A’ game to keep us company in a tournament. However, sometimes we don’t. What then?

Course management goes to our advance preparation and our knowledge of the course itself. Club selection, shot selection, target zones and “personal par” strategy are the hallmark of course management. No matter what game, ‘A’ ‘B’ or ‘C’, on that day we can do our best if we properly manage ourselves and our choices during the round. Looking over the course layout the night before, it would be useful to plan contingencies for each hole….and keep our notes handy during the round itself.

Managing our game means managing our attitudes during play. Keeping our emotions in check, staying in the “Now”, and keeping our wits about us as we approach each hole and select each shot is the key to playing our best tournament golf. After each round, it may be valuable to review the round and chart fairways hit, greens in regulations, up and down opportunities, sand saves, and putts. This realistic assessment of strengths and weaknesses after the round channels our practice sessions and preparation for upcoming competitions. A purposeful, productive and possibility-focused game improvement strategy becomes the norm. Of course, there are many other strategies and tools for maximizing our performance on game day, but none are more important than those we discussed in this article. The methods for successful play in competition pale in comparison to the healthy attitude and joy of the game.

John Updike once said that, “Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child. Just how childlike golfers become is proven by their frequent inability to count past five.”

Of course, if we don’t play well, the Irish had an answer for us. Did you ever wonder why there are 18 Holes, not 15 or 20? That would be because there are eighteen shots of whiskey in a bottle, and they figured a shot on the tee box of every hole would have them all playing their ‘A’ Game by the time they reached the clubhouse at the end of the day. It’s no wonder most amateur tournaments have no shortage of partying and revelry in between each day of golf.

Happy Scoring.

By Stephen Walker, Ph.D.

Sasha DiGiulian Win’s the 2011 SCS National Championships in Sport Climbing

Photos by Dominik Walker

Editors Note: Goal Setting is commonly referred to as an integral mental skill. However, in our experience there are few coaches and athletes that really know how to do it properly. It is a mental skill that will require months of diligent attention the first time through, but like all skill sets, it becomes more routine with practice. However, this mental skill is designed to be a very conscious one, to be well thought out, and thoroughly reviewed with those whose support is key.

Given the concerns and downside of overtraining/under-recovery and burnout, done properly, goals can help maximize the health and performance of every athlete. Dr. Julian Morrow offers us a well crafted, intelligently written, researched and tested program that is a must for every athlete and coach’s repertoire of skill sets. It addresses and takes into account the most common pitfalls and oversights, and enables one to plan and execute on an elite level, whatever the goal.  Thanks J, SEW

by Dr. Julian Morrow

Suppose that during a moment of earnest introspection, a teachable opportunity so to speak, you decided to create the perfect “you”; not just in terms of your sport but in regard to the big picture, the whole enchilada from the ground up. A sensible place to start might be to list the various roles that comprise your global sense of self, your identity (e.g. grad student, mom, electrical engineer). Next, order them in a hierarchy, placing those that are the most highly valued at the top. Disclaiming any extra-sensory pretense, I can still predict that being a competitive athlete would fall somewhere in the upper tier, otherwise you probably wouldn’t be reading this right now. Competitive athletes are continuously searching for that extra edge which will push them over the top and that is exactly what I believe this article offers.

Implicit within your role hierarchy are an assortment of contributing factors, a composite of your values, perceived competencies and lifestyle preferences. In other words, it portrays a pretty comprehensive snapshot of your existing self-image as well as a futuristic glimpse of how you intend to evolve.

Beginning with the Beginning

Based on my personal experience, I have yet to meet someone who has voluntarily committed themselves to pursue the rigors and demands of sport, on any level, who is satisfied to remain static. I have found that the one pervasive and common feature among this stouthearted group is their eagerness to accept the challenge of striving to improve themselves. Quite often, this is attempted by sifting through the multitude of self-improvement tips floating around and then locking on to those they intuitively believe will help accomplish their mission; those with the potential to nudge them ever-closer to that ephemeral, ever-shifting, concept, the ideal “me”.

Why bother with Self-efficacy?

Ultimately, positive change involves the dialectic of “pushing the envelope” beyond the comfort zone. This, however, can be a dicey undertaking, given that all changes involve a degree of risk. And unless faith and confidence are at hand to neutralize the risk, nothing happens. So, worthy of note, and this is important, if and when you ultimately decide to make the push towards change, indeed push, but gently. Exuberance and eagerness must be continually fortified with little successes and positive feedback. This consideration is especially worth noting early on, that pivotal time when you’re most vulnerable to self-doubts, the nasty flip-side of self-confidence, a.k.a. “self-efficacy”, a more precise but somewhat “jargony” term. Self-efficacy refers specifically to your personal sense of competency in one or more of these areas we are about to explore.

Unattainable aspirations as well as unrealistic self-assessments typically lead to negative self-talk which stirs up feelings of anguish and apathy. Inevitably, these feelings will morph into diminished energy and a “why even try?” attitude. This is why it is wise to incorporate “keepin’ it real” as your omnipresent mantra. It will serve you well as you as you proceed on your journey.

Motor Skills & Techniques
Adaptive vs. Destructive Lifestyle Features
Fitness Level
Mental Toughness

You can begin to chart your course by using the following four interrelated domains as your self-evaluative framework: 1)motor skills and techniques (including the sophistication and breadth of your racing strategies and your ability to read your competition); 2) lifestyle features (nutrition, sleep, drug and alcohol consumption); 3) fitness level (training); and 4)mental toughness (giving special consideration to your ability to access your “game face” and regroup after setbacks). What the consideration of these four domains provides is a totally comprehensive set of the features that must be addressed in order to ultimately make a genuine difference. Take note, your initial evaluations should start out broad and general. As you work the process, continuously attempt to deconstruct each issue into its most fundamental elements. The more specific you are, the better this procedure will work.

Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance here because your coach or personal trainer can help.  The Bottom line: the numbers in your workouts don’t lie – so consider a base-line fitness for competing and work up from there.  In most racing events (triathlon & running) an athlete who is able to perform in competition at a level commensurate with the numbers they put up in training – has had a great outing.

That point behind us, and assuming you’re amenable to accepting suggestions from a highly qualified stranger, we’ll continue. Eschewing any iota of false modesty or equivocation, I implore you to keep paramount in your mind that this is a carefully crafted, road-tested (sorry about the pun) strategy. TRUST IT! Begin by grabbing a plain sheet of paper and pencil. Let’s kick start your pursuit towards excellence.

Determining What Condition is your Condition in?

First, construct four horizontal parallel lines of equal length. Whoosh! These lines have now been magically transformed into continuous scales, each one representing your strengths and weaknesses in terms of the four aforementioned domains. The left end of each line designates your lowest self-evaluations as they relate to the construct while the right end signifies the highest. Now place two dots, A and B on each line. “A” represents your perceived current state of affairs (competence or skill level) and “B” marks the spot where you ultimately believe, given optimal circumstances, you can go.

Beginner                           A                                                                               B             Master

Motor Skills & Techniques

Don”t neglect to consider some realistic parameters such as age, inbred limitations, and competing demands from the other roles in your life. Word up, this is neither the time to be humble nor full of yourself. Now prepare yourself to break down each domain into functional components. Do this by replicating the same procedure of drawing lines and noting where to place your “A’s” and “C’s”.

Using only the “fitness domain” as an example, what you should now have,  is one overall general fitness scale, followed by a series of subscales that you determine to be the most critical elements of the whole. In this instance let’s say, you identify and label three subscales: aerobic fitness, flexibility and upper body strength. Then, complying with your assignment, you fill in the dots.

Poor                              A                                                                                          B   Excellent

Aerobic Fitness

The next step is to observe and examine the gaps between the A’s and B’s individually on each global domain scale as well each subscale. Your underlying concern is directed at creating a workable set of strategies that will ultimately minimize the distance of each distinct gap. In order to accomplish this, try to establish as many insights as possible. These are to be transposed and written down as self-affirming statements. No shortcuts please! Now, to the best of your ability, define and pinpoint specifically, in terms of measurable objectives, what course of action, in terms of specific steps, those behavioral and cognitive changes (automatic, involuntary, random thoughts and self-talk), it will take to satisfy your intentions.

The substance of the message I’m trying to convey is, in order to promote positive movement, more attention should be devoted to your long-neglected weaknesses. Restated, it’s time to stop relying on your strengths to pull you through. “Same-old-same old” is just not the savvy way to initiate growth. Sure, it’s the safe and cozy path but it leads nowhere.

Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong’s Coach) said it best:”Train Your Weakness Race Your Strengths”

And oh yeah, if you’re one of the fortunate souls who have coaches or training partners, get them into the mix. Probe their minds for additional ideas and feedback-all the while remembering to interpret their comments and critiques as constructive suggestions rather than “put-downs”.

This is a forewarning, we’re about to enter a slightly rougher stretch of road (again pun, again sorry). What typically makes the conversion from plan to execution difficult is that once you get started, initial improvements are generally negligible to the naked eye. In fact, what sometimes occurs is that, as you shift your emphasis towards the weaker aspects of your repertoire, performance may even take a slight dip. Be prepared for this and remember it’s only temporary. Consequently I offer this little caveat, restrict your modifications to open periods in your racing schedule. Never initiate a novel “tweak” during competition – they just flat out won’t work effectively under high arousal situations like road-races.

Hold off unwrapping these nuggets until they’ve been adequately hammered into the old noggin. Avoid the potential pitfall, the voice of the devil so to speak that might whisper, “noticeable changes aren’t happening, not working, jump ship…woe is me.” Meaningful change, to the level that it feels automatic and natural takes time. I cannot stress this enough. Be patient – ask any coach in any sport, proficiency takes reps, reps, and more reps. For a more thorough explanation of this point, check out Hull’s Drive Theory in almost any reputable intro psych text.

That said, what sorts of tools do I offer to provide the necessary juice to guide us, no, urge us, to sustain a “keep on keepin’ on” mind set? The-plain-and- simple answer is (drum roll please) – goals.

Goals & Goal Setting

Remember Pac Man from back in the day of first generation computer arcade games? There were those little power pills that, when consumed by our pie-shaped little hero, boosted his energy and enabled him to continue scurrying around consuming the dreaded “ghosties”, which in turn, propelled the player to an ever higher score. Goals are like power pills but, in addition, they also serve an additional function, that of a road map. A schema that clearly represents, “you are here” and “here’s where you want to go”. Goals provide direction. They are the AAA of the soul. What’s more is that when you adequately satisfy a goal, you experience a boost in vitality. The notion that goal attainment which is achieved through self-regulatory procedures possesses this powerful quality has been substantiated by reams of scientific research results. Word up, there’s nothing like achieving smaller goals to strengthen your resolve to “keep on keeping on” towards long objectives. Without goals to guide and sustain you, energy soon gets depleted from purposeless floundering.

Researched and Tested – Guidelines for Goal Setting

There is, however, an interesting paradox here which, if ignored, has the potential to trip you up. Whereas the concept of goal setting is so simple, it may lull you into a false state of complacency. Proper execution and mastery involve some basic principles that novices often overlook. Many of these principles have already been alluded to within different contexts, so I offer this primarily as a check list and review.

* Long term Goals are comprised of a series of short term Goals.
Long term goals as well as major domain goals should be arranged into a series of short term goals on a daily basis. I enjoy reserving some time to kick back each day and contemplate tomorrow’s challenges. As I jot down my delineated course of action, I’m aware that my strivings should become progressively riskier along the self-efficacy versus task difficulty matrix. What helps is that I have learned to conceptualize this as a chain of pit stops that provide refreshment and confidence even as the distance between stops gets progressively longer.

* Goals should be written down. Repeat. Goals should be written down.
The act of writing changes the dynamics, “the medium is the message”. Why? First because your attempt to fashion a workable hard copy allows for a slowed down pace and hence, detailed specificity. Second, the permanence of the written word creates a sense of commitment. It’s a lot harder to run and hide from a document saved in your computer than a fleeting thought. Studies conducted in the area of motivation strongly suggest that people who take the time to write down their self-improvement agendas are significantly less likely to blow them off when the going gets tough. Instead, what they’re more likely to do is remain mindful of the next rule.

* Goals should be flexible. Ahem. Goals should be flexible.
Knowing exactly where to dangle the carrot is an art form. Placed too close to your nose and the only feelings you’re likely to express upon attainment are a blase yawn, coupled with a sarcastic finger swirl. Inversely, pie-in-the-sky goals set too far down the pike which, upon further consideration, are considered to be way too ambitious, elicit an equally ineffective consequence. The bottom line – no movement at all. Use the feedback you receive from each attempt and each reevaluation to make appropriate adjustments. Knowing how high to set the bar takes some trial and error based on your objective self-appraisals. This is one instance where either modesty or false bravado will serve you well. Keep fine-tuning until you ultimately hit that sweet spot where the challenges only slightly exceed your sense of competence. This is especially true during the early stages. Once you get into the rhythm of the dance and your self-efficacy becomes more pervasive, you can attempt to stretch out the challenges without risking a drop off in confidence from pulling up a tad short.

* Goal satisfaction should begin easy and get more difficult.
In keeping with that same train of thought and what bears repeating is, goal satisfaction should start easy and get progressively more difficult. A wise rule of thumb is that self-efficacy, your belief that the goal can be met without much strain, should begin with a resounding “slam-dunk”. Once this consideration is assured, you can start attempting the lower percentage shots, the “three pointers”. Go ahead, survey your buddies about the most difficult aspect of any activity, be it a term paper or work-out, and the unanimous consensus will point directly to getting started. Once you prime the pump, your energy surges and things just seem to get easier. Try this little experiment on a day when you feel too lethargic or out-of-sorts to train. Establish a very modest goal, say, simply changing into your sweats and plopping your lazy butt onto your bicycle seat. No joke. What typically happens then is, that goal achieved, you effortlessly slip into convincing yourself to proceed with a quick and easy “ride in the park”. What you’ve done is minimize the negativity of fretting and ruminating that usually accompanies your concerns stemming from bailing prematurely from your objectives and, “not getting the job done”. By utilizing this super-minimal effort strategy, you can reframe your inner dialogue, “props to me, since I’ve already surpassed what I set out to do”. Feeling lighter and unburdened, you can now continue to boogy down the road. Before you know it, you’re stepping into a well-deserved shower. This phenomenon is not hard to explain. It’s a result of the way our nervous systems are hard-wired. As a rock proceeds to roll down a hill, its energy is exclusively provided by its own momentum.

* Goals are specific and measurable.
Goals must be specific and measurable. Suppose you decide to improve on a counterproductive aspect of your lifestyle by cutting out simple carbs right before you go to bed. A pattern you’ve established from reviewing the daily entries in your training journal (a previous goal which you’ve selected) is that you typically get uncontrollable sweet tooth yearnings and eventually succumb to a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia at around ten in the evening while you watch the nightly news. Seeking creative solutions to this nutritional dalliance, you attempt a plan of distraction. Having carefully reviewed this article a number of times and following its suggestions to the letter, you correctly formulate a blueprint which translates into immersing yourself in woodworking projects, your fave-rave pastime, from ten to ten forty p.m., in your brand spanking new workshop. By first removing yourself from the place and time where your cravings usually occur (for the uninitiated, some review of involuntary classical conditioning will provide the theoretical rationale of this particular situation), you’ve made a heads up choice. What’s more, if this particular prescription falls short, you can implement plan B, either by modifying the time duration or by attempting another activity altogether (like sex for example, which has a greater capacity to distract) all the while maintaining the understanding that reprogramming your conditioned responses to external stimuli, like time of day, will ultimately spell the difference. Don’t for one second think that I couldn’t continue this discussion ad infinitum by deftly switching my focus to the elimination of negative self-talk or the creation of effective pre-competition routines as my objectives. This should serve as a warning-don’t get me started.

* Goals are process rather than outcome oriented.
And finally, goals should be process rather than outcome oriented. This includes the acknowledgement that goal achievement should be within your control. You have no control over your competition, your coaches, or weather conditions, just yourself. As an example, consider the variability of your competition. The effort and preparation that may pay off with a high standing in one race may not produce bupkus on another day. Same effort. Same prep work. Different competition and surrounding circumstances. For many, this is a sea change in their approach to cycling. Trust in yourself to the extent that when your technique, lifestyle, fitness level and mental preparations have been adequately attended to, the outcome will take care of itself. It’s really the only way to fly.

Photos by Dominik Walker

About the author:

Dr. Julian Morrow, who by the way prefers to be referred to as J (please no Dr. J jokes either) graduated “quite a few years ago” from the University of Wisconsin where he was a member of the wrestling team. “Several years later”, after exploring an unsatisfying succession of totally unrelated careers (while half-heartedly attending graduate school in psychology) an insightful moment occurred that cleared his vision. Committed and focused, he completed his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from New York University despite the disappointment of having to “end run” one last obstacle. He explains this final hurdle by narrating the story of being unable to recruit even one faculty member to join his dissertation committee, “rejections were, one hundred percent in agreement,” his proposal topic was deemed “interesting but frivolous”. He continues, “this event occurred before sport psychology was considered ‘legit’ in the eyes of academia, and my topic of choice had to do with self-concept and athletic performance”. So, being a pragmatist, he “somewhat reluctantly” gave up the ghost, that is, until several years later, when a critical mass of interest and support, “even academia hopped on the bandwagon”, allowed him to return to sport psychology and pursue a variety of “different research objectives and roles” that now encompass this burgeoning specialization. He’s taught (full and part time at various universities), authored (research papers, text chapters, popular magazines), consulted (professional athletes and teams, NCAA, USOC), and continues to enjoy his albeit scaled back, semi-retired, career. What has been J’s most satisfying experience as a sport psychologist? “Thus far, I would say mentoring a wonderful high school student for three years. The relationship culminated with Matt being rewarded for his research efforts by being selected as a finalist in the highly competitive and respected Intel Science Competition”. By the way, the topic that the two explored together – Goal setting, expert feedback and verbal leaping ability.

Dr. J Morrow is a long-time friend of Podium Sports Journal and a member of the Podium Advisory Board – to learn more about Dr. Morrow check out his professional bio.

Podium Sports Journal’s Podcast of the Week – An interview with Drs. Noah Gentner and Vanessa Shannon

by Dr. Stephen Walker, CC-AASP

This podcast was the first of a two part podcast with Drs. Noah Gentner and Vanessa Shannon on qualitative research they conducted with Olympic Gold medalists from the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.  The interview was given at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky October 2007.

This study evolved over a number of years in a series of interviews focused on identifying and describing the mental techniques and preparation strategies used by world champions.  The key exploration focused on how these premier athletes differed from those less successful athletes in their preparation and mental conditioning.  A total of nine male and female athletes from six different sports comprised the sample for this qualitative research effort.

Some of the techniques employed included self-talk, attention cues, process focused physical moves, smart “techniques”, short-term and long-term goals.  Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 of this interview.

Dr. Noah Gentner is a sport psychologist consultant and Assistant Professor of Sport Sciences from Georgia Southern University.  Dr. Vanessa Shannon is a coaching education specialist and Assistant Professor at West Virginia University.  Both were students of Dr. Craig Wrisberg  and Leslie Fisher Gould at the University of Tennessee.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click Here to Listen to the Podcast: aasp-oct07-minding-for-gold-gentner-shannon3

by Stephen Walker, PhD, CC-AASP

Podium’s Podcast of the Week: An Interview with Dr. Lee Hancock

Lee Hancock is Chair of the Kinesiology Master’s Program at California State University – Dominguez Hills.  He is a former college and semi-professional soccer player and Founding Director of DevelopMental Solutions – a consulting group working with athletes, parents, coaches and organizations.  While earning his PhD at ASU, Dr. Hancock worked for the Office of Youth Preparation.  The OYP focused on academic, athletic and personal preparation strategies for young students and athletes.  Hancock even developed an SAT prep course to better help athlete’s understand how to maximize their performance on the exam.  He also taught programs to help them better represent their strengths in the application process.

Hancock is an experienced coach and currently consults with multiple athletes, sport teams and youth organizations both locally, nationally and internationally.  In this interview, Hancock provides some valuable tools to help our listeners understand the process of teaching mental skills to youth sports participants competing in different sports.  Using a four phase model and emphasizing quality over quantity, Hancock got great results from the teams that he worked with.  Finally, he offers up key guidelines for which mental skills are likely to be most helpful, and how best to implement them in training both coaches and athletes in youth sports.  Thanks Lee for the great input!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lee Hancock – Mental Skills Training for Youth Coaches

The USOC’s Coaching Newsletter – An Article on Performance Enhancement

A THREE-STEP FORMULA FOR COMPETITION READINESS: FROM PREPARATION TO EXECUTION
By Sean McCann, USOC Sport Psychologist- Strength and Power

When an athlete prepares well, has the talent, but simply doesn’t execute, it is frustrating and often puzzling to figure out what went wrong. At the Olympics, it is relatively rare to see a total performance collapse. When athletes underperform at the Games, the most common phenomenon is a series of small, atypical mistakes and changes in performance. Added up together, these changes and mistakes derail the performance just enough to create a below-average performance. Over the years, in my work as a sport psychologist, I have tried to determine what factors are present when athletes underperform and what it is that allows some athletes to perform at their best, time after time. After eight Olympics, I have observed a few consistent factors that result in strong performances.

Key to Strong Performances – Being in “Execution Mode”

When you’re out there in the big league pressure cooker, a pitcher’s attitude — his utter confidence that he has an advantage of will and luck and guts over the hitter — is almost as important as his stuff.” Bill Veeck

Athletes do not have to be “in the zone” or having a “peak experience” to perform well under pressure. But there are some basic characteristics of an athlete’s mindset when things go well. I call it “execution mode”, a state of mind in which an athlete has simple thoughts, a very clear idea of what she needs to do, and complete confidence that executing this clear idea will mean success.

1. Simplicity and Clarity of thoughts. For best performances, athletes are operating with a stripped-down, uncluttered mind. Technique has been reduced to a shorthand. Strategy is a simple idea. The internal mind is quiet, but the senses are open and aware. Thoughts are almost completely in the present.
2. Certainty regarding focus. During best performances, there is no confusion or uncertainty about where the mind should be. Athletes are sure they are on the proper performance path, which makes it easier to keep proper performance focus. Certainty and the absence of doubt reduces self-consciousness.
3. Confidence in approach. Athletes who perform well are completely confident that what they are doing is correct. With this confidence, they can fully commit to the simple, clear ideas above. They know exactly what they are trying to execute, and they trust. They trust that executing this plan will be enough for success. This trust and confidence decreases the tendency to become defensive, and increases the ability to stay relaxed, athletic, and aggressive.

Virtually every athlete in every sport I have talked to about these issues agrees that these three factors are present in great and good performances. Most consistently strong performers will agree with these ideas but they often say that they hadn’t really thought about these factors or given them a name. For most successful athletes, they discovered how to get into that state of mind by trial and error. I believe coaches can help a much larger number of athletes get into execution mode by setting it as an explicit goal for competition and explaining that there are three steps on the path to execution mode.      Read on………

Click here to Read McCann’s Article – Scroll to MIND GAMES

by Stephen Walker, Ph.D. CC-AASP

Podium’s Podcast of the Week: An Interview with Dr. Geir Jordet

Geir Jordet is Associate Professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Sognsv, Norway.  He is also a consultant to World Cup Soccer Teams and has done some remarkable work in studying who succeeds and who doesn’t in high pressure situations in a variety of sports, most notably Soccer.

Jordet gave one of the more alluminating lectures at AASP 2009 when he demonstrated numerous examples of mistakes made at the highest level – including Premier League competition where a referee blew the call, and video examples of missed penalty kicks that had two things in common: The kicker rushed the attempt, and, turned away from the goal keeper after setting the ball.

Jordet set the framework for these failures by illustrating the high status of the player or referee and the huge implications (high threat) resting on the outcome.  For the athlete, their fear of failure – and – potentially excessive pressure felt in such circumstances routinely increase the likelihood of failure.  Unless certain measures are employed to “neutralize the stress” and athletes recognize the common pressures felt by all, they will likely have trouble putting it all in perspective.  Not only does Jordet get the athletes to talk about their fears, he does so in a variety of circumstances so as to neutralize the intensity of these emotions – for the choke comes when they destroy the athlete’s focus and concentration.

Perhaps the most interesting of Jordet’s work involved his study of air traffic controllers and surgical teams, where mistakes can be fatal.  Predicated on the assumption that mistakes are as much a part of the game as great plays, he wanted to know how these teams addressed their problems, and what world class athletes might gain from their experience.  The lessons learned from these groups were surprising, and they illustrated techniques coaches and teams can use in either preventing the high profile choke, and/or minimizing the damage that can come from it.  There were some surprises as well…and cultural differences were recognizable when looking at how the teams reacted in those situations.  The implications for developing team cohesion are huge.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click Here to listen to the Podcast: AASP09 Dr Geir Jordet – Preventing Choking Under Pressure Situations

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lack of Mental Toughness Costly

by Stephen Walker, PhD, CC-AASP – Boulder, Colorado

We assume that those who play on the world stage at the highest levels of sport have schooled themselves mentally to keep their wits about them in the toughest of situations.  Perhaps we assume wrong. Yesterday’s Semi-final in the women’s US OPEN Tennis Championships provided us with a spectacle of the highest drama.

After a poorly played first set, Serena Williams smashed her racket into the court and received a warning from US OPEN referee, Brian Early.   Frustrated by unforced errors, Williams played poorly.  She was heavily favored to win the tournament and had breezed through to the semi-finals.  Yet, in a match with re-emerging Kim Clijsters (playing her first grand slam tournament since giving birth well over a year ago) Williams was barely competitive and clearly outplayed throughout the match.

The crowning moment came when Williams was down 5-6 in the second set, struggling to hold serve.  At 15-30, on her second serve, Williams was called for a foot fault resulting in a double fault and loss of point.  The foot fault was examined from every angle imaginable, blown up on television screens in High Definition and with all the benefits of slow-motion photography….millions of eyes viewed the replay.  Virtually every commentator questioned the call.

It was then that it happened.  Williams strutted menacingly toward the the line judge, stopped behind the service line and uttered the unforgettable obscenity and threat – a clear breach of conduct.  The line judge did exactly what she was supposed to do….notify the referee of the incident.  After the display at the end of the first set, Referee Brian Early decided it was time to call game-set and-match.  Williams was eliminated and Clijsters advanced to the finals.

It should never have happened and Serena Williams will be the first to admit that.  She lost her focus early on and was never able to disengage from her anger and troubled emotions.  BrainTough she was not and although she spoke later of her mistakes caused by her penchant for passionate play – there was no excuse for such a lack of discipline at this level.  What was worse, she projected her anger directly toward a line judge – while the whole world watched.  To say it was a poor display of sportsmanship is an understatement.

A Tale of Two Styles in Mental Toughness

Clijsters, on the other hand, is known for being kind and thoughtful….and a gamer in the best sense.  She said after the match that she was really pleased with her ability to focus on one shot at a time and stay in the present moment… playing within herself and executing solidly.  Her game plan consisted of tenacious mistake-free defense and she accomplished that recording only 18 unforced errors throughout the match.  Williams, recorded well over thirty with two really costly errors that won’t even show in the stat sheet.

As a sport psychology consultant, it is a primary priority in working with an athlete – to identify those techniques, adjustment strategies, focusing drills and methods of self-talk that will serve them well when needed most.  It is key to know what to do when.  These methods are drilled and become part of any quality mental conditioning program….to be employed when needed for as long as needed.  These skills are reviewed repeatedly and require updating every time an athlete reaches a new level of competition.  The skills employed in high school sports must be updated to compete collegiately …. yet the skills are always focused on priority one….managing one’s arousal level and keeping the emotions under control as long as is necessary during the event.

Doing so enables us to bring out our best performance even when the physical game is slightly off.  We never know whether our “A” – “B” – or “C” game will show up…but we must maintain our mental focus to perform our best under the toughest of circumstance.  Mental conditioning is key and emotional control is a Core Competency to be practiced and actively employed if we’re to be successful.

The odds are Serena Williams will review this disaster and re-focus on regaining the skills that enabled her to become a champion.  She understands mental toughness, however, she needs a refresher….because this US OPEN will remain a tough pill to swallow throughout her career.

Nevertheless, we can all thank her for reminding us of the importance of maintaining grace under fire.

Podium’s Podcast of the Week – an Interview with Dr. Daniel Czech – Georgia Southern University

by Stephen E Walker, PhD, CC-AASP

Dr. Daniel Czech is a professor of sport psychology in a program that has done some remarkable research in recent years, particularly qualitative efforts.  Qualitative research involves a more in-depth study of the practices employed by a few athletes and requires multiple interviews over a long period of time in order to cover the subject properly.  He has supervised many studies involving best practices in teaching and coaching….and in recent years done some remarkable investigations with professional athletes in golf, tennis, basketball and other sports.

The Pre-shot routine has long been mentioned as a tool for building consistency in golf and basketball (free throw shooting) – but this research review cuts to the chase and identifies many reasons PGA Tour professionals use it.  Don’t think for one minute that ritual and superstition don’t have have their place at the highest levels in sport.  Its just that I underestimated how valuable they might be as a tool I should keep readily available when working with athletes at all levels.  The particular research effort discussed in this podcast was conducted by Daniel R. Czech, Allison Yancey, Drew Zwald, Barry Joyner, and Jonathan Metzler from Georgia Southern.  Thanks to them for sharing their research with us at Podium.

By the way, I used to be one of those guys who would just “grip it and rip it” – but I’ve now found that I find my target a whole lot more frequently if I just use a few of the tips in this Podcast.  Whether amateur or pro – in many different sports you will find benefit in this Podcast.  Don’t forget to review the Pre-pitch routine in baseball as another example of how these “best practices” are applicable to other sports.  Check out this article in Podium and you’ll see further evidence to support this mental focusing technique.  Building Consistency at the Plate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Listen to Dr. Dan Czech Interview – Research of Preshot Routines – PGA Tour Players

Podium’s Podcast of the Week: Dr. Lois Butcher-Poffley’s research on music & tempo in Sport

by Stephen E. Walker, PhD, CC-AASP

I remember when we used to watch cartoons on TV every Saturday morning.  We’d watch Loony Tunes and Road Runner, but the room would come alive when Bugs Bunny started doing the Rumba with a “1-2-3-kick.”  My sisters and me would love it and have a blast as we’d try to kick each others’ butt right on beat.   Anyway you look at it – the image is as fresh on my mind today – as any song, music or rhythm I’ve ever played with.   I’ve been a musician pretty much since 10 years of age and so tempo has guided these endeavors for many years.

I knew when I attended Lois’ workshop at AASP last year that it would be a treat and it was.  Not only did it provide me with some new tools for my work with athletes and coaches, it completely altered the way I would look at teaching motor skills.  

The applications are everywhere and you’ve got to look hard to find exceptions.  Open sports, closed sports, whether initiating a serve or teeing off in golf…the use of rhythm and music is pervasive…if we know what to pay attention to…and how to use it properly.  Music can calm us – hype us up – help us heal – give our team an identity – and do it all in a manner of ways likely to help us master a great many challenges when faced with complex motor skills…all the while making it fun!

Enjoy Podium’s podcast of the week – a few lessons with a former professional dancer turned certified sport psychology consultant.  Dr. Lois Butcher-Poffley is a professor at the City University of New York and director of SportsLogic, a consulting firm she operates out of  Philadelphia, PA.  She’s worked with a number of Division I teams in sports you wouldn’t expect, including football.  Take a listen to this podcast and you’ll begin thinking of rhythm and music in every sporting endeavor you engage in.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click Here to listen to the Podcast

By Dr. Haley Perlus

Athletes First

Why do young athletes participate in sports?  This is a simple question with insurmountable implications for improving youth competitive sport.

Children choose to participate in sport for the following six reasons:

1) to have fun,  2) to learn and improve skills,   3) to be with friends,   4) to be part of a team,   5) to get exercise and stay in shape, and   6) for the challenge and excitement of competition (Gould & Petlichkoff, 1988).   Young athletes do not yet possess the talent, strength, skill, and experience to be elite (Erickson, 1996).  They’re in it purely to enjoy the experience.

From a developmental perspective, there are two justifications for youth competitive sport (Wiggins, 1987): personal development and peak performance. Personal development includes, but is not limited to, positive self-perceptions, long-term motivation to be active and experience new things, ability to cope with anxiety and disappointment, and sportspersonship.

Performance enhancement includes skill development and improvement

To keep young athletes in sport long enough for them to develop these positive qualities and discover their true athletic potential, sport psychologists recommend ……..

…….that youth competitive sports find a balance between individual and competitive rewards (Ames, 1986).

An individual reward structure allows athletes to work toward exerting more effort, learning from their mistakes, and improving their personal best performances. Individual rewards foster a sense of personal control and persuades athletes to bring attention to their skill development.

Conversely, a competitive reward structure highlights the natural urge for social comparison and forces athletes to work against each other for recognition. Competitive rewards encourage athletes to evaluate their ability solely based on performance outcome criteria and to forget about whether or not they improved from last time.

Individual rewards are especially important for children younger than 14 years. Research in developmental psychology (Horn, 1991; Horn & Hasbrook, 1986; 1987; Horn & Weiss, 1991) demonstrates that young athletes between eight and 12 years rely heavily on social comparison criteria and feedback and evaluation from significant adults (e.g. parents and coaches) to measure their success. Individual rewards teach young athletes to become aware of their own skill improvement. In turn, they develop an internal sense of satisfaction, self-efficacy and motivation. At this point, it would be difficult for an athlete to want to do anything but play sports.

It isn’t until about age 14 that athletes use multiple sources of criteria including social comparison, self-improvement, ease of learning new skills, and enjoyment of the activity to measure success. Thus, athletes around the age of 14 are developmentally capable of putting winning and social comparison in perspective and balancing it out with self-improvement.

As young athletes are developing, it is the responsibility of the coaches and parents to emphasize individual improvement rather than highlight the natural tendency to focus on how one young athlete compares to another. In turn, these athletes will exert more effort, persist to improve and learn new skills, and develop a long-term interest to stay in sport. Most importantly, they will be given the opportunity to develop physically and psychologically and realize their true athletic potential.

An Example worth looking at: Competitive Ski Racing

In an effort to create a more enjoyable experience for young athletes and instill positive personal development and performance enhancement, many youth competitive sport programs have modified the typical reward system. Instead of rewarding only the top three males and females in their level of competition, the reward system acknowledges a larger number of athletes (e.g. the top ten males and females).
Although intensions are pure, this reward system could produce the exact opposite effect of what it was designed for. Instead of decreasing the significance of social comparison and winning, the reward system places further emphasis on finish placements. Also, by distributing competitive rewards to a larger group of athletes in an attempt to increase self-efficacy, the youth program runs the risk of instilling unrealistic expectations for future competition. These viewpoints are discussed below.

Emphasis on Social Comparison and Winning

Imagine Jake, a small nine year old racer, who continues to improve his technique, but is not yet capable of placing in the top ten for his age group. To be a good “team player” Jakes is required to stay after each race and watch his peers be recognized for their race results. With a typical reward system, Jake would watch for a short period of time while the bronze, silver, and gold medals are distributed to the three fastest racers. With this new reward system in place, the duration of the ceremony is much longer. Consequently, Jake is conditioned to believe that the results and the competitive rewards make up the main event of the competition.

Picture Tracy, an 11 year old girl, walking to her parent’s car after the reward ceremony. Tracy is now looking around and seeing many athletes holding their reward while she is getting into the car empty-handed. Compared to when only a select few athletes, who finished in the top three, received a reward, Tracy is reminded of how slow she was compared to many of her peers.

In both cases, Jake and Tracy are exposed to a youth sport environment that teaches them the importance of race results and social comparison for measuring success. Due to their inability to earn a competitive reward, Jake and Tracy will develop low self-efficacy and possibly a fear of failure. The end result is an unhappy athlete who no longer enjoys the sport.

Instilling Unrealistic Expectations

Lisa, an early developing and talented 12 year old ski racer, is among the top five fastest girls in every race. Lisa is used to being recognized for skiing fast and she loves the attention and praise she continues to receive from all of the coaches, ski parents, and peers.

What will happen in a few years when Lisa’s peers catch up to her in strength, ability, and speed? It is common for an athlete like Lisa, who received endless recognition for her performance outcomes, to develop high self-efficacy in her sport. Unfortunately, when a top ten placement becomes harder to achieve, Lisa will have difficulty coping with the possibility of not getting a competitive reward. She will then be susceptible to anxiety and emotional exhaustion that could lead to burnout and, in worse cases, dropout.

How to Structure Rewards for Youth Competitive Sport

Winning and social comparison is inevitable in sport. The desire to be the best will never disappear, nor should it. Athletes, young and old, are going to ask themselves if they won and how they compared to their peers. However, we can balance this orientation by emphasizing individual improvement.

It is appropriate for youth competitive sport to include competitive rewards, just as they are included in higher levels of competition. Young athletes do not need to be sheltered from the true nature of competitive sports. Experience with success and defeat will help athletes to develop coping skills they can implement in any life domain.

It is essential, however, for coaches and parents to also provide athletes support for their self-referenced achievement. This support can be verbal (“Jake, your hands were up in front of your body the whole run – way to go”), physical (Tracy’s coach pats her on the back and gives her a smile in the finish area), or tangible (Lisa earns a hat, donated by a sponsor, for demonstrating aggressive effort from the start to the finish line). What is important is that each reward is earned and not just given for the sake of giving. When the reward is meaningful, it will instill self-efficacy in the young athlete, making the overall experience much more enjoyable.

The individual reward structure will also serve to put winning in perspective and define success and failure in terms of personal improvement (Smoll & Smith, 2002). Now, in addition to wanting to know how one person compared to another person, young athletes will be interested to know how they can get better than they were before and what will help them improve from their last performance.

Who is Dr. Haley Perlus?

Haley is a doctor of sport and exercise psychology.  She is an expert at empowering individuals to achieve peak performance.  A former elite athlete, Whistler Cup Alpine Ski Racing Champion, Coach, group fitness instructor, and fitness trainer, Haley has devoted her life to sport and exercise and understands the difficulty of overcoming performance blocks so that people can consistently perform to the best of their ability.  She is an enthusiastic and passionate seminar leader, speaking at numerous conferences, workshops, conventions and trade shows. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs.  Dr. Perlus is available for individual and group mental toughness consultations. To find out more about these programs, email us at haley@drhaleyperlus.com or call us at (303) 459-4516.