posted on: August 29, 2012
author: Brian Lomax, Ed.D.
One of the missions of a coach is to help athletes transform their games so that they become better players in the long term. In order for this to happen, both coaches and students need to understand the difference between information and transformation. Let’s use a very simple example to illustrate this.
Imagine that you have never played a particular sport before and you are eager to learn. You decide that the first thing you want to do is read a book about how to play that sport. So you do that. You read the book, you study the pictures and diagrams, and perhaps you even view a DVD that came with the book. You now have a lot of information on how to play the sport. You know what the game looks like, the various moves required, the necessary footwork. Can you actually play the sport? No. Can you go out and execute any of the high level skills needed to play this sport? No. All you have is information.
How do you take this information and use it to create transformation? Simple – you take action, or in more common terminology for sports, you practice. Without action, information does nothing with respect to performance and over time that information may even be forgotten. By adding action and practicing, you take advantage of neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to actually transform based on what we learn and how we practice. When we first attempt a new skill, we create new neural pathways and the more we practice these new skills, the deeper and thicker those pathways become.
The reason for highlighting this topic is that this concept is often forgotten when learning about the mental aspects of sport. It’s extremely important to remember that mental techniques need practice just as much as the physical skills. In both realms, you are trying to create automatic behavior and you can’t do that without practice and repetition. Using a concept like The Reset Button (forgetting the past and focusing on the present) takes a lot of practice, and I mean a lot! Trying it once and having success with it doesn’t mean you have the technique down cold. What you have done is formed a new neural pathway that needs a lot more repetition before it can become a habit and a strength of your game. And just as you do with your physical game, you’re going to have ups and downs with the mental skills you are learning. That’s not a reason to abandon them as ups and downs are completely normal in performance.
The lesson to understand is that if you want to be a better player and athlete, you have to practice the new skills and techniques that you are learning so that you can transform your game. Use the power of action to take information and create transformation.
Dr. Brian Lomax founded PerformanceXtra™ in 2009 with a mission of helping athletes achieve their goals and their top performances more consistently through a progression of mental skills that enables them to focus on what is truly important.
Learn more about the author: https://performancextra.com/brian-lomax/