Addressing the Mental Needs of Athletes�Chuck Schwartz-Air Academy High School�USAFA, Colorado Springs, Colorado

My Challenge to You: It starts with the Coach!

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• Knowledge of Sport’s Psychology is as important as Exercise Physiology.
• As coaches, we tend to spend much of our energy on our athletes. We have lots of technical knowledge and experience. We can also carry lots of baggage into coaching – it can limit our effectiveness.
• We have been programmed to think a certain way from birth. Theories abound regarding this in Cognitive Psychology.
• Our thoughts, actions and reactions are very intuitive and much of our subconscious is involved, creating outcomes in our lives both positive and negative.
• We unknowingly sabotage ourselves much more frequently than we realize. Self-fulfilling prophecy. Example-poverty cycle, Rich Dad/Poor Dad.
• Individuals can rewire their thinking. Examples: Visualization and Affirmations.
• A coach can radically change team culture by re-wiring their thought processes. As a coach, I need to realize that I sabotage my team much more often than I care to admit.
• It starts with me. When I began to work on myself and the way I think, it made all the difference.
• Limitations that exist within us as coaches, might be what is costing us the next championship.
• Commit to a fearless inventory of yourself. Don’t leave any stones unturned. Go for broke. Re-build yourself if needed.

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Addressing the Mental Needs of Athletes�by Chuck Schwartz – Air Academy High School

1. 3 Essentials – Self-Determination Theory

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• Self-Identity – dealing with Performance Based Identities

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• Performance Mindsets

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• Mental Toughness

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Self Determination Theory�3 Essentials – for Optimal Well being*

• 1. Belonging-Athletes need to feel like they belong
• 2. Competency – Athletes need to feel like they are showing improvement.
• 3. Autonomy-Athletes need to feel like they have some element of control.

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• Self Determination Theory – a psychological framework for understanding human motivation and personality. Developed by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan in the 1980s. SDT posits that people are inherently driven to grow and achieve fulfillment when their basic psychological needs are met. These needs are belonging, competency and autonomy.
• I was first introduced to SDT when I read the book Do Hard Things by Steve Magness. I followed up by spending my year reading and studying the application of SDT to cross country teams.*
• What does SDT provide for an XC team?
• I. Stress Reduction – for athletes and coaches
• II. Intrinsic Motivation – for athletes and coaches
• III. It provides solid framework for your purpose as a coach or your team mission.

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• Coach the Following:
• I. Create an environment/team where everyone is welcome. Talk about your JV as much as your varsity. Give the star a break – they might appreciate it. Recognize all of your athletes over the course of a season.
• II. Frequently monitor improvement – find at least 1 thing you can work on with EVERY athlete (stride frequency, core endurance, foot strike, pace, etc…)
• III. Give your athletes some element of control in your system without surrendering the reigns. ( Choice through Ranges – Run 6-8 miles, 10-12 x 200m) Example – BTMR Aid Station Volunteers given option of running hard on Monday or Tuesday. Example – teams allowed to design the new uniforms. Example – when an athlete asks you about a race plan, ask them, “what did you have in mind”?
• * Taken from Steve Magness, Do Hard Things, HarperOne, 2022.

Performance Based Identity*

• If you look for lists of identity basis, the lists will be long and varied. Internal and external factors such as beliefs, culture, ethnicity, skills, life story and social context are key elements in our self identity. Self identity is dynamic and changes frequently.(Clip-Anger Management) Some experts believe GenZ and GenAlpha have higher degrees of Performance Based Identity – I believe it! Gallup did a poll in 2014 and revealed that 55% of Americans get a sense of identity from their job (and the more successful they were at the job, the more they tended to derive identity from it).
• I ran across an excellent view from a sport’s psychologist, Michael Gervais PhD, in the book The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What Others Think of You. He has a lengthy discussion on the modern phenomenon of “Performance Based Identity”.*
• The 3 symptoms of Performance Based Identity:
• I. Contingent Self Worth – self esteem is based on either comparison to others or approval by others.(FOPO)
• II. Irrational Fear of Failure- when your fear of failure causes you to procrastinate or avoid doing activities unless you are assured of success.
• III. Perfectionism-tendency to set high, rigid or flawless goals and to set high expectations on oneself or others.
• Performance Based Identity will exhibit itself in two ways : 1. Perfectionism 2. Avoidance (2 people – Perfectionists and Avoiders…often, they are the same person)*
• Coach the following:
• I. Set Realistic Goals – without discouraging the athlete, reduce the pressure. Ex: Changing Race Plans – NXR SW
• II. Prepare for failure and accept that it is okay (not that it’s our goal). How do we view losing? As a coach, what is more important, the athlete or the victory?
• III. Beware of rational vs irrational thoughts. Ex: Do you have a trustworthy individual who can tell you the truth/offer interpretation?
• IV. Individuals need frequent affirmations. Example: Affirm your athletes for more than just their running.
• V. Focus on who you are, not what you do. Example: You are going to have to consistently model – there is more to life than XC/Running.
• *Michael Gervais PhD with Kevin Lake The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What Others Think of you, Harvard Review Press, 2023

Performance Mindsets – The Inverted “U”�(Yerkes-Dodson Law)

Article by Ben Janse “ToolsHero Webpage”

Performance Mindsets- The Inverted “U” Theory�(Yerkes-Dodson Law)

• Yerkes-Dodson Law describes the relationship between arousal and performance. According to this theory, performance improves with increased arousal, but only up to certain point. Beyond this point, further increases in arousal lead to a decline in performance. This relationship is typically depicted as an inverted U-shaped curve. Practically, it reveals itself before a competition as an athlete does 1 of 3 things – 1. Psych's themselves out 2. Is apathetic 3. They are focused and optimally ready!

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• Coach the Following:
• I. Every individual is different – encourage people to find out what works for them. Do you think about running all the time? – you might benefit from distraction. Are you REALLY laid back? –you might benefit from some hype! Example – Coach Vigil making me read Shakespeare is a form of distraction. Chuck Schwartz listening to Judas Priest Unleashed in the East is a form of hype.
• II. Go over race plans at a strategic time – you can figure out when. I go over race plans 2 days or more before competition.
• III. Watch what you say! I have had to learn to back off sometimes from the motivational speeches. Realize that some days – need to be carefree.

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Mental Toughness

• Mental Toughness (from AI) – Resilience during difficulty, confidence to succeed, focus under pressure, manage under pressure and persevere despite obstacles – over time.
• Decades ago, we were taught mental toughness with dated systems. Lots of yelling. Lots of running/punishment. Endless duty and repetition to teach discipline. Examples – (Schwartz Rabbit-Hole Potential…) High school basketball – 40 line drills for punishment, etc... A lot of how “we” were trained was military style by old, crusty ex-military guys and gals.*
• Cold War Military Studies – during the Cold War, the US military examined military training. They discovered that their strategies, although extremely tough, did not correlate as well to the battlefields. Hard, unbearable training, doesn’t necessarily create good performances. *
• The Military learned, after a few decades, that mental toughness (resilience in battle) was very specific to the duty and skill based. They didn’t eliminate the super tough training; they just refined it and added some high-level thinking skills – SEE NEXT SLIDE!*
• *This Content comes from Chapter 2 of Do Hard Things by Steve Magness, HarperOne, 2022

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Mental Toughness

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• I pulled the following to illustrate the high-level use of mental training by the military – I have never been in the military. My knowledge is purely academic, and I found this fascinating! Check it out for yourself!

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• From: Athleteassessments.com – Bo Hansen visits with the Navy Seals

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• This is the four step plan for US Navy Seal Mental Toughness:�Goal setting: Set short term achievable goals and count out loud to create a point to focus on.
• �Visualize: See yourself achieving your goals and being the success you aspire to.
• �Positive self-talk: Saying encouraging and inspiring words to yourself.
• �Stress Management: Learn to assess each situation before taking action. Never be rushed into doing something without full instruction, understanding of the situation or rational thought. Take slow deep breaths to focus your attention and lower your heart rate. Seals can do this in the space of seconds where normal civilians may take minutes to achieve. Seals do not have minutes to compose themselves. Take a step back from the situation before stepping back in and taking action.
• Link to Article (actually it’s more of an intro to his services)
• I included this to illustrate how the military, particularly the Navy Seals, use mental training and not just insanely tough training. Not an ad
• For DISC Profiling. This particular website advertises Athlete Behavioral Profiling. This particular selection is perfect for the purpose of
• Illustrating the need for mental skills to be taught to soldiers and, in our case, athletes – along with hard physical work.

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Mental Toughness

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• Coach the Following:
• “Consistency in training is the key to mental toughness for a distance runner” –Joe Vigil
• “High fitness is the key to mental toughness for a distance runner” –Steve Magness
• If we listen to research conducted by Sports Psychologists and the military, we can produce a modern view of mental toughness and how to build it with Generation Z and Generation Alpha.

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• Practical ways to develop Mental Toughness:
• 1. Training – be as consistent as possible. Use progressive training principles. Increase volume, intensity and density gradually and over time. Listen to your body. Understand adaptation. Transcend discomfort through training – you can do that with the routes you run. Find meaning in the discomfort.
• 2. Rest! Motivation to train and motivation to push is the first thing to go when you are sleep deprived.
• 3. Respond instead of React – don’t allow yourself to spiral. Keep things in perspective. Have trustworthy people that you can discuss good and bad races with – trust what they say about them and apply data for next time.
• 4. Be patient – it takes years to build strong thinking. Everyone is different – everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
• 5. Read, Research and seek professional advice if needed!
• 6. Practice visualization. Practice breathing to relax. Practice relaxation skills.
• 7. Practice and police positive self-talk. Model of a Visualization/Affirmation Activity
• 6. Desire – find out what deeply motivates your athletes (hunger, desire) and explore it, but make sure you help them navigate it well. As a coach, you can really help athletes to find a good balance. Examples – socio-economic barriers, desire to be seen, scholarships, etc…

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chuck.schwartz@asd20.org