Good pep talk before game

Not against the teams that do anyway. We need to learn to relate winning to working hard on the process or more of a performance outcome rather than a winning outcome. We hear coaches and parents tell their players to work hard. But what does that really mean? We do not want to increase player pre-contest anxiety levels by talking about the teams record against the opposition or how hard this win is going to be.

Athletes of all ages and skill levels are often under great pressure to perform well and win. Their need for approval and desire to meet the expectations of others is often linked to their self worth which contributes to a sense of pressure to perform successfully. Not surprisingly, anxiety, or feelings of threat or worry, are generated from the possibility of performance failure.

We also forget sometimes how success and the expectation of continuing that success can cause anxiety. When a team loses to a team that they have dominated coaches will often blame the loss on a lack of focus or preparedness.

This might be true to a degree, however what we can do as coaches is to build their confidence and remind them to focus on fundamentals in this situation.

There is no doubt that powerful speeches and effective rhetoric can influence behaviour. But for each of these leaders, their rhetoric was accompanied by decisiveness, policy expertise, and personal will. Coaches cannot lead on speeches alone. The goal of any-pregame activity should be to help the athlete prepare for competition. Certainly, motivation and activation are significant components of that preparation and successful coaches should reflect on the best way to help athletes prepare.

We have likely all had the experience of feeling motivated and excited after hearing a positive speech. Whether at work, before a game, or during a difficult personal time, nearly everyone can remember a time where they have heard a speech and left feeling pumped up.

This is great, but is it sustainable? How long does that feeling last, and what impact does it have on performance are questions that coaches should answer. The students who were praised did not perform as well as their classmates who received more neutral comments from their teacher. What is even more interesting, is that the students who were praised, saw decreases in their performance in similar tasks from before they were praised. The researchers repeated their experiment with American college students and saw similar results; that praise effectively leads to a tangible impairment in skilled performance.

As coaches learn more about the Ideal Performance State, you see greater variance in athlete preparation. They kept coming back. Four separate times, they cut the lead to three points. I felt detached, like I was on the outside looking in on a basketball game. It was an out-of-body experience. It is very likely, that regardless of the speech making skill of Coach Krzyzewski, interventions or interference from his coach would have taken him out of his personal IPS and hurt his flow.

Athletes know themselves the best. They know what inspires them and what motivates them. They also know where they are on the preparation continuum.

In these instances, athletes are already activated, or the team would not be in that big game. Delivering a speech that further activates, an activated athlete, in a big game, has the potential to push them into a situation they cannot control which would hinder performance.

There are many tools athletes can use to identify their personal activation level before competitions, Dr. Peter Jensen includes many in his book. Many athletes use music to help get them to their ideal activation level.

In the Rio Olympics, many athletes were seen with earphones pre-competition using music to help them prepare. The music is very individualized and likely different based on the importance of the competition. She also holds a PhD in sport psychology. Forrester used music before every major competition, but always listened to opera music before she jumped. If one athlete needs opera to prepare, and another would like to listen to hip-hop, it is difficult for any coach to address both of those needs in one speech.

The value of pre-game speeches are also highly dependant on what sport you are preparing for. Every New Zealand National team performs the Haka before international competitions.

The Haka. YouTube has examples of New Zealand National team athletes from many different sports performing the Haka. If we played 'em 10 times, they might win nine.

But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with 'em. Tonight, we stay with 'em, and we shut them down because we can! From the great Mighty Ducks , the ultimate kiddie hockey movie, "Ducks fly together! And when everyone says it can't be done.. Just watch the whole thing. It's totally worth it. After Assistant Coach Yoast from Remember the Titans decides to do the right thing, he announces to his team, "You want to act like a star, you better give me a star effort.

There are some days when no one seems to be downloading your work. Those days, don't you just want to yell, "Are you not entertained?! And finally, my favorite sports video clip EVER about the unlikely hero, Jason McElway, who is the autistic team water boy who came off his high school basketball bench and changed his fate -- and makes me realize that sometimes it's okay to be a little different Despite the lackluster speech, my aforementioned dad managed to get out of that inning, make the team, and manage a respectable career.

But I always wonder what would've happened if his coach had been a bit more like the inspirational leaders above. Image Credit: D. Clow - Maryland. Originally published Jun 6, AM, updated February 01 Subscribe to Our Blog Stay up to date with the latest marketing, sales, and service tips and news.