A colleague sent me this Xtranormal video today about a youth soccer mom’s advice to the coach. I had to share it.
A Word About the Use of Punishment in Youth Sport
I get many calls and questions from coaches about the use of punishment in youth sport. Punishment from a sport psychology perspective is adding something an athlete perceives as negative or aversive.
Examples of commonly used punishments yelling, exercise including push-ups & running, and sitting on the bench (adding bench time).
Punishing mistakes is not an effective way to shape behavior, teach life skills (i.e., being on time, listening, focusing attention when the coach is talking) or develop skill. Researchers have proven that positive approach to coaching involves strengthening desired behaviors by recognizing them when they occur and giving information about training and instructions that helps an athletes improve or do it differently is the most effective way to communicate. A “negative approach” to coaching involves attempts to eliminate a behavior based on criticism and the use of punishment. While punishment can help eliminate an undesired behavior in the short term, it does little for teaching skills that develop over time.
Punishment also has a number of potential negative consequences including:
- Fear of failure
- Increases likelihood of choking because athlete is thinking more about mistakes than on what needs to happen to perform well
- Creates stress and anxiety, especially because it is usually done in front of peer teammates
- Creates an unpleasant social and learning environment
- Cohesion is built on hatred of coach
- Undermines coach-athlete relationship and erodes coach as a positive role model that young athletes look up to and admire
- Inappropriate modeling (Do we want youngsters to yell and scream at others when mistakes are made?)
- Embarrassment
- Resentment
- Hostility
- Decreased enjoyment
- Increased likelihood for drop out
- Conveys the wrong message about exercise as an enjoyable activity
Summary on Ice Hockey Concussion Summit: What You Need to Know!
Last week I attended the first-ever Ice Hockey Summit: Action on Concussion. The program was impressive and invited speakers in included NHL referee and players, coaches, neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, brain physiologists, sport scientists, coach educators, helmet engineers and manufacturers, biomechanists, researchers, clinical psychologists, athletic trainers, sports medicine and family practice doctors, and representatives from the International Ice Hockey Federation, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada.
The New York Times wrote two pieces on the summit which are informative (click here and here).
Here are a few of the important messages that everyone should know about concussions.
- A concussion is a traumatic brain injury and should be treated and taken seriously. The CDC has a host of wonderful and free materials about concussions that can be accessed here, including specific information about sports concussions.
- Mouth guards do NOT protect athletes from concussions. Helmets protect from linear focal point hits, but don’t protect from concussions (which primarily are sustained from rotational and linear forces) as well as we think they do.
- All sport stakeholders should be educated about the signs and symptoms associated with concussions. Concussions in children and youth is a serious issue because the brain is still developing and therefore more vulnerable to lasting concussive side effects (15% of children do not fully recover from concussions).
- If an athlete is suspected of having a concussion, he/she should NOT Return To Play (RTP) in that game or that day. Period. “When in Doubt, Sit Them Out!
- The decision for Return To Play should only be given by a trained medical professional, not by coaches, parents or placed in the hands of the athlete. RTP is a medical decision. Both physical and cognitive rest are needed following a concussion. Even when an athlete is asymptomatic, the brain is still recovering. Returning to play too early places the athlete at greater risk for another concussion, potentially long lasting side effects, and increases the likelihood of a full recovery.
- A concussed brain is a metabolic crisis which creates a “chemical soup” that bathes the brain. Metabolic recovery of the brain Lags behind 30-45 days symptomatic resolution. What this means is that even when an athlete shows no signs of concussion and is physically recovered, the brain is still healing.
- Multiple brain injuries, like repetitive concussions, places the individual at greater risk for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)–an emerging disorder that was frightening to hear about. For more about CTE and the work of Dr. Ann McKee and colleagues at Boston University School of Medicine click here,
- A cultural and behavioral shift needs to occur in hockey to help reduce the incidence of concussions and protect athletes. The belief that brutal hits and fights are entertaining, especially in professional hockey, creates an environment in which illegal should-to- head hits are tolerated, not penalized, and fights are allowed to continue (18% of concussions happen during fights). This belief in turn trickles down to the youth level, where such behaviors are learned, valued, and taught. Evidence that behavior around illegal and dangerous behaviors can be changed as the Hockey Education Program in Minnesota has shown with the implementation of the Fair Play Point system.
More Thoughts on Equal Playing Time in Youth Sports
Thank you for everyone who weighed in and took the time to provide insight and opinions on equal playing time in youth sports for a previous blog. It is clear playing time is a pressing issue across all sectors of youth sport and parents, coaches, and administrators alike are struggling to make informed decisions.
Existing and emerging evidence from child development, pediatric sports medicine, sport psychology, sport sociology, and moral development seems to point to the idea that equal playing time is imperative for children up to age 12 (and some would argue age 14).
From my observations and interactions with youth sport stakeholders the debate over playing time starts with differing views on the purpose of youth sport and the tension between winning/being competitive and athlete development/fun/enjoyment. I reject the notion that winning, athlete development and fun/enjoyment can’t simultaneously be achieved. This dichotomous thinking is part of the problem in organized youth sport.
Adults who run, organize, and coach youth sport consider many factors when making decisions about playing time and arguably factors change in weight as the child gets older. The graphic in Figure 1: Playing Time Considerations illustrate this complexity.
I’ve outlined EFFORT in red as this is one of the few factors that a child can control. Giving full effort in practice and games regardless of the situation is a very important life lesson that can be taught and learned through participation in sport.
A father in a recent sport parent workshop asked me about the danger of “teaching children to be mediocre” by awarding equal playing time. His point was that a child who didn’t work hard or give full effort would automatically be awarded the same playing time as a child who was working hard, and that if playing time weren’t used as “the carrot” (i.e., you work hard, you get to play) that kids wouldn’t work hard. It was a good question.
To answer his question used evidence and borrowed some wisdom from my colleague Clark Power, Ph.D., a scholar in moral development and Director of the Play Like a Champion Educational Series at the University of Notre Dame. Power argues playing time is not a reward for displaying virtue, it is a means for developing virtue. I also pointed out the carrot approach is a problematic way of using playing time. First, children need to be taught that working hard is an inherent part of sports, skill development, and life. Children should want to work hard because it is inherently enjoyable, as hard work can lead to improvement, satisfaction, sense of self worth, accomplishment, and many more positive outcomes. These intrinsic motives for giving full effort will lead to a much greater likelihood of long term participation than using playing time as an extrinsic reward that can be taken away or awarded by adults.
Second, up until age 10-11, developmentally children cannot discern between effort and ability. They equate effort with being good at something. Therefore, under an unequal playing time system a child who gives full effort but does not get to play, is likely to think he is not good at that sport. Based on evidence in sport psychology, perception of competence is one of the biggest predictors of enjoyment and sustained participation. The take home message here: a child who believes he is incompetent because he is sitting on the bench even thought he believes he’s given effort in practices, will be much more likely to drop out. If he drops out before he can understand cognitively that effort and ability are not always the same, and that effort is a virtue, then he will not reap the developmental and health benefits which can be accrued through sport participation.
A great deal more evidence than what I’ve presented here exists in support of an “equal playing time through age 12” youth sport policy, but this is an evidence-based food for thought starting point for youth sport stakeholders to consider. For more information on youth sports visit the Minnesota Youth Sport Research Consortium.
A Question About Equal Playing Time in Youth Sports
I’ve been asked to give an evidence-based presentation to a youth sport association on equal playing time. I’m interested in what you think about this issue. Here are the questions I have:
1. Why should youth sports have/not have equal playing time?
2. Who should decide?
3. If you believe in equal playing time, at what age should equal playing time cease?
If you have solutions , ideas of opinions, please leave a comment.
Sustainable Physical Activity & Golfing Mothers
I’ll be gone for a few days to London for a think tank workshop on examining and verifying a systems model approach of sustainable physical activity. I will have more to report upon returning. The most interesting part is the company that is sponsoring the think tank. I’m not sure I can reveal the company, so before I get myself in trouble, I’ll keep you in suspense.
In the meantime, take a look at the New York Times series on the LPGA and motherhood here and here (thanks ES!). Anyone want to comment?
Mothers’ Influence on Active Lives
In light of Mother’s Day 2010 I have a few thoughts about mothers’ influence on the active lives of their daughters. First of all, I have the BEST mother in the world and I would not be the woman I am today without her. I love you mom!
Here are some research-based facts about moms. daughters, and physical activity (PA):
- If mom values and supports physical activity, daughters are more likely to be active. More importantly if a daughter perceives mom values and supports PA ( even if she doesn’t!) this is predictive of increased PA
- If daughter also perceives mom believes that she is good at sport, she is more likely to participate in sport and not drop out
- If mom is active, daughter is more likely to be active in her youth, adolescence and into adulthood
- PA is a positive, enjoyable, and healthy thing mothers and daughters can do together
- Moms are needed in a variety of active, visible role models in PA contexts, especially in positions of power such as coach, youth sport league administrator, club president, athletic director, and referee. When we SEE women in positions of power it helps challenge outdated gender stereotypes about leadership. Less than ~15% of all positions of power in youth sport are held by women. We can do better!
- Mother skills are transferable to coaching!! And mothers who coach say that their role as coach enhances their roles as mother and worker (for those women who work outside the home)
- Moms should encourage their daughters to volunteer as coaches, referees, and to find a way to give back to the physical activities they love
- Moms need to encourage both their sons and daughters equally to participate in sports
- Most importantly, moms should unconditionally care about their children regardless of the score.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Did You Know? Videos: Hot Topics in Coaching
I put together a few Did You Know? powerpoints and turned them into short videos (1:22-1:34 in length).
One is about the scarcity of female coaches in youth sport and the other is about gender differences & similarities in coaching.
I’d love your feedback as this is a bit a work in progress. Here is what I’d like feedback on:
- Content
- Length
- How could these best be used?
- What other topics would you like to see in a DYK?
- Any other feedback you feel is relevant.
Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
(thanks to Austin Stair Calhoun for overlaying the cool music!)
New Short Videos of My Research Talks on Girls & Women in Sport
I just posted new videos of two research talks I gave in the last week on girls and women in sport.
The first talk was a Tucker Table on “Coaching Youth Soccer as a Token Female” and the other was “Current Research of The Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport” for the St. Paul AAUW.
To see some short clips go to The Tucker Center’s YouTube Channel.
One Boy’s Perspective About Youth Sports
A colleague sent me this video of a young Canadian hockey player describing his “magic hockey helmet”. I thought I’d pass it along…enjoy!
Speaking of helmets…. stay tuned to this blog for upcoming information on the first-ever Mayo Clinic Ice Hockey Concussion Summit, to be held October 19-20, 2010 in Rochester, MN. I’m on the planning committee and I can tell you the program is excellent!
One Sport Voice 