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Calling all Captains!
Justin Johnson, Performance Coach

Congratulations! You've been named one of the captain's this year. Are you ready for it? For many athletes being named a captain is an incredible honor for others it may be expected simply because you are a senior or perhaps the most talented player. Whatever the reasoning behind your appointment to this influential post it is important you treat it carefully and purposefully. As I speak with team members and captains, it concerns me the level of confusion and lack of confidence captains have about their newly given responsibility. So in an effort to help captains take full advantage of their opportunity to lead their teammates I've put together a couple of points of emphasis that may help in the early stages of your leadership.

1.  Set the standard by modeling the actions you wish to see in your teammates.
Perhaps one of the simplest forms of leadership is to in fact lead yourself in a positive direction. Your teammates will be looking to you and your actions as cues to how they should act or react to the positive and negative situations you will inevitably face. Make sure you model the way you would like them to respond.

2.  Once you've set the standard be prepared to hold teammates to that standard.
Being a captain requires you to recognize when standards are being met and making sure teammates get positive reinforcement for doing so. There will also be times when you have to remind teammates their actions are not meeting the standards established by your coaches or the leadership. Confronting your less disciplined teammates is often an uncomfortable and sometimes scary task for most leaders but one that must be done if your team is going to be successful. Part of being a leader is realizing you will be uncomfortable in some of these situations. You must learn to be able to constructively confront your teammates in a way that is considerate and to the point.

3.  Keep the team vision in mind.
As a leader you need to recognize that their will be greater expectations for you than for others. At times you may ask or even convince teammates that they need to sacrifice for the greater good of the team perhaps you will even need to sacrifice. Either way it is your responsibility to help the coach carry out the vision of the team for the season and help people find how they can contribute to that vision.

Remember, being appointed a captain is a privilege and a great opportunity to contribute to the team. Take it seriously and handle situations with grace by keeping the above points in mind. Lead yourself how you would like to be lead and enjoy the experience.

Let us help you be the best Captain you can be, call Dawn today at 763.439.5246.

Justin

 

Did I Choose This?
Brady Greco, Performance Coach

Many parents believe the quickest path to the American Dream is to program their child to become a professional athlete.  Whether the catalyst for such a belief is their child's, or personal, gain is the question. Parents involvement in their childrens lives can be a vicarious experience and can cause deeply embedded questions of personal worth in their children. Whether or not the children feel this overriding pressure is debatable. Sometimes parents pressure their children in a subversive, or subconscious way, leaving the children to ask, "Are they pushing me into this, or am I choosing this?".

The latest example of this parental involvement can be seen through the life of Andre Agassi. In his autobiography, Open, Agassi brings the reader into the experience of a family that lived vicariously, and benefited monetarily, from his talent in tennis. Andre Agassi "hated tennis with a dark, secret passion, but didn't let anyone know."  It can only be concluded, then, that the pressure put on him from his family, specifically his father, created the persona that we know today. The process led Agassi to a year of drug abuse, depression, failed marriages, and other destructive choices that led to an emotional emptiness that resonated in all aspects of his life. The apex of this parental pressure was displayed in an event that catalyzed Agassi's future. His father, Mike, taped ping-pong paddles to Andre's hands in an attempt to hone Agassi's motor skills.

Another recent example of how our society rewards such behavior can be seen in the story of Bobby Knight, the Texas Tech coach who was reprimanded for behavior at Indiana. His coaching style was a mix of harsh castigation, and reward. If a player went through his regiment they were duly rewarded with playing time. However, if you crossed a threshold of his during a game, you were abruptly reprimanded, possibly publicly and nationally. This is reminiscent of "Stockholm Syndrome" which is a disorder whereby the captive, once wary of their captor's demands, becomes concerned whether or not they are good enough, or pleasing, to their captor. Stockholm syndrome refers to the development of reciprocal, positive feelings between hostages in their terrorist captors, which is set to enhance the hostages ability to cope with captivity.

Perhaps Andre Agassi was suffering from a similar situation. Worried that he would let down his father, who had the need for success, he lived up to such expectations while fighting it in emotional, physical, and spiritual ways. Agassi reminisces that his father was so driven in his personal life that he instilled this intensity onto his child and was unable to accept anything other than perfection. Many children do not ever recognize these neuroses in their own lives until it is too late. This boundary can be seen as rejection or resentment of family, personal isolation and chemical abuse in many instances.  Parents react to this indignation in a variety of ways. As humans are creatures of habit, parents will continue to program their children into the people they wish their children to be, but sometimes they react with a resentment that overshadows every interaction henceforward. Denial is a strong determinant of this interaction.

In today's society, sports have turned into all work and no play. The definition of sports is: "fun, pleasure, entertainment, diversion, and amusement." Our economy rewards athletes for the money they bring in not the diversion they provide. We have streamlined our athletes, albeit children, into workhorses of entertainment. Where is the self-satisfaction? Where is the personal gain? If we speak monetarily, it is obvious, however, ask professional athletes what they value in life, and their salary and esteem are low on the list.  Can we assume that parental involvement has a modicum of involvement in this scenario or something to do with these fates?

In conclusion, parents who enmesh themselves in their child's sports life create unneeded stress and pressure.  "In such circumstances, adults often transmit a distorted view of the role of the sport in the child's life, communicating to the child that the sport is the most important aspect of the child's existence."  This parental behavior can destruct relationships including their child's constant wonder of whose acheivement it indeed is, handicapping the child's level of self-confidence.  If parents do not become enmeshed, they can teach their child how to properly enhance physical and emotional skills. Parents must observe their child when they are engaged in a sport for any signs of stress and pressure to fully benefit the long-term development of their child.

At the Mental Edge, we coach and educate parents on how to be properly involved in your kid's activities to provide the most enjoyment for both of you , simply call Dawn to get started today at 763.439.5246.

 

Brady