The Psychological Edge in College Sports

POSITIVE EMOTIONAL INTENSITY

In order to achieve a psychological edge in competition, it is important to maintain a strong & positive set of emotions throughout. Strong and Positive – that’s what we are looking for. Now let’s look at what contributes to these emotional characteristics.

Strength of emotion is a direct function of expectations. If you absolutely expect to win, or absolutely expect not to win, it is hard to generate strong emotions. The outcome is set in your mind. Of the two, the absolute expectation of winning is the more dangerous mindset because it is harder to defend against. No matter what the odds, most athletes would not even suit up if they didn’t think they had some chance to win, so negative expectation is not as big a problem in athletics. It is also why many teams find it easier to motivate themselves from the underdog position than from the favored position. Now let’s apply this example to an everyday experience, say putting money in a soft drink machine. The expectation is generally absolute that a drink will be dispensed for the money put in. Therefore, there is no strong emotion going into this goal. However, if there is a sign on the machine that says out of order, the expectation is now absolutely negative that the goal of getting a soft drink can be accomplished. Again, not much emotion or effort involved. Now let’s think of putting money in a slot machine. There is not an absolute expectation that the goal of winning money will be achieved, but there is not an absolute negative expectation either. The emotion generated here is one of optimism and hope. In other words, the mindset here is that it is very possible that the goal will be achieved if the effort is great enough. From this mindset comes strong emotion and consistent effort. Just go to any casino and see how consistent a gambler’s effort is. It amazing. So the lesson here is, in order to maintain good consistently strong emotion and effort, strive to attain an optimistic mindset as opposed to an absolute expectation of the outcome. In order to guard against slipping into an absolute positive expectation (i.e., overconfidence), it is helpful to have a healthy dose of realism too. I call this realistic optimism. The thoughts go something like “We can beat anybody, but anybody can beat us too.” Or, “It is very likely that we will win, but you never know for sure.”

Positive emotion likewise is a function of expectations, but is also strongly effected by the nature of the goal in mind. If the goal is absolute, in other words it must happen, and it is not necessarily within our total control, then there is a great potential for negative emotion to occur. For example, the goal of winning no matter what might be ok if we had total control of the outcome of every game, but we don’t. With the primary goal being to win, everything is ok as long as our expectations remain absolutely positive. However, at the first hint that the goal might not be achieved, strong negative emotion is generated – fear, panic, anger, etc. These emotions are not good for successful competition. Let’s again think of our soft drink machine example. If the goal is to get a soft drink at all costs, but there is an out of order sign on the only soft drink machine available, we are likely to become very frustrated and angry. However, if the goal is that anything wet will do, then you simply go to the next machine and get bottled water instead, and negative emotions are held to a minimum. The way to avoid negative emotion then, is to avoid absolute, uncontrollable goals. The main absolute and uncontrollable goal in sports is winning. It is obviously the ultimate objective and therefore becomes the primary focus for most athletes. However, like I said, this is a great set up to frequently become frustrated, panicked, and angry. The better goal to focus on is that of the athletic process as opposed to the outcome. The athletic process refers to execution, intensity, giving your all every time. These are goals that are more personal and therefore much more controllable. No matter what we do in a game, we can’t necessarily control what the competition is going to do on any given day. Therefore, we can’t necessarily control the outcome of the game, only the process. We must work hard to view the outcome of the game as merely a side effect of the process. If the process is good, the outcome will usually be good too. You will have to remind yourself about this mindset. No matter what is happening during competition repeat to yourself, “focus on the process, focus on the process, the outcome will take care of itself”.

So the key concepts to repeat to yourself in order to maintain the best mindset for successful competition are, realistic optimism, and focus on the process.

MINIMIZING DISTRACTIONS

Life is complicated; college life is very complicated; college life for an athlete can be extremely complicated and demanding. The move to college from high school involves a number of new challenges – living away from home and family, making new friends, less accountability for attending classes, often greater academic requirements, usually greater requirements from sport, often new temptations to party, drink, and use drugs (LSU being the party capital and all), and sometimes the little-fish-big-pond syndrome. Difficulties adjusting to these changes can significantly distract an athlete from their sport. And distraction can be a very subtle thing. Distraction doesn’t just mean a mental lapse during a game. The more sinister form of distraction is that which leads to not being consistent in practice and workouts; that which leads to poor concentration on the mental side of the sport such as learning strategies and game plans, etc. Feeling a little overwhelmed, feeling misunderstood or under supported, feeling concerned about grades and staying academically eligible, being concerned about drug tests – these are all symptoms of not adjusting well to the new challenges in college athletic life. And these are the things that will significantly but subtly distract from becoming as successful as you can be in your sport. Furthermore, not only does distraction take away from your own performance, but in team sports, it also takes away from the performance of the team.

So how do we minimize the distractions? Well, there are two primary ways to do this. One is to be smart and mature. College is about a lot of things academic and athletic, but is also about growing up. College is the time that we learn to become more independent and more responsible for ourselves. The problem is that we are still very young and wanting to have a good time. The trick is to know how to have fun yet be responsible at the same time. It can sometimes seem difficult to pull off, but it isn’t really. Everyone has a sense of right and wrong, of where the line is that we should not really cross. There are some gray areas, but everyone knows about where the line is for them. So have fun, but stay on the right side of the line with regard to things like class work and attendance, study hall, partying, staying up late, safe sex, etc. The second way to minimize potential distractions is to use your support. No matter how mature and smart you are, the sheer number of challenges you will face in college may at times get on top of you. There is absolutely no shortage of available support at this university, ranging from your coaches, trainers, academic advisors, physicians, mental health professionals, athletic administrators, etc. This university knows that it’s most valuable resource is the individual student and no sport is bigger than the individual. Don’t be bull headed. Ask for help before you get swamped. It is not weak to ask for help. It is weak to think you are invincible and to let stubborn pride get in your way of a successful college experience. As an individual sometimes it is difficult to know when to ask for help. However, in a team environment, it is often easier for a teammate to recognize that there may be problems for an individual that require attention. Help each other out. Don’t be afraid to confront someone and don’t take offense if someone confronts you. This type of environment will only make all of you more successful in your sport and in your college life in general.

So remember, have fun but make it smart fun, and don’t be bull headed – ask for help when needed.

Reference: Dr. Erich Duchmann, LSU Team Psychologist