Cuttings

The tipping moment

All meaningful learning involves negotiating a degree of risk. Whilst a certain amount of repetition is important in developing skill sets, there comes a point when a player needs to go to the edge of the comfort zone and try something new. Fear of failure, worry about put downs by others or a basic of self-belief can inhibit the young player's willingness to try things out, take risks and experiment. A coach can spend a lot of time trying to get a player to develop a new skill whilst the player wants to stay with the familiar.

It is whilst working through this ïdevelopment zone' that a knowledge of what causes performance related anxiety can help a coach. The anxiety-performance graph looks a little like this:

performance - related anxiety

  High

Low  

 perceived level of challenge

As the level of challenge is seen to increase the anxiety level rises to a point where the player no longer feels in control and the performance drops dramatically. The consequences of tipping through challenge and into anxiety can be stress. Stress is a physiological response to a perceived threat. The threat needn't be real. It just needs to feel real for the individual. When a player or any learner is in this state then certain patterns of response are predictable. Creativity and problem solving are inhibited, choices become more conservative, learned patterns of response assert themselves and the individual is much more likely to ïpass the buck' and wait be told what to do. Not good for anyone and certainly not good for playing sport at any level.

The causes of stress are many and complex, but the consequences can be summarised in a series of primitive survival related behaviours we call the Four F's! When a human tips into stress the likely behaviours you will see are fight, flight, freeze and flock. What do these look like for the soccer coach?

Fight

The player puts up resistance to anything new. They go on about how they used to do things under a previous regime. Rather than take the risk of trying something new they spend time larking about or do more and more of what seems familiar. A young player might sulk, and rubbish themselves or the activity.

Flight

The player avoids responsibility, hides in a match and does the minimal to get by. In development work they keep their heads down, stay well within their capability and don't stretch themselves. A young player might fail to turn up, feign injury or make excuses for missing training/.

Freeze

Learned patterns of response kick in. When the player gets really stressed they don't see all the options available. Decision-making is inhibited and they play safe. A young player might deliberately position on the pitch to avoid having to use a weaker foot or preoccupy with manoeuvring the ball onto their favoured foot.

Flock

A herd mentality takes over. Responsibility is shirked. The player looks around to see how everyone else is doing. The overwhelming temptation is to be ïone of the lads'. A young player tries hard to fit in. A young player might ïglue' themselves to the coach or drop out altogether if they feel they are not accepted by the group.

The research on stress and learning is weighty. A lot of it originates in laboratory research and stays there, never getting into the hands of coaches. When you think about designing coaching sessions, be aware of the need to constantly be building up challenge but do so over time. Individuals tip through anxiety and into stress at different points. Build different individual challenges into your programmes.

A little stress is good in the short term. Getting up for a challenge releases hormones which ramp up performance. But too much stress is potentially disastrous. Next time: what does a coach do to ramp up performance without tipping into the 4 F's?

Alistair Smith

FA Learning News

April 2004