performance psych for gifted kids
TRANSCRIPT
Steve Portenga, PhD, iPerformance Consultants
Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, PhD, Center for Talent Development, Northwestern University
Tracy Cross, PhD, College of William and Mary
Frank Worrell, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
Rena Subotnik, PhD, American Psychological Association© iPerformance Consultants 2012
Sport and Performance Psychology: What’s In It for Academic Talent Development?
National Association for Gifted Children Annual Convention, Nov 16, 2012
Monday, November 19, 12
Long-Term Athlete Development
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Optimal training, competition, and recovery programming with relation to biological development and maturation
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“You can’t make the grass grow faster by pulling on the blades”
African Proverb
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This starts with you!
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© iPerformance Consultants 2012
Build overall motor skills
Learn all fundamental sport skills
Build the ‘engine’ and consolidate sport-specific skills
Fine-tune the ‘engine,’ skills, and performance
Maximize performance, skills, and ‘engine’
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© iPerformance Consultants 2012
Monday, November 19, 12
© iPerformance Consultants 2012
Monday, November 19, 12
© iPerformance Consultants 2012
Monday, November 19, 12
The 10 year rule
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It takes 10 years of extensive practice to excel in anything !
10 year or 10 000 hour rule (Ericsson and Charness, 1994)
For the athlete and coach this translates as slightly more than three hours of deliberate practice daily for 10 years
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Chronological/Biological age vs. Developmental age
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Typically training and competition is based on chronological age
Athletes can be 4-5 years apart by maturation level
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Introduction to the Psychology of Performance
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Monday, November 19, 12
The Mental Side of Sports
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Sports are NOT 90% mental!
But the head is the gatekeeper to the body
There are no shortcuts, quick fixes, or pixie dust
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What is FOCUS?
It is
• Confidence
• Concentration
• Composure
• Poised
• Courage
• Commitment
• Resilient
• Totally in the moment
• Ready
• Engaged
• Control
• Choice…
And it’s COOL!!!
It’s WAY MORE than just CONCENTRATION!
This is the wellspring of FLOW!
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Competitiveness
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Competitiveness is having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to:
Generally, cope better than your opponents with the many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sport places on a performer.
Specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, confident, and in control under pressure.
(Jones, Hanton, & Connaughton, 2002)
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Performance Psychology Skills
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Cool undercabinpressure.PREPARATION
Concentration: Prepare DeliberatelyMonday, November 19, 12
Prepare Deliberately
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The major difference between experts and amateurs is the capability to deliberately practice
“The practice, in itself, is nothing special; the care and consistency with which it is made is”
(Chambliss, 1989)
The difference between expert and amateurs’ practice has more to do with the quality of training than the quantity
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Prepare Deliberately
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Coaches and parents:
• Need to help younger athletes learn how to practice effectively
• Teach discipline; “If you’re going to do it, learn to do it right”
• Challenge on a daily basis and celebrate small improvements
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CommitmentMonday, November 19, 12
Developing achievement motivation
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Four key questions1.Can I succeed?2.Do I even care about this?3.Why do I want to succeed? What defines
“success?”4.What do I have to do to succeed?
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Why do I want to succeed?
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Three basic human needs
• The need for autonomy
• The need for competence
• The need for relatedness
Autonomous motivation: goals connected to personal interests/values
Controlled motivation: goals based on external or internal pressures
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ConfidenceMonday, November 19, 12
Confidence
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A sense of “pre-knowing” that you CAN deliver, that you WILL deliver, and that you will SUCCEED!
Surely it is preferred over …Doubt…Worry…Anxiety…Fear
There are two basic principles for experiencing confidence, and they each require the individual to make a personal choice.
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Competence Builds Confidence
Focus confidence on the performance, not the outcome
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Composure: React Adaptively to DistractionsMonday, November 19, 12
Adaptive Reactions to Distractions
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To develop in youth: 1. Give them lots of experiences to learn from2. Teach achievement comes from effort, not inborn abilities3. Encourage them to believe that they can turn adversity
into opportunity4. Highlight times when they do so!
Turn stress into a problem to be solved: Do not cope by avoiding
• Ask: “How could it be better or worse?”
• Then take action to make it better
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© iPerformance Consultants 2012
Panel Reactions
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