A Team Approach to Developing Mental Skills

Throughout my career providing mental skills support to athletes and teams, I have found that coaches can make either positive or negative contributions to how their athletes embrace and develop key mental skills that are likely to enhance development, performance and satisfaction. I can vividly recall during my coaching days getting frustrated with parents undermining the key messages/strategies that I was attempting to reinforce.

With that said, in recent years, I have also found that coaches can have a similar impact on the messages that sport psychologists and mental skills trainers are trying to convey to athletes through their language, messages and feedback. Now, this is not to suggest that mental skills consultants have all of the answers, but it is important that we, as support staff members, attempt to attain a level of alignment between what we are trying to accomplish.

At the time of this writing, there does appear to be a growing acceptance that adequate development of mental skills will play a central role in determining success; however, what needs to be considered is how do we best promote a sufficient level of ‘buy-in’ from the athletes and, subsequently, nurture the development of relevant skills and strategies within a team environment?

This article provides some strategies concerning how to work effectively with a coach to establish a team approach to mental skills training.

Plan and consult regularly with coaches

When possible, work with coaches before workshops or prior to having significant interaction with athletes, as this can lead to a number of positive outcomes. It provides an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions regarding (1) the rationale for using various strategies and (2) how such strategies can be implemented into training and preparation. This interaction can also lead to developing a common vernacular that will be used within the team (e.g. “be in the moment”, “compete”, “quieten your mind”, etc.) to reinforce key messages.

Positively reinforce similar behaviors

When team staff members are all on the same page, it contributes to developing a team culture based on key values or focus areas, opposed to staff members inadvertently conveying conflicting messages to their athletes. For instance, when working with an individual to maintain a process-focus, it can be extremely detrimental if the athlete hears from another staff member that “the opposition looks good today and you’re really going to have to bring it to beat him/her”. It would likely be more beneficial if the athlete heard such messages as “follow the process, one lap at a time, focus on your breathing”.

Integrate mental skills into everyday practice

Discussing and using mental skills during practice sessions contributes to athletes embracing mental skills as it conveys that this area is not just something to discuss around a dry-erase board, but rather involves integrating key strategies and skills into everyday practice and performance. It also helps when the coaches embrace and reinforce key messages as they are highly trusted by the athletes and, generally, spend more time with the team members. Finally, it gives the athletes opportunities to trial strategies in situ with support available, prior to utilizing them in a stressful competition environment.