How do you handle pressure?

During the past few offseasons working with the NFL Carolina Panthers I have had the opportunity to do a little work with punter Jason Baker. His focus, preparation, and hard work are second to none and is evident yet again in an article in today's Charlotte Observer.

Jason's positive emotional engagement is just one of the many factors that attribute to his success on the field!

Enjoy!


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Punter Jason Baker says there's no pressure being the holder on kicks.

Jason Baker punts. That's obvious to Carolina Panthers fans, and he's one of the best in the NFL at his job. But he also holds. When John Kasay attempts a field goal or extra point, Baker is the guy taking the snap and putting the ball upright on the ground, readying it for Kasay's kick. We often talk about the pressure on kickers, particularly following Carolina's past two games, when Kasay first barely missed a field goal that would have beaten the Giants and then made one to salvage the win at New Orleans.

What if Baker had dropped the snap? Does he ever think about the pressure? “Do you think about brushing your teeth?” he replied Wednesday. “Well, I hold a lot more than I brush my teeth. It's just one of those things; do you think about starting your car? You just sit down and start your car.”

That doesn't mean that Baker is unaware that things can go wrong. But his attitude is probably the equivalent of a primer for dealing with pressure in sports.

“It's common knowledge that the thing you dwell your mind on is the thing you're willing not to happen,” he said. “If I say, ‘I'm going to drop this ball; I know I'm going to drop this ball,' chances are, I have a higher probability of dropping the ball.”

So he simply buries himself in the repetition of the act, letting it become almost automatic. “To be concerned about that thing that has a tenth of a percent of a chance of happening and not be more concerned about the thing that happens 99.9 percent of the time, it's really just kind of a foolish approach, psychologically.”

Often, though, people remember that tenth of a percent. As when Dallas quarterback Tony Romo fumbled a field goal snap, and with it a playoff game against Seattle two seasons ago.

Baker understands how that works, too. He bobbled a snap in the home game with Atlanta earlier this season that led to a blocked punt.
“There's no one here who's not going to have that happen,” he said. “That's what I told everybody (then). I can't tell you the last time I did that, and I can't tell you I won't do that on my next punt.

“But I'm sure as heck not going to go out there thinking that I might.”

Anatomy of a Workout

I just got home from presenting at the Merritt Athletic Club in Baltimore, MD. There were over one hundred personal trainers in attendance and my talk was titled '3 Roadblocks to Personal Training Success'.

The following graphic displays the current approach to the workouts of many personal trainers in our industry:

Many trainers tend to focus on feelings first. In other words, it's either a 'feel the pain' focus where the intent is to solely see how long you can last, or, it's a 'how are you feeling' focus where the trainer wants to make sure the client is feeling good and doesn't want to push them hard.

The other focus is on a targeted muscle area. For example, the entire workout involves training the core (abdominals, hips, and low back).

While each of these areas are critical to a successful program, there is little focus on how to best get the result for what the client actually needs. Instead an approach should look like this:

Taking this approach, the two previously mentioned training strategies support the primary goal which is focusing on client results.

In a volatile economy, focusing on feelings and targeted areas will not be enough to retain current training clients and attract potential new clients. The best marketing strategy for Personal Trainers trying to survive the economy is to focus on getting results!

Can You Identify with Any of THESE 5 Case Studies?

Wow has this past week been amazing! There are lots of exciting things happening and I wanted to share with you just a few of the events from this past week. Specifically, pay attention to how the value profiles apply to so many different areas of business and life.

1. Spent time reviewing the profile of one of the top business consultants in the Unites States. This individual is extremely successful, in high demand of Fortune 500 companies, authored an excellent book available at Barnes and Nobles, and is trying to 'juggle a lot of balls in the air' right now. With the Life Profile, we were able to quickly identify how to more efficiently handle all of the 'irons in the fire' and not have them feel like a doormat!
   


2. Worked with a potential high draft pick in the upcoming MLB player draft. After having him take the Sports Profile, I worked with his current coach and revealed to him the best way to help this player improve parts of his swing. Now the coach knows how to get the most out of this player and best help him prepare for the Big Leagues!
   


3. Spent time with the owner of multiple high-end restaurants discussing staffing issues and job selection and hiring. He doesn't want to waste any more money on putting staff through training only to have to let them go. The Hospitality Profile can help him dramatically improve his employee selection process.


4. Reviewed a Golf Profile with one of the top LPGA Players on tour. The profile revealed exactly why she is currently playing so well. Particularly where she is giving most of her attention to in her decision making on the course.
   
5. A personal trainer (and good friend) asked to have one of his new clients take the Fitness Profile. He is designing a training program for his client to follow three days per week on his own. The profile quickly revealed that his client is most likely not going to be compliant and actually complete the training program on his own.
   

These are just five examples of many applications and uses of the various targeted profiles. If you have any specific questions regarding the application of any of these profiles please don't hesitate to contact me at support@innertactics.com.

6 Core Values of Succesful Coaches and Trainers

Coaching today's athletes requires a different approach than it did twenty years ago. In our Sports Axiology Course we discuss your core values in coaching and are they serving your program or are they hindering it?Below are six core values of the top successful coaches and trainers:

1. Babysitting the greatness in athletes OR Challenge the athlete to be great
2. 'Do as I say' OR 'Let me figure out how I can best help you'
3. Coaching for results OR Coaching an athlete how to leverage their strengths
4. Fear-based coaching OR Designing a training environment for the player to take risks
5. Dictating to players how they should act OR Being a model of who you want them to be
6. 'Make it in..' mindset OR 'Beat it by' mindset

What coaching shifts have you made in order to help realize more potential in your players?

Applying Axiology to the World Around You

Formal Axiology can be used as a logical framework in helping to make meaning of something or someone. Using the three basic dimension of axiology (intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic) take a look at the simple chart below:

Write down two or three words that come to your mind and try and break them down into the three dimensions and see what you come up with! In fact, post them here on this blog so others can learn as well!

On 'Searching for Patterns'

I just read a blog post by Andrea Sigetich titled 'Searching for Patterns'. Here is an excerpt from the post:

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Jake noticed something interesting -- one time he could be performing a task and have a great time -- really feeling like he was working from a place of strength. Another day, a similar task let him feeling cold, bored, and engaging a weakness. The tasks were similar -- and Jake became confused about his strengths!As my client worked with him to look for the patterns of circumstances underlying the times he felt he was engaging his best strength, Jake had an ah-ha! He realized that his strength was not about the task or the skill at all -- it was all about the relationships he was engaged in when performing the task.

When he performed this task alone, he was disengaged. When he performed it with colleagues and others at work, he had a great time. Soon Jake, and his boss, realized that Jake's strength is in relationship. He loves working with others. He enjoys the interplay and the creativity -- and he manages to build collaborative relationships into most all of his work.

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Recognizing an individual's pattern of strengths is critical in helping other's reach their potential. What's great about this example is that it can be directly applied to formal axiology (the science of human value).

In this specific case Jake leads his decision making pattern with the intrinsic dimension first following by the task itself second, the extrinsic dimension. What is not known is whether Jake is engaged because of his high clarity in the intrinsic dimension or by his emotional bias pattern.

This is where the power of the values targeted profiles come in to play! The profile help's an individual or organization immediately identify a person's strengths and weaknesses based on their decision making patterns revealing both clarity and emotional biases within each dimension of thinking.

A completely different coaching approach would be taking depending on whether he is more emotional driven with a negative bias along with lower clarity....or... he has very high clarity in intrinsic value (understanding others) which therefore his emotional pattern would play less of a part.

Pattern Based Thinking

What if you could identify your unique pattern of decision making based on how you make values judgements? In fact, we have now identified thirteen external (world) view patterns and thirteen internal (self) view patterns for a total of twenty six patterns. There is no good or bad pattern, instead, each pattern is a starting point to help the individual leverage their strenghts and manage their weaknesses.

I would recommend finding a copy of Andrea's book titled 'Play To Your Strengths' in any major bookstore...outstanding information!!!! In fact I will be posting some specific examples from her book in upcoming posts! Thanks Andrea for such practical advice!

How is Sports Axiology different?

Over the past week I have had the opportunity to talk with professional teams from multiple sports including the NFL, NBA, MLB, as well as soccer teams from three other countries. A common question that comes up is how does the profile compare with some of the more traditional personality tests that are commonly used?

Below is a simple chart that will help to give the answer:

Is Team Cohesion Important?

You bet it is! Team cohesion is a common quality of championship teams. If you start to see cliques beginning to form than this should be a warning sign that the health of the team might be in trouble.

In fact, the sports axiological profile measures this exact attribute in the External Extrinsic dimension of value making decisions. Below is a great question to ask yourself regarding team cohesion:

Are you players playing with each other or are they playing for each other?

Skill Builder in 3D Listening

The interview below is with a very good friend and outstanding baseball coach Hal Bagwell. He just led his second year team to the state championship playoffs!

In fact, he was just named the Charlotte Observer 'Coach of the Year' in baseball!

Listen closely as he shares some pearls of wisdom when it comes to getting the most out of your athletes. Try and identify specific parts of his response that are instrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic.

This exercise will help to build your skillset of 3D Listening!

Psychometric Testing of Athletes

Psychometric testing has become more and more popular over the past decade. The most common forms of psychometrics include personality tests and aptitude tests. While these tests attempt to objectively evaulate attitudes and values, there is still quite a bit of subjectivity to them both.

These tests are what is known as a 'self-report' assessment. In other words, the athlete reports on how they think that they would act in a given situation. For example, if I was looking to add on another soccer player on my team and you were the top candidate for the position, I would simply call you on the phone and ask you about your soccer skills. I would also ask you questions such as how would you react when down one goal and your defensive back just got a red card with twenty minutes to go that was not his fault.

Now hopefully you would provide truthful answers but this is unlikely. Why? Two main reasons include your answers can be biased based on what qualities you believe that I am looking for. Secondly, most individuals actually do not know their own strengths and weaknesses, so to ask someone to provide a self-report may not be the best choice.

If I want to know how well you play soccer, talking to you on the phone will not exactly help me out in my cause. The optimal choice is to actually evaluate you playing soccer and I can then determine for myself your playing abilities.

Psychometrics (self-report) is not the same as the Sports Profile, based on axiology. In fact, valuemetrics is a method of measurement in it's own class. Below is a recent email sent to me by Dr. Dave Medford of the Value Resource Group discussing the difference between the two:

"Axiology or the axiological assessment is not psycho-metrics but rather axio-metrics. Our axiological sports assessment is a compliment to psychology – as a matter of fact “axiological psychology” is becoming a field of study in its own right. Leon Pomeroy’s book is called, The New Science of Axiological Psychology and he is a well respected clinical psychologist currently teaching psychology at George Mason University.

Psychology mainly centers on the emotional conditioning and takes the perspective of the athlete’s emotional stability or fragility (Freud, Skinner). The axiological assessment measures the interface between the athlete’s mental understanding and the athlete’s emotional conditioning – taking the perspective of concept fulfillment.

We ask, how strong is the athlete’s self-concept or self-image, and to what degree is he or she fulfilling that concept. In other words, we measure the athlete’s potential and how much of it the athlete is currently accessing or utilizing. Then, after the assessment, we try to find ways to help the athlete access and utilize more of their potential."

So is psychometric testing bad? Not at all, but in my opinion valuemetrics (the Sports Profile) provides a much more objective look into the decision making pattern of the athletes. This is achieved by having the athlete apply his/her value system and complete a specific task (thinking) versus taking a test.

More on this topic coming soon!

Case Study of an Injured Pro Player

Injuries are a given in professional sport. But how does an injury affect a player's mentality? How well can he cope with his situation? What specifically is he focused on? How does the coaching staff deal with the mental side of a player's 'return to play' program? These questions and many others are asked when a highly talented player gets hurt. As you will read below, a professional club just experienced this exact scenario.

Recently a professional club had a fairly new player take the Sports Profile. The player is a young man that the club feels has tremendous potential and has already proven himself at the younger national team levels. Although an initial starter, however, the club has yet to really see the player's performance as he was hurt the majority of his first season. The club was trying to determine how best to ensure this young man was in peak performance during the 2008 season

Let's take a look at a few of the player's profile results in the world view (his decision making as it relates to other people, places, and things):

• Game Intelligence- very good


• Sense of Game Reality- very good


• Emotional Control- very good
  
• Understanding Others- very good


• Interpersonal Harmony- (-100%) growth area


• Interpersonal Conflict- (+ 100%) excellent

The scores above reflect a player with great mind speed and will not let his emotions clould his decision making on the field. While he can read others very well, he will not praise them for good efforts and will magnify the negative. In other words, he has extremely high expectations of others.

• Understanding Practical Team Actions- very good


• Team Orientation- low good


• Attitude toward team failure- fair to good


• Understanding Discipline, Rules, & game Plan- very good


• Attitude toward authority- very good


• Attitude toward rule breaking- very good

The scores above reflect that he clearly understands cause & effect action aspects of the game. However, he is not overly involved with his team as indicated by a lower score in Team Orientation. When the team loses/fails, he overlooks it due to the fact that he personally has not contributed to the team due to injury. He is coachable, respects authority, and could never imagine 'throwing a game' on purpose no matter how bad his team is losing.

Okay let's now briefly look at a few of his results in his self view (his thinking as it relates to who he is, the roles he plays, his vision, and personal code):

• Understanding of self-worth- fair
  
• Sense of Self Reality- growth area


• Emotional self control- growth area


• Overall Self Attitude- fair to good

These scores would make sense given this young man has been dealing with an injury and is unsure of his soccer career. The good news is that he is still anticipates a positive future.

• Desire for Self Development- good


• Developing Personal Potential (attitude score)- very good

These attributes combine to measure Competitive Fire. Emotionally he thinks he is in the process of developing his potential and truly wants to continue to improve his game and himself.

• Game Role Awareness- fair to good


• Game Role Satisfaction- fair

These scores indicate he is not very sure of the role/position he needs to play in order to achieve his goals. In addition, due to his injury it would make sense that his level of personal satisfaction be low.

• Sports Self Identity- fair to good


• Mental Toughness- good


• Attitude towards Personal Growth- good

These scores reflect a strong level of uncertainty of personal game performance goals and how to best go about pursuing them. Again due to injury, this would make sense as injuries are most of the time beyond the athletes control. He has an objective view of himself in terms of the definition of his game identity. But due to his uncertainty of his future, he presently struggles with feeling a strong sense of belonging in the world of soccer.

• Intuition- fair


• Concentration- very good to excellent


• Stress Resistance- fair to good

These scores reflect that he presently would have a difficult time 'feeling his way' through the game (intuition) and struggle with coping with pressure. However, he has a strong ability to focus on the task at hand in times of high stress.

Conclusion

This young man is spending the majority of his thinking in his 'world view' and less in his 'self view'. This pattern is common in athletes trying to come back from an injury. Overall, this player has great potential and just needs a solid 'inner game plan' during his pre-season. Additional suggestions include:

• Start to build his self-confidence by getting a lot of touches on the ball.


• Ensure that there is quality communication between the coaching staff and the player; i.e. a daily feedback debrief on the quality of his training and play for each day


• Ask him specific questions throughout practice as to why he made the decisions that he did. This will get him to start to reflect more on himself, his own actions, and his self-worth.


• He will also begin to improve his self-confidence since his respect for authority is high and this type of personal attention will continue to build self-belief
  
• Co-create specific goals with him built around expectations and performance moving forward


• Because he is more focused in the 'world view', work through this present strength and have him coach during a small sided game. This will keep him feeling that he is a part of his team and contributes to their success.

Above are just a few example strategies of developing this player's 'Inner Game Plan' based on the results of his current profile. He will take the profile again in two months and specific adjustments can be made in order to best release his inner potential.

3D Coaching Model

It was not too long ago that I introduced the concept of 3D Thinking as a reference for how we make decisions.

Below is the total model for coaching that will hopefully get you to rethink your coaching process:

These building blocks of successful coaching (think, listen, observe, and communicate) all contibute to releasing your athlete's maximum potential. The art is to be able to apply all three dimensions of value (intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic) in each of these areas in a balance dway so you can effectively pull from each one as needed.

The Wonderlic Test Strikes Again!- Part 1

Each year the NFL administers an intelligence aptitude test called the Wonderlic at the combine. The test results are used to help determine draft placement of the potential players. Below is taken from yesterday's Chicago Tribune:

Wonderlic results
Scores from the Wonderlic tests given at the scouting combine. Wonderlic tests are given to help gauge the intelligence of prospects. A person of average intelligence is supposed to score a 20. NFL teams like to see quarterbacks, offensive linemen, middle linebackers and safeties score higher, because those positions can be mentally demanding.

At quarterback, neither of the top two prospects laid a Wonderlic egg. Boston College's Matt Ryan and Louisville's Brian Brohm each scored an impressive 32.

Most of the top offensive linemen also tested well. Michigan's Jake Long scored a 26, Pittsburgh's Jeff Otah scored a 28, Southern Cal's Sam Baker scored a 27, Vanderbilt's Chris Williams scored a 32 and Boston College's Godser Cherilus scored a 25. Boise State offensive tackle Ryan Clady had the only disappointing score from the top group of blockers, a 13.

Is This Really The Best Assessment for Performance Intelligence?
Okay, so from the article above you would think that these player's who scored fairly well would have future star potential right? WRONG! In fact, just like all of the physical tests, these player's can specifically prepare for the Wonderlic Test as well. Take a look at an example question:

-The ninth month of the year is:
October- January- June- November-May

For more sample questions visit http://espn.go.com/page2/s/closer/020228test.html

A general intelligence aptitude test has very little to do with on-the-field decision making ability for football. In fact, take a look at the following article reference below:

Intelligence and Football: Testing for Differentials in Collegiate Quarterback Passing Performance and NFL Compensation

Abstract
This article presents an empirical analysis of the relationships between intelligence and both passing performance in college and compensation in the National Football League (NFL). A group of 84 drafted and signed quarterbacks from 1989 to 2004 was selected for the study.

The author hypothesizes that intelligence is the most important and perhaps most rewarded at this position, and a wide variety of passing performance statistics are available to separate the effects of intelligence and ability. The OLS-estimated models reveal no statistically significant relationship between intelligence and collegiate passing performance. Likewise, the author finds no evidence of higher compensation in the NFL for players with higher intelligence as measured by the Wonderlic Personnel Test administered at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Check These Score Out
Brett Favre- 22
Dan Marino- 14
Vinny Testaverde- 18
Daunte Culpepper- 15
Steve McNair- 15
Peyton Manning- 25

The point here is that these are some of the most accomplished names in NFL Football History and there scores are quite low!

So if the Wonderlic might not be the best option for determining a player's mental potential, what would a possible solution be?

I will give you a hint... it has something to do with the extrinisic value dimension.

More on this topic in Part 2 coming shortly!

'Taking Play Seriously'

Today I posted an article on the importance of play in workouts. Check it out at http://www.athletebydesign.blogspot.com/.

Sports Profile Update

I am EXTREMELY excited to announce that the official release of the Sports Profile is finally just right around the corner. The feedback from coaches, parents, athletes, and general managers of youth sports all the way to international professional clubs has been tremendous.

Below are a few update highlights for this completely new method of psychological profiling of athletes:

• over 350 athletes have now taken the profile from ages ranging twelve and up through professional athletes
• two different versions will be available
• another 400 athletes will take the profile within the next four weeks
• the profile will be available in four different languages
• preliminary stats are close to completion regarding the first profile group
• the initial data is presenting some patterns of decision making of youth that will have a critical impact on developmental programs
• more to come soon!
  

Understanding Intrinsic Value

How do you feel?

Think of just about any post championship game that you have watched on television and what is the first question that the commentator asked? Most often the question is:

How does it feel right now to be the champion?

Intrinsic value is all about 'feeling'. Have you ever had a gut feeling about a teammate where you said to yourself 'John is really struggling right now, maybe I can help'? If so, that is the ability to be highly empathetic (understanding and sensitive to others).

In the picture above, these NFL Green Bay Packer's Fans intrinsically value their team. They love their team for who they are...win or lose. More on intrinsic value below:

• is about the 'wholeness' of something or someone
• focuses on who a person is not what they do
• answers the question 'Who do you want to be?'
• involves the ability to understand others (coaches, teammates, etc)
• includes words that create feelings or emotions (both positive and negative)
• includes phrases such as 'Spirit of the game' or 'Heart of a champion' or 'Love for the game'.

Intrinsic value questions relating to one's world view (empathy) include:

• How important are my teammates and coaches to me?
• How well do I get along with my teammates and coaches?
• How well can I handle mistakes made when I rely on my teammates?
• What are my realistic expectations of my teammates and my coaches?

Intrinsic value questions relating to one's self view (self-esteem) include:

• How well do I understand the value that I bring to my sport as a person?
• Do I have an inner desire for self-development?
• What is my attitude about my personal problems?

Understanding Extrinsic Value

Last week I wrote a short article on "Understanding Systemic Value", which is basically the foundation of human value. This week let's take a step up the heirarchy and explore the extrinsic value dimension.

How Do You Compare?

Extrinsic value is all about comparison and getting results. In the picture above, the player with the ball has to clearly and quickly compare a number of different options of what to do in his situation. For example, does he just try and hold the ball until he can get support? Or does he try and cut the ball back between the two defenders? Or does he simply just try and clear the ball as quickly as possible?

So in this situation it is about which choice does he make in order to get the best result. Below are a few more points of intersest regarding extrinsic value:

• this is the dimension of comparison to get desired results


• extrinsic value answers the questions 'How do I...' and 'What is the best way to...'


• it is about determining what is relevant within a complex situation


• seeing the benefit of one's actions


• includes words such as choices, best option, process, integration (how people work together)


• Internally it is about role awareness. In other words, what are the roles that you think you need to play in order to get results or accomplish your goals


• it involves one's attitudes towards team success as well as team failure


• Internally it involves one's attitude toward their own peak performance and their own poor performance

Below is a sample chart comparing one's strengths and weakness in the extrinsic value:

Do Your Athlete's Value TEAMWORK?

"Individuals play the game, but teams win championships."

This is the sign that is in the New England Patriots team locker room. This says it all! It's a life rule, no one achieves any level of success completely on their own. Do you have any athlete's on your team that have incredible individual talent but struggle to be a team player? If so, below are some examples of attributes that will give insight into a player's attitude towards the value of a team:

• Interpersonal rapport- How well does the athlete get along with their coach/teammates?
• Interpersonal harmony- What are the athlete's realistic expectations of their coach/teammates?
• Interpersonal conflict- How well can the athlete handle mistakes made when relying on their teammates?
• Team orientation- What is the athlete's level of understanding and involvement with teammates and their sport?
• Attitude towards team success- How well does the athlete thrive in a team setting?
• Attitude towards team failure- What is the athlete's response when the game does not go as planned?

*Note: These are just a few of the thirty nine attributes objectively measured in the InnerTactics Sports Profile.

What have you been able to achieve just by being part of a team that you could not have on your own?

Understanding Systemic Value

Systemic Value
Otherwise known as structured thinking, this dimension is built around rules, policies, systems, yes/no type thinking. Below are some additional components of this dimensional value:

• includes words such as plan, sort, categorize, order, logic, etc.
• Answers 'should' type questions. i.e. 'Did you do what you should have? or Did your teammate do his job?'
• In sports it involves how well does the athlete understand the rules and demands of the game
• Internally it is about self-direction and self-image

Below are some additional questions to ask based on systemic value:

• How well do you understand the rules of the game?
• How well do you understand the game plan?
• What is your attitude towards authority?
• What is your attitude towards breaking the rules?
• What is your attitude towards being compliant?

3D Thinking

Over the past decade of training athletes there has been a trend towards multi-dimensional strength training. The basic idea is that because athletes move in multiple planes of movement (front to back, side to side, and rotational), a sound strength training program should also reflect these same demands in order to best prepare the athlete for optimal performance. If this is true for physical development, can it also be true for the mental side of performance?

3D Thinking

Based on the science of axiology and the work of Robert S. Hartman, it is proven that people make decisions based on three dimensions of thinking. It is the unique combination of these dimensions that create an individual's unique decision making pattern. Each pattern is a combination of clarity and bias within each dimension that creates an individual's strengths and weaknesses.

Below are the three dimensions of thinking:

1. Intrinsic


2. Extrinsic


3. Systemic

Over the next few weeks I will review each of these areas as it relates to sports performance.