Blog #5: Performing Under Pressure

Blog #5: Performing Under Pressure 

Following some recent observations and conversations, I’m writing a blog about performing under pressure. Specifically, I want to share some considerations concerning dealing with consecutive points loss in a game. Keep reading if you want to learn more about some mental skills that will help players “reset” and control/maintain their performance. I’ll also share some implications for your coaching – how you can tailor your coaching to meet the needs of the player’s you coach.  

Self-Confidence 

Confidence plays a significant role in the way we perform. In a game of volleyball, it is likely that confidence will change during performance (increasing or decreasing). I believe there is a difference between confidence and self-confidence.  

Confidence stems from external sources. It is supported by experience and results. 

Self-Confidence is internal. It is based on the belief that you have about yourself. It comes from within and comes prior to experience or success.  

So why does this matter? Having a strong belief about yourself and your abilities, without evidence, will encourage you to 1. Approach challenges, 2. Try new things, 3. Step outside your comfort zone, 4. Increase effort, 5. Select appropriate strategies, 6. Regulate unwanted thoughts and emotions. The list goes on!  

Typically, we see confidence and self-confidence as connected. A poor result, dealing with consecutive points loss, an error, etc. can lead to a sudden loss of confidence AND self-confidence. Can we separate confidence from self-confidence?  

To perform at the highest level, self-confidence should be like the trunk of a tree, with its roots firmly in the ground. The tree is strong. It is sturdy. In this analogy, confidence is the leaves. Leaves can blow off. Leaves can also grow back. During a game, you might witness me make mistakes. The opposition might single me out on serve receive. You might see my confidence starting to fade, just like the colour of the leaves. Regardless of the experience, I want my self-confidence to remain constant. I trust in myself and believe in my abilities. Like the tree trunk, my self-confidence is robust.  

Implications for Coaching Practice 

1. Let’s talk more about SELF confidence. Asking a player to ‘play with more confidence’ or telling them to ‘be more confident’ might have limitations. Remember, confidence blows about in the wind. Show players that you trust/believe in them and help players to trust/believe in themselves.  

1. Praise effort (when its warranted) and improvement. Challenges are inevitable in volleyball. We want to support players to approach challenges. Help players to develop the skillset, mindset, and habits to navigate situations in the future.  

1. Our thoughts effect our feelings. Our feelings effect our behaviour. Encourage players to use positive self-talk that focuses attention on being self-confident. For example, “I am, I can, I will, I do” or “believe it, receive it”. Positive self-talk is a word, comment, command (without an answer) to improve focus and reduce anxiety.  Help players to replace negative thoughts (and feelings) with positive ones.  

Focus and Distraction Control  

Michael Phelps once emphasised, “When I’m focused, there is not a single thing…that can stand in the way of my doing something.” The ability to focus attention to the task at hand, while ignoring distractions (internal or external), is a key ingredient of successful performance. Focus, attention, and concentration can either help or hinder an athlete’s performance.  

A crucial aspect of an athlete’s skillset lies in their ability to transition between attentional styles, adapting to the demands of each task or situation. Attention can either be internal or external and broad or narrow. When athletes are focus inward (thoughts, emotions, the body) they are said to have an internal focus. Athletes who are focused on the environment (ball, teammates, opposition, court) are using an external focus. In terms of width, a broad focus is when an athlete is paying attention to a great deal of information (ball, setter, ball, hitter) whereas focusing on one stimuli (the middle of the ball) is considered narrow.  

I’m going to stop the theory stuff here. If we continue down that path, things will become increasingly academic and less relevant to your coaching practice. Instead, I want to talk through some digestible and applicable ideas. 

1. Control your thoughts. Focus your attention.  

As mentioned, a major component of concentration is the ability to focus one’s attention on what is most important and thereby not be affected by external (the crowd and opposition) and internal (negative thoughts and feelings) triggers. Unless concentration skills have been mastered, performance will almost always suffer. Control your thoughts is to decrease attention to irrelevant triggers. Focus your attention is to increase attention to relevant cues. Concentration also means being totally present. ‘Play in the 4, 5, 6’ is a simple attentional cue for players. Playing in the 1, 2, 3 means our attention is drifting into the past. Playing in the 7, 8, 9 means our attention is wandering into the future. ‘Play in the 4, 5, 6’. This type of cue can help an athlete to shift the attention to the task at hand and thus help them to avoid distracting thoughts (and feelings) taking over.  

1. The benefits of an external focus of attention. There is extensive evidence that indicates an external focus of attention (where athletes direct their attention at the effects that their movements have on the environment) is usually more effective that an internal one (in which athletes focus on their own body movements) when it comes to learning and performance. An external focus facilitates performance by promoting automatic processes, whereas an internal focus induces a more conscious type of control, constraining the body (Singh and Wulf, 2021).  

Let’s use serve receive as an example. An external focus of attention would be - ‘focus on the target’, and an internal focus of attention would be - ‘focus on your arms’. Note here, encouraging a player to - ‘focus on your platform’ can promote an external focus because the body part is being replaced with an image of an object. For a novice player, they may benefit from an external focus that is closer to the body (i.e. the ball or the platform). For advanced players, they may perform better with an external focus that is further away from the body (i.e. the target).  

Implications for Coaching Practice 

1. Telling a player to ‘pay attention’ or to ‘focus’ might not create the desired impact. Create concentration activities in training whereby players experience using different attentional strategies. Design activities that help players shift between a broad to narrow focus.  

1. Train athletes to transform failure into success by mentally rehearsing successful performances. Remember, what you think, you become.  

1. Arousal (action within the body) indirectly affects attention, judgement, and memory. Help players to turn down the arousal thermostat with techniques like breathing and positive self-talk.  

1. Use different types of cues when coaching to encourage players to focus their attention externally, internally, near, and far. Use analogies. Understand what works best for each player.  

To close the loop on this blog, I want to tie this all together with a scenario.  

I just shanked my pass, and we lost the point. Odds are, serve is coming my way. The opposition bench is cheering. First thing I do – I smile. That releases endorphins. It helps to reduce my heart rate and boost my mood. I breath in through my nose. I take in more oxygen that way. It stimulates the production of enzymes that reduce blood pressure. I’m regulating my body’s response. Now I need to control my thoughts. I remind myself to “put your crown back on”. I trust myself and I believe in my abilities. I block out the distracting external (and internal) triggers to focus on the task at hand. I shift my focus to narrow and internal. I am preparing. I am mentally rehearsing a successful pass. I’m in my playing box. “Play in the 4, 5 ,6”. Then I shift to being narrow and external…just as the ball is tossed “see the ball… platform… target”.