Making Mental skills Real- Four Keys in building an effective program.

“Psychology is a difficult area. People sort of avoid it because they don’t know anything about it, but after you’ve been through that situation, and found you couldn’t handle the pressure, then you have to dive into it, dissect it and get expertise in to assist with it.” - Graham Henry

In recent years there has been a massive change in how mental skills is both perceived and valued in the world of high performing sports. The major transition is mental skills is no longer seen as as something a player develops because they are weak or have underlying character issues. It is seen as a critical performance pillar much like the physical and technical skills. It is viewed as a significant competitive advantage. This had lead to teams?engaging with specialised coaches who possess expertise in how to develop and train this critical skill. For example in Major league baseball Mental skills coaches are employed by a record 27 clubs to open the 2018 season and this is growing yearly. Today there are 44 full time full time employees serving the mental skills space, seven years ago there were 20.

In the midst of this growth across different sports the impact has been mixed. This is understandable it takes both special people and a special environment to successfully build a program. In observing this challenge both from a distance and up close as a practitioner I saw some common trends emerge. I have taken those observations and reduced it to four key foundations that I see as central to a successful mental skills program.

It must be integrated

For the program to have its desired impact, it must be integrated into the overall development and performance strategy of the team. It won’t work if it’s seen as a silo. If it sits as a side department that is one person's initiative and responsibility there will be limited "buy in" from both players and staff. Alongside this, the program needs to be integrated into a inspirational culture. If the culture doesn’t create and demand high performance then the mental skills growth will be be severely stunted.?Practically, that means everyday in the environment, mental skills development is happening. Whether it be in the gym, on the field, in the video room or in individual?coaching, both the overall desired mindset of the team and the skills required to achieve that mindset need to be part of the language and behaviour of everyone.

It must be driven by the Leaders

In light of the need for integration, the key leaders of the team must drive mental skills. The coaching staff and players need to understand and model the desired mindset, language and behaviours. We can’t have an agreed mindset we are aiming to produce and then have coaches, staff and player leaders not be authentic to it. They key voice in this will be the head coach. The coach and mental skills coach must be aligned and there must be full “buy in” and support from the head coach. If there is not full support, then the program will be reduced to a side department that the players will see little value in. The head coach doesn’t need to be an expert in mental skills but he needs to see the value and be vocal about its relevance and importance in the environment.?

It must be practical

For a mental skills program to be successful, those delivering it need to view themselves as tradesman rather than philosophers. Often a program fails to deliver the desired outcome as it loses relevance for the players if it is too theory based. Though basic knowledge of what the brain does under pressure is helpful and makes the players aware of what happens during performance, it must be married to easily understood practical tools for them to put into practice. Mental skills can’t be presented as some sort of secret fairy dust that just needs to be sprinkled around and players will automatically get better. It’s a skill, and much like the other performance pillars, it needs to be delivered in a structured way that is specific to the athlete. There needs to be a clear plan, with accompanying performance habits. These habits should consist of a list of exercises that the player can practise that is relevant to the aspect of their mental ability they are trying to enhance.?

It must be measured and quantified.

"Mental competency to me is the ability of an individual and a team to deliver their trained ability in competition under pressure"- Owen Eastwood

We want to be able to measure if our players are getting better mentally. To do this, we can’t be ethereal or subjective about this. Mental skills providers need to be able to work with coaches and performance analysts to find actual game activities that are relevant.?

For a team, it might be the ability to regularly win away from home, hold on to leads, come back from deficits, etc.?For an individual, it might be performance after an error or performance in the game defining situations. We don’t want to be guessing around this key skill. It would be unthinkable for us to not measure the physical output of a player or the growth of their technical skills. Without this measured based approach we will fail to see if our players are actually getting better.

For example, for a team you could create key measures and indicators that display some form of mental competency

Winning away from home.

Putting away teams when leading

Coming back from deficits.

Winning when you not at your best (injuries, travel, controversies).

Beating the teams you should

Performing well in key games that define seasons.

As this opportunity to help teams and individuals presents itself I believe its valuable for mental skills providers to understand the ecosystem they are engaging with. High Performance sports is demanding and unique and requires clarity and consistency for those who have the privilege of helping athletes grow.