When a crisis occurs during the year, the players are ultimately responsible for the resolution. Coaches can recommend actions but players must execute these actions. Sometimes, the players must pull themselves together and move forward on their own. Adversity occurs during every minute of every game and practice: there are always battles between you and an opponent (or you and yourself) that present opportunities to set a personal best. Adversity also occurs every day of your life. How we make decisions under pressure decides how we handle adversity.
Decisions made under pressure in sport will recur under pressure in daily life. Quitting on the pitch leads to quitting off the pitch. Losing one’s composure when thrown a curve leads to losing one’s composure when life throws a curve and actions have meaningful consequences. As Queen said: “This is our last dance, this is ourselves: under pressure.”
Decision Making in Basketball
Athletes aged fourteen to fifteen can be introduced to more sophisticated decision making through the instruction of more complex skills and systems. The training should be structured and specific, supplemented by individual instruction (Canada Basketball, 2008, p. 53). Decision making in basketball is highly inconsistent. Some players are not able to correctly perceive what is happening on the court, some are unable to process the information correctly, and others based their decisions on faulty logic.
For example, many basketball players believe that shooters can become hot and make several shots in a row. However, in the National Basketball Association, the probability of making a shot after making three in a row is only forty-six percent, relative to a fifty-eight percent probability after three consecutive misses (Gilovich, Vallone, & Tversky, 1985, p. 299). It is thought that the lower percentage during shooting streaks is due to shot attempts that might be more advanced than the athlete’s capabilities whereas during slumps, athletes take safer shots.
One of the best methods to combat this fallacious conventional wisdom is to provide information, illustrated with statistics and video.
Decision Making among Adolescents
Adolescents are highly irrational. The area of the brain associated with the processing of rewards (the nucleus accumbens) is much more active than the area that makes thinks rationally, (the prefrontal cortex) (Lehrer, 2010, p. 114). This doesn’t mean that student-athletes are pleasure-crazed maniacs but that youth coaches must understand why the athletes they coach make decisions. Repeatedly rewarding good decisions with praise and encouragement will turn a unique event into a habit. Youth who are moving from the first stage of adolescence (11 to 15 years old) to the second (15 to 17 years old) become more able to control their impulses and learn to forgo instant gratification for long term goals (Straub, 1993, p. 76).
Physical and Mental Requirements
Irrespective of any coaching regarding how to make efficient decisions on the court, coaches must ensure that players are properly hydrated, well-rested and free of anxiety.
Dehydration: In a study of male basketball players aged 17 to 28, dehydration led to impaired vigilance related attentional performance. Also, when dehydration passes a threshold of two percent, a progressive decline in basketball skills may occur (Ziv & Lidor, 2009, p. 561).
Sleep Deprivation: Most adolescents require 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep per night but many do not get that much rest. A thirty to thirty-six hour sleep deficit decreases cardiovascular endurance by eleven percent and mental performance and information processing decreases twice as quickly as physical performance (National Sleep Foundation, n.d.).
Under Pressure: Individuals in a stressful situation (in a pressure chamber) are more than twice as likely to miss stimuli in their peripheral vision (Lehrer, 2010, p. 99). This is important because excellent basketball players can read the entire court and make good decisions.
Learning from Experience
The anterior cingulated cortex (A.C.C.) helps detect bad choices and avoid future mistakes. When the brain learns – consciously or subconsciously – that it had made an error, the A.C.C. takes note. When a future situation occurs, the A.C.C. reminds the person not to repeat the same mistake (Lehrer, 2010, p. 39).
Youth coaches have to make it clear what defines a good decision and tell athletes the right way to do things. This constructive criticism should be clear, consistent, but not too frequent or overwhelming, and concise. 360° Assessment and Evaluation, which provides feedback from a variety of perspectives, enables athletes to learn continually during the season.
Preparation: A pre-competition routine can help athletes feel rested and relaxed before a performance. Coaches should prepare the team for any unusual tactics that may be employed by the opponent and ensure athletes can handle the additional pressure of spectators (both friendly and hostile). These sessions could include the entire team or particular individuals who need extra help. Rainer Martens’ Competitive States Anxiety Inventory is an excellent tool to identify which athletes have confidence and anxiety issues.
Teaching the Correct Cues: Coaches need to teach athletes the cues that they need to know to make near instantaneous decisions. A stimulus, such as seeing a defender moving or hearing a teammate calling for the ball, must instinctively inspire a player to understand what is happening and make a decision.
It is a tough balance to teach the correct form to perform a skill and the cues and criteria for making good decisions (such as a how to do a pull-up jumshot compared to when to pull-up instead of taking it all the way). Coaches should never ignore a mistake but they should not provide too much feedback during the beginner stages of the activity. Instead, coaches should teach athletes to recover, refocus, and retry the skill (Halden-Brown, 2003, p. 123).
Ball Movement: In 2009-10, Toronto was a great location for young athletes to learn about the game. The Toronto Raptors, who receive plenty of media coverage, experienced a season with several winning and losing streaks, usually correlated with their defensive intensity and ability to move the ball. Coaches should emphasize quick ball movement to the open player, rather than specific patterns, and must teach young players how to read the defence and find the best quality shot.
Level of Competition: Some athletes may have succeeded to this point because of weak competition and lax defence. Under pressure, they may rush and make poor decisions (MacKay, F.I.T.S. Toronto, 2010). To building habits, every practice drill should have an element of competition that simulates the cues that will occur during a game, such as a part-method 3-on-3 drill emphasizing help defence. “No Limits Excellence” is a method to simulate competition and raise team intensity.
Groupthink: Although coaches want the team to be close, we do not want “Groupthink” to develop. This occurs when members overestimate the group and become close-minded. There may be an illusion of invulnerability or pressure towards uniformity (Baron, 2000, pp. 216-8). We want to encourage and value multiple perspectives and emphasize to each player that their individual feelings are more important than any social pressures from the group.
Loss Aversion: People who rely on their emotions when making decisions tend to fear a loss more than they desire a gain (Lehrer, 2010, p. 238). On the basketball court, this may lead to a player holding the ball too long if they perceive the pass to be overly risking or shooting the ball if they do not have confidence in their teammates.
These avoidable mistakes can be reduced by building trust among team members, encouraging all players during training, and showing how the right decision leads to success. Creating positive relationships between guards and post players is time consuming but worthwhile because a good two person units can display excellent chemistry on the court.
Fear of Failure: There is also a fear of failure among this age group (Canada Basketball, 2008, p. 53). This fear may manifest itself in several fashions. It may lead to mistakes caused by inaction, such as a pass not made or a shot not taken. David McClelland theorized that youth with low achievement motivation will attempt greater risks to provide an excuse for failure (Klein, Quarter, & Laxer, 1969, p. 418). The equivalent on the basketball court is taking an outside shot that is beyond the capabilities of the athlete.
Some athletes may always incur minor injuries before big competitions (Straub, 1993, p. 77). Coaches can combat this fear by giving praise and encouragement throughout the season and creating situations in training where athletes can succeed. Parental support – compared to punitive or controlling behaviour – reduces fear of failure (Sagar & Lavallee, 2010, p. 186).
Competition: In competition, coaches should focus on training and instruction instead of game management and winning. Development could occur when all players are substituted freely and players are allowed to make their own choices on the court (Way, 2009, p. 27). Coaches should rarely call for specific plays and should limit the use of timeouts so that players can resolve stressful situations themselves. After some time has passed and the athletes have calmed down, feedback can be provided, perhaps with the aid of video technology. Debriefing is infinitely more productive once the emotional “degriefing” period has occurred (Halden-Brown, 2003, p. 183).
Basketball coaches are often guilty of pulling a player immediately after a mistake or calling them out on the court, which can make an athlete self-conscious and less confident. It could take several training sessions to build the athlete back up to that previous level. O.F.S.A.A. champion coach and current official Lou Sialstis said that many Toronto basketball players “have had enough tough breaks and don’t need your help feeling bad.” Sialstis imparted how he would always wait for a few moments to pass before making a substitution and ensured to debrief the player privately and discreetly (Sialstis, 2009).
Metacognition: Thinking about thinking helps improve decision making by developing the pre-frontal cortext part of the brain (Lehrer, 2010, p. 64). Mental visualization can help athletes prepare for competition, imagining future performances and reviewing past ones. Coaches should incorporate emotional and attentional control exercises.
Choice Theory
Decisions made during a game are a microcosm for life choices. Choice Theory is a key tenant of my coaching philosophy. I believe that we always face choices. Like in life, players must come to their own decision and accept the consequences. Freedom to make informed decisions plays an important role in the development of analytical thinking among young people. On or off the court, players must live with the consequences of their actions.
Choice Theory is an internal control psychology that seeks to explain why and how we make choices (Glasser, 1999). By taking control of their choices during training, competition, and life, players learn to become more responsible and make better decisions. Coaches, along with parents and peers, help teach the meaning and values associated with different processes and outcomes in order to empower the athlete (Sagar & Lavallee, 2010, p. 186).
Evaluating Success
We want to analyze decisions according to scholarly measures. Decisions will be judged to be appropriate if they are composed, conscientious, and consistent. Good decisions are calm, impartial (free of biases), and rational (not impulsive behavior). Calm decisions are based on training, not performance anxiety. Impartial decisions are based on a logical evaluation of the circumstances, not sentiments of omnipotence, loss aversion, or group think. Rational decisions weigh all of the evidence and balance risk with probability (Baron, 2000, p. 355).
We want mistakes to be errors of commission, not omission. For example, it is better for a player to try their best and fall short rather than become paralyzed by a fear of failure. We want players to think on the court. It is better to consider all relevant alternatives (in a timely fashion) than rush into the first available option. Obviously, the decisions should be timely and prompt
Personal biases, such as peer pressure, a lack of self-confidence, or preconceptions have no place in our program (Baron, 2000, p. 468). Coaches seek to combat this by enabling and empowering players for the duration of the thirteen week program.
Athletes should understand the cause(s) of their mistakes and make corrections. Coaches should instruct the players so that mistakes are not repeated (Halden-Brown, 2003, p. 117).
Works Cited:
Baron, J. (2000). Thinking and Deciding. Cambridge: Cambridge Univerisity Press.
Canada Basketball. (2008, December). Athlete Development Model. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Long Term Athlete Development: http://www.basketball.ca/en/hm/download.php?id=237.
Gilovich, T., Vallone, R., & Tversky, A. (1985). The Hot Hand in Basketball: On the Misperception of Random Sequences. Cognitive Psychology , 17, 295-314.
Glasser, W. (1999). Choice Theory. New York City: HarperCollins Publishers.
Halden-Brown, S. (2003). Mistakes Worth Making. Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Klein, J. P., Quarter, J. J., & Laxer, R. M. (1969). Behavioral Counseling of Underachievers. American Educational Research Journal , 6 (3), 415-424.
Lehrer, J. (2010). How We Decide. Boston: Mariner Books.
MacKay, M. (2010, February 24). F.I.T.S. Toronto. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from X’s and O’s by Mike MacKay: http://www.basketball.ca/hm/blog/?sid=210.
National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). Teens and Sleep. Retrieved May 25, 2005, from National Sleep Foundation: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/hot-topics.
Sagar, S. S., & Lavallee, D. (2010). The developmental origins of fear of failure in adolescent athletes: Examining parental practices. Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 11, 177-187.
Sialstis, L. (2009, December 12). Eastern Commerce Holiday Classic. (B. Bourgase, Interviewer).
Straub, S. J. (1993). Working with Adolescents in a High School Setting. Journal of Athletic Training , 28 (1), 75-80.
Way, R. (2009). Canadian Sport for Life: Competition. Coaches Plan , 16 (4), 26-28.
Ziv, G., & Lidor, R. (2009). Physical Attributes, Physiological Characteristics, On-Court Performances and Nutritional Strategies of Female and Male Basketball Players. Journal of Sport Medicine, 39 (7), 547-568.