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Learning Styles and Effective Coaching: Empowering Your Athlete To Their Full Potential

September 7, 2018 by Robert Andrews 2 Comments

Every athlete has a way of being taught and coached that ignites their passion for their respective sport. Taking the time to find out the most effective and efficient way to coach your athletes can eliminate many stressful coach/athlete interactions, and make for a more rewarding and successful journey between coach and athlete. After all, helping your athlete reach their full potential and their dreams is a journey, a process that may last years. Your coaching style plays a significant role in how this journey plays out and what each of you find at the end of this road you will travel together.

When a coach is able to reach their athletes with effective and empowering strategies for learning, athletes learn faster, acquire skills and techniques faster, reach loftier goals, and enjoy their sport more. The experience of coaching is more enjoyable and rewarding for the coach as well.

This doesn’t mean that you have to coach every athlete differently. It means that you can learn to coach using different teaching/learning styles with your whole team. This allows you to reach every athlete effectively.
Womens Gymnastics

I hear from many coaches who are frustrated with their athletes lack of progress. I also hear from many athletes who are frustrated with the interaction that occurs between the athlete and their coach or coaches.

In many sports there is a dynamic in place where the athlete is sent clear messages to not ask questions, voice their opinion, speak up, or challenge a coaches tone, treatment and coaching techniques. The coach coaches and the athlete trains. The relationship is usually good until frustration increases and tension begins to build.

The personalities of coach and athlete can change dramatically under this kind of stress.

When something goes wrong in training, “corrections”, or feedback are given to help the athlete get back on track and progress. Too often these corrections bypass the athletes most effective learning style and the athlete does not improve as quickly as the coach might like. The coach might become frustrated, try to implement these corrections again, in an ineffective way, and continue with this cycle of ineffective coach/athlete interaction.

Over time, more and more of the athletes energy goes into avoiding making mistakes and upsetting their coach. Coaches can begin to “put the athlete in a box” or see them as incapable or un-coachable.

Using Energy Efficiently

Mental and emotional energy is the driving force behind excellence and brilliance in sport. This energy is also critical to building confidence, passion and rock solid belief.

Robert Andrews and his wife at the 2008 Summer OlympicsEffective coaching helps the athlete channel this energy into the acquisition and mastery of physical skills necessary to compete at the highest level. Physical, mental and emotional energy moves in a highly efficient and productive direction.

Ineffective coaching creates an environment where more and more of the athletes mental and emotional energy is channeled away from training and improvement. Personality can begin to change. The athlete can become passive, timid, too focused on avoiding mistakes, highly emotional, and afraid of upsetting their coach.

The more shut down the athlete becomes, the more frustrated the coach can become. This can lead to intimidating behaviors from their coach such as ridicule, shaming, yelling and ignoring the athlete.   In some instances the athlete receives extreme physical punishment or can get kicked out of practice.

Four Distinctly Different Learning Styles

Every athlete utilizes a specific learning style or combination of learning styles to learn most effectively. There are four different learning styles.

Visual Learning- Show the athlete visually what you want them to learn. Visual learners learn best by seeing what it is they need to work on or improve. Their brain processes information visually. Use video, images, illustrations or show the athlete the feedback or instruction you are trying to give them.

Aural Learning- The aural learner likes to hear feedback, instruction, and correction. Tell them what you want them to learn.  Make sure that they are paying attention and then give them feedback or instruction with your voice, a recording, or some other form of aural input.

Reading and Writing– This learning style prefers to read or write about the improvements or corrections they need to make. When working on skills, they learn best by receiving written feedback that they can process. They also like to write or journal as a way of learning.

Kinesthetic- This learning style likes to hear and see feedback and then go to work making the necessary changes or corrections to help anchor in effective learning. They process best by taking in feedback visually and/or aurally and then getting to work mastering the skills and corrections. Tell them what to do, show them what to do, give them something to read, and then let them get to work. They learn from making mistakes, falls, and others struggles. They need time to integrate and learn.

Formula for Success

I have worked with world class athletes in trampoline, men’s, women’s and rhythmic gymnastics, track & field, swimming, fencing, football, baseball, basketball, judo, figure skating, ballet, luge, skeleton, and other sports.  These athletes come from all over the world and many different cultures. Those that have reached their full potential, in most cases, have worked with coaches who are open to teaching them in ways that maximize learning and evoke passion. This is a common denominator for success at the highest levels.

This doesn’t mean that an athlete won’t reach peak potential with ineffective coaching and teaching. We have certainly seen this in many sports where the athlete is not allowed to question a coaches style or have a voice in their own training. These athletes have become Olympic and World Champions.

I strongly believe that these athletes could have been even better if they had been coached with more effective and empowering coaching and teaching styles.

Short Circuiting the Brain

It is very frustrating for an athlete to have their learning style short circuited by a coach who only gives feedback one way. The athlete has to take in and process information, feedback and correction in a way that does not allow them to learn at the highest level.

Most of these gymnasts are strong kinesthetic learners. They learn best when their coaches show them what they want them to work on or correct, and at the same time tell them what they need to improve or correct during training.  The gymnasts is then empowered to get to work integrating the feedback they have received. They work hard, struggle, fall, and are free to make mistakes. The coach gives them more visual and aural feedback and corrections. The gymnasts then goes back to work integrating and learning. Gymnasts learn skills faster, increase the difficulty and execution of their routines, and progress in their development at a much higher level.

Many coaches interrupt their gymnast learning styles by getting on them when they make mistakes or make them do conditioning if they don’t get a “correction” quickly, or the first time.  In worst case scenarios, coaches kick their gymnasts off of the apparatus or out of the gym. This is incredibly unproductive. Gymnasts don’t get better sitting on the sidelines watching or skipping an apparatus that they are struggling on. It is also very embarrassing for them, and it breaks trust with their coach.

“There Are No Mistakes, Only Learning”

Kinesthetic learners learn best when they are free to make mistakes.

Many coaches punish their gymnasts for getting emotional during training. They don’t understand that their coaching style might be contributing to the gymnasts frustration. The gymnasts is afraid to make mistakes. They are afraid to upset their coach. When the brain focuses on not doing something, it is guaranteed that they will experience more struggle. And most likely make more mistakes.

I work with gymnasts whose coaches tell them “you will never improve if you don’t get corrections the first time”, “you will never make it to level 10 if you keep making mistakes”, you will never make national team if you don’t get this skill by next camp”. If the gymnasts doesn’t improve quickly, the coach becomes frustrated. These coaches don’t understand that if they create an environment where it is safe for their gymnasts to struggle, they will go far beyond their current skill level.

Kicking them off the apparatus or out of the gym, shaming them in front of their teammates and yelling at them will only increase the gymnasts upset and the coaches frustration.

These types of coaches are usually highly reactive, meaning they bypass their most effective coaching traits and go strait to negative and dysfunctional methods of coaching when things aren’t going well in the gym.

If we retain the old abusive culture, nothing will change and we will continue to experience athletes with no voice, no sense of personal power, poor interpersonal boundaries and life skills, and low self esteem.

I think it is safe to say that in gymnastics we all know where this type of coaching has gotten us.

Building a New Culture

We are in the process of building a new culture in gymnastics. It will take open minded coaches willing to ask questions, seek out information, show a willingness to learn and admit mistakes, listen to their peers and pay attention to interactions with their athletes. This open minded coach will become a better coach. Athletes will grow in confidence and belief in themselves. They will acquire skills faster and reach higher levels of success. They will show up authentically and will be free to express their unique personalities in their gymnastics.

And I believe they will achieve greater success.

What kind of coach do you want to be?

Filed Under: Abuse in sports, Abusive coaching, Gymnastics, Mental Aspects of Sports Injuries, Mental Training, Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: Coaching, Gymnastics, Gymnastics abuse, Gymnastics Performance, USAG

Gymnastics season is here. Are you working on your mental skills too?

December 19, 2016 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

Gymnastics season has started and my phone, email, and text are already lighting up with inquiries from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia, Great Britain, France, and other countries.  Gymnasts are looking for help with their mental approach to gymnastics. Parents, coaches, and gymnasts are searching for answers to anxiety, fear, lack of focus, mental blocks, and many other stressors that effect performance.

Facing Stress and Pressure

For many the pressure to move up a level, add skills, deal with new coaching styles, college recruiting pressures, and return from injury are causing too much stress and pressure.Womens Gymnastics

When the mind focuses too much on these distractions and not enough on just hitting routines problems can occur.

Working With the Best Gymnasts in the World 

I wanted to re-publish an ESPN article  that came out before the Olympic games. The article focuses on my work with 2016
Olympic Team, All Around, Floor, and Vault Champion Simone Biles, and team Gold and Beam Silver Medalist Laurie Hernandez.

ESPN’s Alyssa Roenigk did a remarkable job of capturing the essence of the mental/life training they embraced to reach the top of their sport.

Gymnasts, you can have access to the same mental training program that these two, and other Olympic Champions and Medalist embrace to reach their status as the best in the world.

Contact me for individual and team sessions. Yes, I travel!

Champions Mental Edge Video Series 

Or check out the Champions Mental Edge mental training program. This ten part video series comes in downloadable format so you can have access to this state of the art program on your phone, tablet, or computer. It contains information for athletes, parents, and coaches on mental skills, peak performance, personality and performance, overcoming mental blocks, how stress and pressure impact performance, parenting athletes, championship culture, addressing the mental and emotional impact of sports injuries, and so much more.

Are ready to reach the goals you have set for your gymnastics season?

Step up! Take action now! Your gymnastics will never be the same!

Filed Under: 2016 Rio Olympics, Champions Mental Edge Video Series, Gymnastics, Laurie Hernandez, Mental Aspects of Sports Injuries, Mental Training, Simone Biles, Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: Champions Mental Edge, Gymnastics, Laurie Hernandez, mental training, Olympic Champions, Simone Biles

What Do PTSD, War Veterans, And Injured Athletes Have In Common?

May 13, 2016 by Robert Andrews 7 Comments

By Robert B. Andrews MA, LMFT

PTSD from war trauma is a terrible aftershock for soldiers who experience the horrors of war. I recently read an article about PTSD in veterans who suffer from the effects of PTSD.  I  was struck by how exact the imprinting process for war trauma is when compared to  athletes who suffer serious sports related injuries.

Overcoming Sports InjuriesI don’t mean to compare the intensity of war trauma to athletic performance, or minimize our soldiers experiences. My intent is to point out the similarities in brain functioning and imprinting between war time experiences and serious sports related injuries.

The quote below comes from an article by Nolan Peterson about PTSD in the military. Although he is talking about intense combat experiences he perfectly describes the mental imprinting process that athletes experience when suffering a serious sports related injury like an ACL, broken leg, or concussion.

“But that’s the point. The hormones released by high-stress situations instruct the brain to imprint memories more deeply.  Evolution taught us that trick: The caveman who could best remember how he escaped a saber-toothed tiger attack had a statistically better shot at surviving the next one.  That’s why time appears to slow down in a car crash or while you’re getting mugged. The adrenaline coursing through your veins triggers your brain into hyperactive memory storage. Your mind and senses go into overdrive, absorbing every sensory detail with superhuman lucidity and completeness.

Because of this, an event that might only last a split second occupies as much mental storage space as a week or a month. Years later you can recall details, feelings, colors, smells, and sounds more vividly than you can remember this morning’s breakfast.” ~ Nolan Peterson

To the Brain, Trauma is Trauma

Baseball Player DownSo sports injuries can be traumatic to the athlete.

I have spoken with athletes who tore their ACL and can remember what the grass smelled like when they laid on the field after being injured. Others recall how quiet the crowd became and how bright the lights were.  Many hold an image of their teammates all looking at them as the trainers and team physicians looked after them.

These images are loaded with unprocessed information related to the injury.

I treat injuries from a trauma based approach. We teach the brain how to process this overwhelming cauldron of high stress information. This is the critical step in a full comeback after suffering injury.

If this story resonates with you, if you have intrusive mental images that relate to your injury, if you are afraid of getting hurt again, you are not alone.

We can get you back in the game quickly with diminished fear of re-injury and restored confidence.

Contact: robertandrews@tinssp.com

Filed Under: ACL Injury Recovery, Mental Aspects of Sports Injuries, Sports Injuries and Trauma, Sports Injury Recovery, Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: Mental impact of injuries, Nolan Peterson, Overcoming sports injuries, PTSD, Sports Injury Trauma

Pre-Surgery Treatment of Mental and Emotional Aspects of Sports Related Injuries

April 24, 2016 by Robert Andrews Leave a Comment

Working with an injured athlete prior to surgery has proven to be a game changer when it comes to the athlete’s approach to surgery, pain management, and the rehab process.

Helping athletes work through rational and irrational fears about surgery, processing concerns about the impact the injury will have on their performance, calming their anxiety about the rehab process, and gaining clarity about their identity as an athlete all help the athlete approach surgery with less fear and anxiety.

imagesA calm brain produces fewer stress related hormones so the mind and body have a remarkably different experience of surgery than the athlete who goes into surgery tense, scared, and filled with anxiety.

Recently I had the pleasure of working with an athlete as she was preparing to return to play after ACL surgery. This is an athlete that I saw a few days before surgery and a few more times as she worked her way through the rehab process.

The surgery/recovery process has gone so well for this athlete I decided to request an interview to capture and share the power and significance that pre-surgery treatment can have on an injured athlete facing surgery.

I have kept the athlete’s name private to maintain confidentiality. I will say that this athlete is a female high school soccer player who tore her ACL.

Question: How long ago was your surgery and how did the injury happen?

Athlete: About 8 months ago. I was going after a 50/50 ball on the soccer field. We collided and I tore the ACL in my left knee.

Question: How did you feel immediately after the injury?

Athlete: I felt “crappy”, devastated, scared, mad, upset, and sad. I wished it had not happened. I immediately started having all of these questions run through my mind. Questions about my future…Will I be able to come back? How long will it take to come back? Why did this happen?

Question: How did you find your way to The Institute of Sports Performance?

Athlete: My mother wanted me to have every kind of support I could have. She new I was suffering and upset so she started asking around. A therapist here in Houston told my mother about Robert Andrews, so we set up an appointment before my surgery.

Question: What was your reaction to your mother’s suggestion that you see someone to address the mental and emotional impact of your injury?

Athlete: At first I thought it was weird. I wasn’t excited. But she explained how it would help, and it made sense. Then Mr. Andrews explained everything in a way that just made more sense. After he explained how the brain works and how it handles high stress events, I was excited that I had this help going into surgery.

Question: How did you feel when you thought about having surgery?

Athlete: I was scared and anxious about the pain. I was really afraid of how painful it was going to be.

Question: Did you have any specific images in your mind about surgery, and how did you feel when you saw these images in your mind?

Athlete: Yes I did. I kept seeing images of the doctor opening my knee up and another image of me being surrounded by doctors in surgery. The images were there whenever I thought about going into surgery, and they made me feel scared and anxious.

Question: What work did you do with Mr. Andrews prior to surgery?

Athlete: We did some work with light, eye movement, and sound (EMDR) that focused on the scary images I had in my mind about surgery. By the time we finished with the first session those scary images were gone. I felt so much calmer. The fear and anxiety were gone. I was confident and ready for surgery.   I even had a new image in my mind of everything going well in surgery. The day of surgery I felt pretty calm.

Question: How did you feel after immediately after surgery?

Athlete: I felt great! I didn’t have a lot of pain. I was more concerned about the rehab process, but I saw Mr. Andrews again about that. We did some work that calmed my anxiety about rehab.  After that I was very confident and attacked my rehab process.

Author’s note– this process is not a guarantee that injured athletes will suffer less pain in surgery. There are many different types of ACL reconstruction surgeries, some more painful than others. Overall, I frequently hear reports from athlete’s saying they approach surgery calmer and with less anxiety. Many also report experiencing less pain.

Question: How do you feel now eight and a half months after the injury?

Athlete: I feel great! I continue to do my rehab with the goal of continuing to get stronger. I am back at practice, and I feel more confident. I have no pain and feel “normal”. I am definitely more confident than I thought I would have been at this stage of my recovery. Working with Mr. Andrews helped me be more patient about my rehab process. I have done great.

Question: When you think back to the point in time when you were injured, what do your think about and remember?

Athlete: I don’t really remember the injury. I see the rewritten version in my mind where I don’t get hurt. The old scary image of me getting hurt isn’t stuck in my brain anymore like it was when the injury first happened.

Question: Would you recommend this treatment process to other injured athletes?

Athlete: Yes I would, and I have. My mother tells everyone and I tell everyone. Seeing Mr. Andrews before surgery really made the difference for me. I thought I would be afraid when I came back, but I am not. I tell everyone how great I am doing. I am doing so much better than everyone thought.

Changing a Paradigm

I am grateful to this young athlete for sharing their process and experiences with me. It is important to get this information out. I believe we can dramatically alter the amount of fear, anxiety, anger, depression, and suffering injured athletes experience when injured.

After ten years of working with athletes I have seen thousands who have suffered serious injuries. These injuries include ACL injuries, Tommy John, broken ankles, legs, arms, and collarbones, shoulder injuries, and concussions. I have also seen baseball and softball players who have been hit by pitches, taken bad hops, and line drives back to the pitcher. Gymnasts and cheerleaders who have suffered bad falls and injuries, and pole vaulters who have broken ankles or suffered knee injuries also come to see me.

Savannah Jones (10) tries to shield the ball from a Lake Travis midfielder.Each of these injured athletes goes through an extremely high level of stress and possible trauma when injured. The part of the brain that is designed to protect them and keep them safe (the limbic system) is engaged. Calming this limbic system down before surgery is the key.

As a result, they approach surgery with less anxiety, less fear, and they attack the rehab process with more determination and confidence. These athletes return to play absent of the debilitating fear of re-injury.

Many athletes learn a lot about themselves during the injury/recovery process. They develop key parts of their personality. They learn to be tougher, more focused, resilient, and grateful. They reconnect with the love and passion they experienced before the injury.

Filed Under: ACL Injury Recovery, Mental Aspects of Sports Injuries, Sports Injury Recovery, Sports Shut Down and the Mental and Emotional Impact on Athletes Tagged With: ACL Injuries, EMDR, Injured Athlete, Soccer, Sports Recovery

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The Institute of Sports Performance™
2500 East T.C. Jester
Suite 180
Houston, TX 77008
Find us

713.522.2200

robertandrews@tinssp.com
kierstincollins@tinssp.com
michaelheck@tinssp.com
andreaestrada@tinssp.com
galenandrews@tinssp.com

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From Our Blog

Overcoming Mental Blocks in Sports

What Happens When A Season Disappears? Drug and Alcohol Issues And The Sports Shut Down

A Parents Guide to the Sports Shut Down

Cancelled Seasons and the Mental and Emotional Wellbeing of Athletes

Learning Styles and Effective Coaching: Empowering Your Athlete To Their Full Potential

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Contact Us

The Institute of Sports Performance™
2500 East T.C. Jester
Suite 180
Houston, TX 77008
Find us

713.522.2200

robertandrews@tinssp.com
kierstincollins@tinssp.com
michaelheck@tinssp.com
andreaestrada@tinssp.com
galenandrews@tinssp.com

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