When was the last time you caught someone doing something well?
I am definitely guilty of spotting mistakes quicker than I spot the good stuff and being fooled by the outcome. A missed tackle, poor pass or wrong decision normally gets an immediate response. When a player finishes their pass well or starts their tracking from a positive position, they might get a quick “good” before we move straight on.
Over the last few months, I have tried to catch more of the small wins. It does not need to be a try or a massive moment. It might be a player seeing the right picture, communicating early, making a decision we have been working on or making an effort nobody else notices.
This does not mean ignoring mistakes or praising everything. Players need honest feedback. It means being as specific about the behaviour we want to see again as we are about the behaviour we want to change.
If players only hear our voice when something has gone wrong, we can create an environment where avoiding mistakes becomes more important than trying to solve the problem in front of them.
Research from Mark Wilson, Greg Wood and Samuel Vine looked at anxiety and visual attention during football penalties. Under higher threat, the players looked towards the goalkeeper earlier and for longer. Their shots then became more central and their accuracy dropped. The thing they were worried about started to pull their attention away from where they wanted the ball to go.
That does not mean one negative comment from a coach will suddenly ruin a player's vision or decision-making. It does make me think about the environment we create over time. If players are constantly worried about making a mistake or waiting for the next negative reaction, what are they paying attention to?
In Singapore, many conversations come back to “can” or “cannot”. If we only talk about cannot, the players are not thinking about can.
If we want players to be brave, make decisions and back themselves, we need to fill them up as well as correct them.
As an inherently negative Scotsman, I have struggled with this at times. Focusing on the small wins has helped me build better connections with players. It also means there is more trust when the feedback needs to be difficult or direct.
Research mentionedWilson, Wood and Vine (2009), Anxiety, Attentional Control, and Performance Impairment in Penalty Kicks ↗