Clearly, the Obama administration is bothered by the inequities that remain in the opportunities available to girls and women in sport.  As a result, the Obama administration has eradicated a “loophole” in the enforcement of the Title IX policy that was put in place by the Bush administration in 2005.  The change in policy is focused upon the particular method that is used to assess women’s interest in collegiate sport.  The Obama administration believes that their recent change of the policy will allow for a more fair representation of the interest of a student body so that the methods for demonstrating compliance with Title IX are accurately assessed.  This change in policy is being praised by the NCAA and by advocates of women’s sports.

Obviously, Title IX has gone a long way to increase the opportunities available for girls and women in sport. And, this tightening of compliance requirements for schools will help to insure that Title IX is implemented as intended.  That being said, there is still room for improvement in terms of gender equity in sport.  As Education Secretary Arne Duncan described, “There is no doubt that Title IX has dramatically increased athletic, academic, and employment opportunities for women and girls, and educational institutions have made big strides in providing equal opportunities in sports.  Yet discrimination continues to exist in college athletic programs — and we should be vigilant in enforcing the law and protecting this important civil right.” 

Evidence of a lack of equality abounds.  Every time I am reminded of this, it makes me want to SCREAM.  It’s 2010 and women are still having to fight to be treated equally and to be given the same opportunities as men.  Here’s an example.  In the Olympics, the opportunities for women to compete have seen steady growth. But, currently women only compete in about 75% as many events as men at the Summer Olympics and in approximately 60% as many events as men in the Winter Olympics.  In colleges, 55% of students are women, but only 43% of college athletes are women.  In high schools, 49% of students are girls, but only 41% of high school athletes are girls (source: Jill Dougherty, April 20, 2010, Biden announces change in Title IX women’s sports policy at http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/20/biden.title.ix/index.html).  Further, if we examine coaching opportunities for women, we also see an inequity that boggles the mind.  Prior to the passage of Title IX, 90% of NCAA women’s teams were coached by women.  Over the last 20 years, only approximately 45% of NCAA women’s team have had female coaches.  And, if we look beyond sport, we see that women are still treated inequitably in the job market – women who work full time and who have never taken time off to raise a family still make 89 cents for every dollar earned by a man with the same experience and in the same position (source:  Shankar Vedantam, July 30, 2007, Salary, Gender and the Social Cost of Haggling at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/29/AR2007072900827.html).

When looking beyond Title IX, I was reminded during a presentation at the Girls in Sport Symposium by Dr. Deanne Brooks of the importance of thinking of equality in sport at a broader level.  For example, think about sport opportunities relative to race, socioeconomic status, disability, religion, and sexual orientation.  I do not believe anyone could possibly believe that there is equal opportunity for all people.  Clearly, this issue goes well beyond legislation targeted at educational institutions because the discrepancies are evident even in youth sport.  Here’s a simple test – go to one of the search engines for images and type in “youth basketball team”.  Look at the pictures of the teams and think about their racial makeup.  Then, type in “youth soccer team”.  The evidence is there for all to see – access to sport remains unequal with regard to race.  Evidence is also available for other groups of persons who clearly do not have equal access to sport opportunities. 

So, what are we supposed to do with this information? How should we react? Well, in the first place, we should continue to strive for equal opportunities for all persons.  That may include big things like tightening legislation designed to insure equity, but it also includes small steps like offering scholarship opportunities in club sports for those who cannot afford the fees, making efforts to insure equal quality of uniforms, facilities, and coaching for girls and boys teams, and making efforts to create sustained opportunities for children to pursue interests in a variety of sports.  Whatever is necessary, I certainly hope that one day the numbers of male and female athletes at the Olympics, on college teams, and on high schools teams are equal.  I hope that when I see team pictures from a variety of sports, I see a rainbow of colors.  I hope that discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation, and religion is vanquished from sport and from society.  We’ve made great strides since the passage of Title IX, but we still have a long way to go.

Denise Franklin (DF) of Voices and Viewpoints and Assistant Professor Jenny Etnier (JE) from University of North Carolina a Greensboro, February 26, 2010.

Transcript:

DF: Hello I am Denise Franklin. Welcome to Voices and Viewpoints.

She travels nationally teaching coaches how to coach their athletes. And to develop their full potential. She says the principles are applicable to business and to life.

JE: You don’t give up on yourself. Just figure out how to retool and how to do it better, how to choose where I can be successful at a level that I’m going to be happy with and then figure out how to do it.

DE: Plus our literary Critic Dudley Shearburn reviews  a national award winning biography of President Andrew Jackson

Voices and Viewpoints is next.

DF: Many people around the world have been focused on Vancouver as the winter Olympics took center stage.  The audience has always included sports fans and folks who may not regard themselves as such. So we thought this would be an great time to talk to a sports psychologist who has a place on the national stage.
Jenny Etnier is a PhD, a sports psychologist who consults for the United States soccer federation. She has been with the national coaching schools or camps as you might call them for more than a decade.

She is an Associate Professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro and she is going to talk to us about what it takes to compete and succeed on a national and international level in sports and in life.

Dr. Jenny Etnier. Welcome to Voices and Viewpoints.

JE:  Thank you for having me.

DF: You are author of a book called “Bring Your A-Game – A Young Athlete’s Guide to Mental Toughness. I understand its going to be translated possibly to a couple of languages.

JE: I am very excited, yes. They have asked me if they could translate the book into Japanese and Korean.

DF: Absolutely wonderful. Then let’s talk about your philosophy then. You coach coaches and you have written and addressed athletes and parents. If you could sum up your philosophy about sports, what would it be?

JE If young athletes can develop their mental toughness they will have a much better opportunity to reach their potential in sport. And I just see that as such a positive thing for everybody involved.

DF: You say something that I thought was just a nugget, was just gold. You say that all athletes should focus on the process rather than the outcome. Explain.

JE: Yeah. I think that something that is so key and something that young athletes really need to learn and maybe more importantly Coaches and parents need to learn. The idea here is that if young athletes focus on outcome which means winning, then they are not going to be satisfied all the time. Because in any sporting event there is only one “winner” as it were and everybody else is titled a “loser”. So if young athletes are focusing only on winning then they are not going to feel like they have been successful in sport.  Young athletes who focus on process which is the technique of the game, the  skill of the game the things you have to do to have a chance to be successful in sport, those young athletes are the ones who are going to be able to stick with it and who are going to be successful in the long run.

DF: Well I know there are people who are saying OK, whatever. She is going to be one of those psychologists who say give everybody a trophy. And we should not do that with our children because in life there are winners and losers and we need to teach them that truism early on. But, you say focus on process because ultimately it does make a difference on who wins and who loses in whatever you do right?

JE:  Yeah that is exactly right. If you look at people who are successful in life, in business, in their profession, in sport, those people have gotten there because they have done the little things that mattered. The little things that are important. They focused on working hard, they focused on effort, they focused on their talents and strengths and they have worked to improve in their weaker areas. And giving trophies and rewarding children just for winning in sport is such the wrong message.  I try to teach parents you know when your kid comes out of the field or gym off the pitch. Instead of asking did you win or lose, ask if you had fun, ask if you tried hard. Because the truth is if they had fun and they tried hard, then wait and see what happens down the road. And the outcomes will come.

DF: And when watching professional athletes or athletes who compete on a national or international stage, you can tell the ones who are focused on process can’t you?

JE: I think you can. And that’s part of why I love watching sports. Even on television. Even when I am not there in person – especially so with the individual sports.  We have all been watching the winter Olympics most recently. When you see those athletes up there, you can almost tell what they are doing. And when you hear the interviews you will hear them say that as well.  They will say, “I focused on my turns. I focused on my jumps” “I focused on pieces of the performance which would help me be successful” But they don’t say. I stood up there and thought about winning the Gold Metal. You won’t hear a single athlete saying that.                        

DF: And when they get behind when they are focused on process they can end up winning. Apollo

JH: Oh My man… Can I say it out loud?

DF:  You just did.

JE: Yeah,he is incredible to watch. And look at the way he races his races. He starts out at the back in almost every single event. And if he were focused only on the Gold metal, if that’s what he was thinking, how could he be so courageous as to start in the back. But he is focused on his game, on his race, on his style and on his skills. And he is doing the process things that will help him have the chance to be successful in the end.

DF: And for those who have not been addicted to the winter Olympics, let’s use the example of tennis. Serena Williams is a good example.

JE: In the Australia Open and most recently in the semi final event in the semi final match you may remember she was down one set and four games to love. You can almost see a switch turn in Serena sometimes. And with an athlete who is so incredible once that switch turns, things change, so you could see her in the Australian Open start to focus on “I am just going to get the ball back” “I am just going to get the ball back”  – over and over again. And you could see her effort level change and she was chasing down more balls and when she starts to do that, the tide turns. And ultimately as many of us know, she wins the semi final and goes on to win the final in straight sets.

DF: So back to the winter Olympics Talk about Lindsey Vonn who as we all know was battling an injury.

JE:  She had to fight though a painful injury in the heat of the event. Much like, people might not know about this lady as much, but Petra Majdic the cross country sprinter who fell in the warm up before having to do four heats… and in that warm up she broke 4 ribs and she goes on to win a bronze metal.

Lindsey Vonn similarly  has an injury that is incredibly painful. Fights through it to win several medals at the Olympics. It is unbelievable mental toughness.

DF: Talk to us about Lindsey Jacobellis

JE: Obviously a more disappointing winter Olympics for her after nearly winning the Gold in Torino four years ago,  having that unfortunate fall that ended up with her winning a silver metal. She comes into this winter Olympics hoping to win gold and then she didn’t even make it to the final event. To me I just have to think something was just not quite right in terms of her mental toughness because clearly she had the skill and the potential to be successful. And whether it was a loss of concentration or whether it was a focus too much on outcome — there was more to be done in terms of her preparation for these winter games.

DF:  How would you compare her, if you can, with someone like a Bode Miller

JE: He has never made any apologies and he has always just said I am going to be who I am and then kind of let the chips fall. That being said, I think he came into this winter Olympics with a little more focus. He talks about the impact of having a young daughter at home who has motivated him to try to be successful and it’s for the better.

DF: You are listening to Voices and Viewpoints. I am Denise Franklin and my guest today is Dr Jenny Etnier. She is a sports psychologist and she works as an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has her place on the national stage consulting with the United States Soccer Federation. And she is the author of a book called Bring Your A Game,   A Young Athlete’s Guide to Mental Toughness.

DF: Lets talk about the Dutch skater Sven Kramer and talk about him from the coaching athletes standpoint.

JE: It’s the ten thousand meters skating, speed skating event and in this event the athletes switch lanes through out the course of the race, and Sven Kramer was in the correct lane but as he was approaching  the line by which you have to have made your change to be in the correct lane, his coach looked up and mistakenly thought that he was in the wrong lane. And the coach frantically pointed him switch lanes switch lanes And Sven Kramer had to make a split second decision and went with trusting his coach and switched lanes and unfortunately ended up then being in the wrong lane. So Sven Kramer we believe wins the gold metal when the race ends and then we find out after the fact that he has been disqualified because he was actually in the wrong lane. Your heart goes out to the guy and obviously to the coach. 

DF: You have your own mental toughness going on for the coach.

JE: Oh absolutely absolutely. For coaches it is as important as well. In their relationship with their athletes they are constantly giving them advice and trying to do their best by their athletes so they have to have incredible mental fortitude as well.

DF: Let’s talk about some of the topics that you talk to your coaches about. As you have your workshops, your camps, your schools and again your sport of choice is soccer but these apply to athletes across the board wouldn’t you say?

JE: Oh absolutely, in fact the lessons I try to teach really transcend sport and apply to any kind of performance venue. I have people who are in charge of small businesses who say that the skills we teach are incredibly helpful to them  and certainly to people in the performing arts these skills would be helpful and then obviously yeah for all sports.

DF: Let’s take a few off the list. Burnout and overtraining.

JE: There is a great deal of burnout for young athletes. I guess the poster child for burnout is Jennifer Capriati, the tennis player who had incredible success as a teenager and then dropped out of the sport for a number of years and then ultimately she came back but that’s not usually what happens. Usually when an athlete drops out that’s it, unfortunately we don’t see them anymore. Sport in our society is a high pressure venue and sometimes the rewards might not seem to merit the costs.

DF: Communication?

JE: Critical. Communication between athletes on a team, communication between an athlete and his or her coach, communication between the athletes and their parents and other people who can be supportive in their lives. Really key to fostering the talents that a young athlete has.

DF: Developmental issues of coaching. You say the coaches need to always keep in mind the physical, the psychological, sociological development of children as well as just coaching them for sport

JE: It is important for these coaches and parent coaches and parents as well to really kind of familiarize themselves with the literature which suggests what athletes can handle and what they can’t handle. As an example if I am coaching a team of seven year olds in soccer I would talk about shape and I would talk about space and positioning on the field but if you have ever seen seven year olds play soccer there is only one thing they care about.

DF: The ball

JE: The ball. Thank you very much. That’s exactly right so because of that, not to say that coaches can’t start to introduce some higher level concepts – flexibility , about the ability to adjust to new situations, about consistency, about being able to perform well regardless of whether you are expected to win or expected to lose. Step out there and do the same performance over and over again. But coaches shouldn’t be frustrated when seven year olds don’t pick everything up. They should really think about, OK ,the athletes really care about the ball so why do I have 18  children out here and only one ball. That makes no sense.

DF: Well Dr Etnier I thank you. This is a fascinating conversation but let’s take a break and when we come back talk about other topics for athletes’ parents and coaches and how this can apply to other professions as well. And we are going to talk a little more about you and that book called Bring Your A Game.

You are listening to Voices and Viewpoints I am Denise Franklin. My guest today is Dr Jenny Etnier a sports psychologist. We will be right back.

Welcome back to Voices and Viewpoints. I am Denise Franklin and my guest today is Jenny Etnier a sports psychologist. She consults with the United States Soccer Federation. She has been working with national coaching schools or camps as you might call them for more than a decade. She is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and she is in the Department of Kinesiology. Let’s define that term.

JE: That’s a great question. Kinesiology is the science of human movement and the Department of Kinesiology includes what has been historically referred to as physical education, motor learning, motor development , sport and exercise psychology, exercise physiology, biomechanics.

DF: Is it growing in popularity because I think I hear that term a lot more.

JE: In fact our department is one of the biggest departments at UNCG and we get a lot of students who are interested in going into health professions.

DF: You consider yourself to be more of an educator even though you work with coaches. And now you are lecturing to young athletes because of your book, Bring Your A Game. You still think of yourself as an educator.

JE: Absolutely. I am just so interested in trying to get some of this information out to more and more people. And I think it is so important for coaches and parents and young athletes to have information about sport psychology because again its so critical to young athletes in terms of them being able to reach their potential in sport to enjoy their sport experience.

DF:  We’ve been talking about some of the Olympic athletes and how you watch the Olympic games and what you watch for. Let’s talk about a couple of other things that you think are important for athletes to excel and coaches to understand as they are coaching athletes. We talked about focusing more on the process rather than the outcome but part of that you say is imagery that athletes employ. Talk about that.

JE: Yeah. Mental imagery or mental practice is a skill that a number of élite athletes use. In fact probably almost all of them. Essentially what they are doing is visualizing their performance before they actually get out there and perform. Mental imagery is really fascinating because you can use it at all kinds of different times. You can use it as you are riding the bus to school, as you are getting ready to go to bed at night. And you can use it immediately before a performance. Watching the downhill skiers in the Olympics you can see them imaging. If you see them at the start gate – they close their eyes, they move their hands back and forth and you might wonder what they are doing. They are mentally visualizing themselves go down the run. They are focusing on every turn and every movement and everything they are going to have to do to get to the bottom of that hill successfully. And when they do that they are practicing the muscle movements. They may include auditory parts in their imagery. They might hear the crowd. They might hear the start gun and the start cadence before they are going to go. And they will also use kinesthetics. They will feel themselves moving from side to side down the course. What’s really fascinating about downhill skiers is that if you actually start a stop watch, when you find them visualizing going down the run what you will find is if you ask them to tell you when they stop visualizing and you stop the stop watch, you look at the time, it will look remarkably similar to what they are going to score when they actually go down the run.

DF: How long does it take to be able to use imagery successfully?

JE: Yeah well I think it is something that you can continue to hone as a young adult or even as an older adult for that matter. It’s a skill though that we should be introducing to athletes at a young age because no matter where they start it is a skill they can practice and improve upon. And even if its somewhat rudimentary it’s still a skill that’s going to help them in terms of learning to manage their energy levels before they perform, in terms of automatizing their performance. And partly too, with young athletes we don’t want them physically practicing for incredible numbers of hours a day because physically that would be too much.

DF: Talk more about managing energy levels.

JE: The athletes that are able to be successful during competition have really learned what their energy level has to be like before a performance. And then they even learn mental skills that they can use to get them to that optimal level of energy. And what’s fascinating about that is that it is really different for different people. And it may also be different from sport to sport so you imagine an elite level golfer who is getting ready to hit a putt. Well he or she doesn’t want to have a high level of energy to hit a putt, but if you think about a sprinter then he or she needs to have a high level of energy to be successful in that sport. So there are some differences between the power vs the finesse requirements of the sport. Sometimes it can change even within an event so you think about a quarterback who initially might need a low level of energy so he can scan the field and see all his receivers and be aware of all his options, but if the defender is coming at him he’s got to tuck the ball and run and pretty quickly his energy level has got to go up, his field of view is going to narrow, and he is going to be designed now for a more powerful movement.

DF: We have talked about a lot of key topics when it comes to mental toughness. Which ones are most applicable when it comes to business or professions.

JE: Goal setting for example. Goal setting is really important in sport. I have often said if you don’t know where you want to go then how are you going to get there? And for athletes and for business people, if you can identify where you want to be in 1 year, 2 years, 4 years. Well that’s a start. But then if you use goal setting skills appropriately then what you also do is identify some short term goals that are going to lead the way and build the platforms that are going to help you reach that long term goal. So goal setting I think is vitally important in sport but it is one that clearly makes sense for the business people as well. 

[break in conversation]

[return to interview]

But I guess if you are interested in being nationally successful in sport I think that the skills in sports psychology are so important because if you keep your pool of athletes as large as possible for as long as possible and if you help all of those athletes improve as much as possible then your talent level is going to rise unbelievably

DF: And what is ironic is that at the young age of 10, 11, or even 12 they are not even physiologically who they are going to be.

JE: Oh thanks Denise that’s a great point that’s exactly right.  I mean many times  we see young athletes being selected for Olympic development programs, for elite level teams, for state teams when they are 10 or 11 . The truth is we have very good evidence that shows that even the best coaches in the world are not going to be able to identify which athletes are ultimately going to be successful when they are that young because we are going to inadvertently lose kids who have the potential when they are 14 or 15 be unbelievable.

DT: Now that you have written your book, Bring Your A Game, A Young Athlete’s Guide to Mental Toughness. Is there one message that seems to be more popular than others?

JE: What I really seem to be hearing from the athletes is that they need to believe in themselves and focus on being the best ‘them’ that they can be. Because I think they get so many external messages that again are about trophies and championships. They want someone to help them with their confidence. To help give them the skills so that they can be confident in going for their goals and their dreams and have the chance to be successful in sport.

DF: You splayed sport?

JE: I did. I am a sports junky.

DF: I can tell, by the way.

JE: . I love it. I love to play it, I love to watch it, I love to read about it and clearly I love to talk about it.

DF: And as an educator and a professor in kinesiology what was the most important lesson you learned from playing sports?

JE: I certainly learned at a very young age to be able to give it my all, to be able to try my hardest but then to be satisfied with that. You know, and that is so key. My parents are incredible competitors. And still I laugh because my parents are about 70 and I still keep thinking.. you know one day.. I am going to beat them at ping pong, it happens to be ping pong,  but they are so good. They are such incredible competitors. I still don’t beat them. And now I am getting older. So I worry

DF: You have your daughter.

JE: I have my daughter. Yeah. But I think the key lessons are that is so important to Bring Tour A Game. To do everything that you can to focus on what you can control, to give your best effort. But then you have to be happy with that. And if it’s not enough. Then you figure out how to retool, how to do it again and how to do it better or harder or stronger. But you don’t give up on yourself. You just figure out how to retool and how to do it better. How to train harder. How to choose a level where I’m going to be happy with and then you go for it. And Denise if people did that whether it be in sports, in their business, their professional lives, the performing arts, whatever venue. If we all reached our potential in whatever avenue we pursued because we pursued it with the greatest effort. It just seems to me that the world would be a better place.

DF: Well thank you Jenny Etnier. It’s been a great class discussion.

JE: Well thank you. I feel silly ending on such a warm and fuzzy note.

I have high hopes. I have high hopes for what people can achieve.

DF:  Well . You brought your A-game to Voices sand Viewpoints today and I appreciate you joining us in this important conversation.

JE: Thank you so much for having me. My pleasure.

So, that got me thinking.  The thing that makes sports so exciting and fun to watch is that you don’t know what’s going to happen.  Athletes are going to give it their all and, hopefully, perform at the best of their ability and we get to see what happens in the end. Do they win or do they lose?  It’s the not-knowing that makes it fun to watch! 

So, after watching the NFC Championship game, I started thinking some more about competition in sport, what it means, and how it influences a spectator’s enjoyment of the events.  I’m sure many of you watched the NFC Championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings – the score was tied at the end of regulation.  The rules for overtime in the NFL are that a coin toss determines ball possession to start the overtime period, and whoever scores first wins the game.  People have been talking about this overtime system for years (it was implemented in 1974) and most of the discussions that I’ve seen or heard in the media argue against this system.  The reason?  Well, it’s probably obvious, but the problem with the current system is that the outcome of the game becomes at least partially contingent upon who wins the coin toss.  If you look at statistics presented from 1974 until now, you get a sense of what’s happened since 1974 and you find that 52% of the time, the team that wins the coin toss goes on to win the game. But, if you look at more recent history, the percentage is even higher.  This has been attributed as being a result of changes in the game of football that have occurred over the last 35 years.  In 1974, kickoffs were taken from the 40 yard line, but now kickoffs are taken from the 30 yard line.  Also, in 1974, field goal kickers were 20% less accurate than they are now (Pesca, 2009).  So, if you look at more recent statistics accumulated over the past 5 years, there is a huge advantage to winning the coin toss. The record for teams receiving the ball first in overtime over the past 5 years has been 11-4-1.  Clearly, this is not an “even playing field”.  As further evidence, consider that from 2000-2007, 124 overtime games were played and the team that won the coin toss elected to receive the ball first in 123 of those games. Clearly, the teams are aware of the huge advantage gained by having the ball for the first possession.  This seems completely crazy to me!  The joy of sport is embodied by the fact that the outcome is unpredictable.  But, the overtime rules in the NFL make it so that the outcome is predictable and is based upon a coin toss.  And just think, the Super Bowl could come down to that too. Both teams could go out there and play their hardest and put everything they have on the field, but in the end if it’s tied, the NFL rules are such that we will decide the winner by tossing a coin.

I get similarly fired up every time I watch the NCAA women’s softball college world series. This tournament is set up is as a double-elimination tournament until you get down to the final two teams. Then, the final two teams play the best 2 out of 3 games. This probably seems fair on the surface. But, I remember in 2007 when it didn’t seem to play out fairly.  In that year, Tennessee went through the tournament bracket undefeated and then in the 2 out of 3 championship series faced Arizona which is a team they had already beaten in the tournament.  Tennessee won the first game.  So, at that point, they had beaten Arizona twice in the tournament and, in my opinion, should have been deemed champions (because at that point, they had won 2 times out of 2).  However, the tournament is set up so that the 2 out of 3 only starts once we get down to the final two teams.  So, Arizona won the next 2 games and were crowned champions. But, at that point, the cumulative game score for the tournament was 2-2.  To me, that means that the two teams were actually tied and another game should have been played to determine the winner.  Think about it, if two teams are evenly matched, then you’d expect each team to win ½ of the time.  Clearly, when you have identified your two top teams in a sport, you’d expect them to be evenly matched. So, then, since Tennessee had already beaten Arizona once in the tournament, the most likely outcome of the 2 out of 3 series is for Arizona to win twice and Tennessee to win once. In fact, if Tennessee had won the tournament, they would have in fact beaten Arizona three times and Arizona would have either won once or not at all.  So, again, I question the system which is in place to determine the champion. 

I wonder if there are other examples in sport where it doesn’t seem that the “playing field” is level and that the outcome is unpredictable?  If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, then you know that he presents data suggesting that an athlete’s potential in sport is at least partly determined by his or her birthday.  The reason is because of the effect that birth date has on a child’s precise age relative to others in his or her cohort.  In other words, in sport, most age-group teams include kids with birthdays that cover a 12-month span.  At the younger ages, this variability makes a huge difference in a child’s motor, cognitive, and physical development and clearly gives the kids who are older an advantage. This advantage then manifests into opportunities to be selected for more competitive teams, to get access to better coaching, etc.  So, again, a case where perhaps the “playing field” is not the same for everyone. 

So, after all of this pondering, I guess my point is simply that it makes me crazy that there are systems in sport that do not appear to result in players or teams fully determining the outcome of the event based upon their own talents, physical attributes, and performance.  Obviously, things happen in sport all the time that result in an unfair advantage to a player or team, but I’m talking about systems that make outcomes in sport predictable.  Who in the world could possibly want the winner of the Super Bowl to be determined by a coin toss?  Why would we identify one team as the champion in the NCAA Softball Championship when the two finalists have a 2:2 record against one another in the tournament?  And, why would we want children who are born with certain birthdays to be at a disadvantage in sport? 

Pesca, M. (February, 2009).  Are NFL Overtime Rules Overdue for a Change?  From http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100119724

For more articles on the topic of overtime rules in the NFL see http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2166775/overtime_rules_nfl_overtime_vs_college.html

If you are a tennis fan, you probably know that Ms. Williams was a finalist in the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in September, 2009 and that the final point of that championship match ended with a point penalty.  If you didn’t see it, read about it, or hear the story, let me give you a brief summary.  In short, the championship match was well played and hard fought.  Ms. Williams was down one set and 5 games to 6 in the second set in a best of three sets match against Kim Clijsters.  Serving at 15-30 (i.e., Ms. Clijsters was 2 points from victory), Ms. Williams was called for a foot fault on her second serve (meaning that she lost that point and was now only one point away from defeat).  Immediately following the foot fault call, Ms. Williams began yelling at and threatening the line judge who had made the call. She waved her racket at the official and was reported to say “I swear to God I’m [expletive] going to take this [expletive] ball and shove it down your [expletive] throat, you hear that? I swear to God.”  As a result of her behavior (and a previous warning for racket abuse), Ms. Williams was given a point penalty, which meant that she lost the match, and she was also given a fine of $10,000.

Approximately 2 months later, the Grand Slam committee decided that Ms. Williams would be fined an additional $82,500 for her outburst and put on probation for 2 years. This fine is the largest ever for inappropriate behavior during a Grand Slam event.  And, the probation period means that if Ms. Williams commits another similar behavior during any Grand Slam Event in the next two years, the fine would be increased to $175,000 and she would not be allowed to compete in the next US Open.

Clearly, this is an extreme example of how athletes might react inappropriately to what they perceive to be bad decisions made by officials.  However, it is amazing to me that much of what you might read regarding this event suggests that Ms. Williams was “right” and that such a call should not have been made at such a critical point in the match.  I find this to be remarkable.  Although there is no

visual record of the actual occurrence of the foot fault that I have seen, the official clearly believed that Ms. Williams had committed a foot fault during the service.  Given that this official was charged with making a foot fault call, clearly she did what she was supposed to do.  To argue that this call should not be made at a critical point in the match is ludicrous.  The server can gain an advantage from getting closer to the net during the service, so to NOT make the call is to be unfair to the receiver.  To argue that Ms. Williams’ behavior was “right” is also insupportable.  The behavior that Ms. Williams demonstrated by verbally threatening and physically intimidating the official was unbelievable.  Clearly, there was nothing “right” about Ms. Williams’ outburst.  The good news is that in this case, there were repercussions for the behavior and these repercussions hopefully send a loud message to other tennis players and even to athletes in other sports. 

Obviously, this event provides a teachable moment for athletes from all sports.  It is worthwhile for athletes to ask themselves these questions:  How do you react to officials?  Can you control your emotions in response to what you perceive to be incorrect decisions by an official? Do you let a “bad” call by an official take you out of the game?  Being able to control your emotions, to put a “bad” call behind you, and to focus on those aspects of the competition that are within your control are mental toughness skills that are displayed by the athletes who are the most successful in their sport.  It is important for athletes striving to develop their mental toughness to gain an awareness of their reactions to officiating and to learn to control those reactions so that their performance is not hurt.

Certainly, Ms. Williams has been extraordinarily successful in tennis and is a remarkable athlete who usually displays incredible calm in her matches.  But, what would have happened in the U.S. Open if Ms. Williams hadn’t lost her temper. If she hadn’t been given a point penalty and had, instead, had the opportunity to continue to compete with Ms. Clijsters for the championship. Perhaps Ms. Clijsters would have won anyway, but the disappointing thing for Ms. Williams and for all tennis fans is that we never had the chance to see what might have happened . . . .Learning to control your emotions and to respond appropriately when you perceive an injustice in sport is part of being mentally tough and is something all athletes should work towards in practices and competitions.  I look forward to seeing how Ms. Williams and the other competitors carry themselves in the upcoming Australian Open.

Most people are probably well aware of the fact that burnout occurs in athletes – it tends to result from overtraining physically, perceiving high pressure for success, and perceiving an imbalance between costs and rewards.  But many people might not realize that burnout also occurs in a variety of professions that are similar in these regards.    It occurs with frequency in professions including teaching, nursing, athletic training, and coaching. 

So, how do coaches experience “overtraining physically, perceiving high pressure for success, and perceiving an imbalance between costs and rewards”.  Overtraining physically might be the least obvious of these. But, it ties into the other two contributors to burnout.  When you experience high pressure for success and an imbalance between costs and rewards, you tend to not sleep very much or very well.  You work harder and harder to try to be successful and you are mentally challenged without relief as you try to problem-solve your way to success.  Anyone who has experienced this can surely relate to the fact that this tends to negatively impact your sleep.  The lack of sleep then results in your body undergoing a constant state of fatigue which ultimately results in an experience that is similar to the physical overtraining that is felt by athletes.

The perceived high pressure for success is probably obvious for coaches.  This may be especially true if we are talking about collegiate or professional coaches, but it is also true for high school and club coaches.  At almost any level, a coach whose team doesn’t meet expectations is at risk for being fired. Clearly, this will have an impact on the coach and on his or her family, making this a high stakes venture.  Coaches feel this pressure daily from all sources including other members of the coaching staff, the athletic department, the media, the players, the players’ families, the fans, and the alumni (for collegiate coaches).   They also, of course, feel this pressure from themselves. Coaches tend to be high achievers who have high expectations for their team/athletes and for themselves.  This high pressure for success is a top contributor to the likelihood of experiencing burnout.

A last factor is the perceived imbalance between costs and rewards.  The focus here is on the word “perceived”.  It doesn’t have to be a real imbalance, but merely a perception of an imbalance.  What possible costs could there be to being a coach?  I think the list is probably huge, but certainly it would include time away from family, lack of privacy, lack of free time, constant interruptions, a long list of responsibilities, scouting, recruiting, management issues with players, issues with management, and fundraising.  But, what about the rewards?  Well, remember that we’re talking about perceptions here.  And, for coaches who become burned out, there is likely to be a point at which the perceived rewards have dwindled to a point at which they are outweighed by the perceived costs.  The perceived rewards include the joy of working with young people (the athletes), the joy of competition, the love of the game, the notoriety of being a coach, and (at some levels) the salary.  The interesting concept here is really the idea of perception.  With the exception of salary, all of the costs and rewards are subjective which means that as soon as the stress of coaching becomes too great, it is really easy to begin to perceive that the costs outweigh the rewards.  And, that is when a coach will be on a slippery slope towards burnout.

So, again, the current information suggests that Coach Meyer has been diagnosed with a heart problem, and obviously the seriousness of this is such that he and his family recognize the need for him to leave the stressful environment of collegiate football coaching.  This is obviously a shame for all fans of college football.  But, it is valuable to use this opportunity to talk about burnout and to point out that it occurs in athletes and in a variety of professions, and that burnout has probably resulted in the loss from sport of numerous athletes and coaches who would have contributed to our enjoyment of sport.

So, what’s the answer to the dilemma?  Well, since we’re talking about three different types of behaviors, it’s really on three fronts. But, they all tie into a common theme which is setting a plan designed to manage the stress over the holidays and sticking to that plan as much as possible.  The plan should allow you to enjoy this special time of year while also helping you control the stress that you are naturally experiencing. 

One part of the plan should focus on physical activity.  And, it’s actually a good time of year to be physically active!  I know that seems crazy to say because in most places it’s cold and the weather is bit dodgy and we’ve just got so much to do.  But, the reason I say this is because being physically active with friends and family is a wonderful way to enjoy time with one another while also helping each other do something that’s good for health and well-being.  And, one of the best ways to be physically active is to go out for a walk.  Walking is a great way to stay healthy while also being social.  When you take a walk with friends and family, you can decompress while visiting and interacting in a way that takes you away from the trappings of the house.  If the weather is bad, dress for it.  If the weather is good, enjoy it! 

Another option that might make sense for some people is to check into opportunities at a local fitness center. Some provide the opportunity for a family or guest pass that will allow you to enjoy trips to the fitness center to exercise while also, again, getting away from the trappings of the house!  Some may even offer a short-term free membership because they are interested in promoting their center to folks who might be interested in joining for a year as part of their New Year’s resolutions.  Check into it now so you can be prepared to get your family active over the holidays.  Even if the weather is terrible and you are not a member at a fitness center, consider going to a local indoor facility to walk (not to shop!).  Maybe this is a local mall where you could walk in the corridors for 30 minutes or maybe this is a track at a local school or university.  No matter where you are or what the weather is, I feel sure that if you are creative you can figure out a way to walk for 30 minutes and you will be surprised at how much better this makes you feel. There is nothing like getting out of the house and getting moving to make you feel good!

Another part of the plan should include paying attention to your rest.  I know it’s hard to do with all of the demands on your time, with the fun of holiday parties, with trying to squeeze in time with friends and family, and with shopping, baking, wrapping, and decorating.  But, getting enough sleep is so important for helping everyone to stay in good spirits and happy.  Commit to getting to bed at a reasonable time and allow yourself to sleep long enough in the morning to be well rested.  We’re started doing our wrapping early this year and feel so good about it.  By staying up a little later these days well before our gift exchanges, we’re spreading out the work and also managing to get a reasonable amount of sleep now with hopes of maintaining that throughout the holidays. 

The last part of the plan is to control your eating behaviors during these next several weeks.  This requires a great deal of self-restraint, but is something you can do.  I’m not saying that you should plan not to eat any desserts.  In fact, that would be a mistake for a couple of reasons.  If you plan to completely abstain from dessert, then what happens when you do partake?  For many people who plan on complete abstinence, a small slip is enough to make them think “Well, that’s it.  I didn’t stick to my plan so I’m going to throw it out the window completely”.  They then give up completely on their plan and eat desserts like there’s no tomorrow.  So, the key here is to come up with a plan that you’re comfortable with and that you really think you can stick to.  Choose a number of “pick-up” desserts (like cookies and candies) that you’ll eat for each day.  Pick a reasonable size for your piece of cake or pie that you will not feel guilty about (like a small or medium piece of cake or pie), but that will allow you to enjoy the holiday time.  Once you identify this, I strongly encourage you to write it down somewhere. It doesn’t need to be public, just grab a piece of paper, write at the top:  “I have committed to the following for my daily dessert limit for the holidays”, and then describe what you’ve decided on.  And, if you have eggnog or other luxuriant drinks or snacks that will tempt you during the holidays, you will want to include those on your list as well.  Once you’ve written it down, put it in your purse or billfold and keep it with you so you can remind yourself of your commitment over the holidays.  Do your best to stick to your plan. Remember, you’ve identified an amount of dessert that you feel comfortable with and that will balance your enjoyment of this special time of year with your desire to maintain your weight and health.  And, another idea here is to give away some of those goodies. Pass them on to someone else so they’re not in your house and you don’t have to be tempted by them.

So, that’s it.  My advice/thoughts on how to plan for this wonderful and yet stressful time of year.  Make a plan and be creative to get your exercise, spread your work out so that you can get enough rest to feel good, and identify a reasonable amount of desserts and treats to eat as your maximum each day and stick to that for the next few weeks.  Let your ability to stay active, get rest, and eat reasonably help you to manage the stress and be able to ENJOY the holidays!

So, I start checking into it. I can’t help myself. I’m ready and she’s starting to express some interest.  So, I pull up the websites, I start asking other parents, and I start generally snooping around. And, guess what I find?  It’s all there for us.   The teams, the uniforms, the leagues, it’s all ready for us.  So, why am I hesitating??? Let me tell you.  Kids don’t need all that.  They don’t.  You can read any resource on motor development for children and it will tell you that.  They don’t need structured teams, they don’t need uniforms, and they certainly don’t need competition.

Okay, so the league in my home town is 3-v-3.  At least that’s the right attitude. Small sided games for the youngest kids.  That way, they get the most touches on the ball, they have the opportunity to learn about shape and space and the other tactical concepts that will help them be great soccer players.  But, here’s the problem.  They shouldn’t be competing at all!  Why are they playing towards a goal, keeping score, and worrying about the other team scoring? They don’t need all of that. What they need is the chance to PLAY with a ball.  To just run around with a ball and dribble and change directions and learn to pass and that’s it. 

Just yesterday, I had the chance to speak to a Director of Coaching about this very issue.  And, he told me that he agreed with me.  He expressed to me his belief that the 3-v-3 league was not appropriate for this age group, but he explained that because the other clubs offer these leagues and because soccer clubs are money-making entities, they couldn’t figure out how to NOT offer 3-v-3 leagues.  So, again, it’s all there. The teams, the uniforms, the leagues, the chance to watch my daughter play a game that I love. But, you know what. I’m going to wait. I’m going to wait until she’s a little bit older. I’m going to take the ball outside with her every chance I get this spring and we’ll knock it around. In fact, we’ll each have a ball.  We’ll dribble and pass and run and laugh and we’ll not do it in the structure of a league.  And, some days we won’t play soccer. Some days, we’ll play tag. Or, we’ll do artwork or read a book.  And, do you know what I’ll bet?  I’ll bet that when she does start playing at 7, she won’t be behind.  In fact, I’ll bet anyone that she’ll be better than some, the same as others, and worse than some in terms of her soccer skill.  But, the other thing that I’ll bet is that my daughter won’t burn out from sport at a young age. I’ll bet that my daughter will stay motivated and happy in her sport experience, will learn how to be active for a lifetime, and will decide if she wants to play the sport that I love, or some other sport, or no sports at all.  And, I can wait a couple of years to buy the gear and to watch my daughter participate in an activity and have fun.

Why has Tiger been so phenomenally popular?  Well, obviously, the biggest reason is because of his skill, tenacity, competitiveness, and success on the golf course.  But, part of the reason must also be because he is a gentleman whose demeanor, professionalism, and ethics have contributed to the loyalty and interest of an enormous following.   So, what happens when things change? When this perfect gentleman admits to transgressions that impact him and his family.  When an athlete who has experienced only positive media coverage says “I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives.” (www.tigerwoods.com, December 2, 2009).  As I notice the stories about Tiger on the tabloid covers, I think – wow, Kate Gosselin must be sighing with relief – the focus has finally left her for someone else!  Of course, from a social perspective it will be fascinating to see how people respond to this.  Will Tiger’s fan base stay true, will television viewing remain high, will sponsors remain committed?  The answer to this will likely depend upon what happens next. 

The second part that is interesting will be to see how Tiger responds.  This too will likely depend at least somewhat upon what happens next.  But, many athletes are able to mentally keep their personal lives and their sport performance separate so that they can maintain their performance at a high level.  Given Tiger’s mental prowess, it wouldn’t surprise me if he were able to maintain his competitiveness in future tournaments. But, then again, everyone is human and when trouble starts to impact your family, maintaining your focus in sport (and perhaps especially in the sport of golf) can be hard.   So, what should Tiger do relative to his golf game?  The answer is that he should do what he has always done. He should prepare like he has always prepared.  He should practice like he has always practiced.  He should do everything in his power to keep himself in his normal routine with respect to golf.  If he has moments when he feels himself losing his focus, then he should use thought-stopping techniques to stop those types of thoughts and he should use imagery, relaxation skills, and energy management methods to get himself back on track.  The world will be watching and it will be interesting to see how Tiger responds.