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Feature
Mental Game Article
Winning
Ugly: Use Whatever Works to Win
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
Many athletes I work with have a great practice game, but cannot perform
up to their ability in competition. Often, they try too hard
to be perfect in games. This is very characteristic of an athlete
who works a lot in practice trying to perfect his or her jump
shot, pitching motion, or swimming technique. In competition,
this athlete focuses so much perfect technique that he or she
cannot play to win.
This attitude
is great for developing sound mechanics, but can often lead
to a mental game breakdown in competition - worrying too much
about how to win the right way instead of the functional way.
The successful
tennis player and coach Brad Gilbert wrote a tennis book called
"Winning Ugly." In his book, he stressed the
importance of athletes putting aside the correct way of winning
for the functional method of winning. (See his quote below under
sports specific mental training tip.)
Perfectionists
and athletes who are stuck in a practice mindset have trouble
with a winning ugly mindset or performing functionally - they
become too obsessed with perfect technique or an error-free
performance. What is winning ugly? Winning ugly is the ability
to abandon the right way or perfect way to perform for the functional
way - the ability to get the job done any way you can.
Some athletes
get stuck on making their performance look pretty or perfect
and this can actually hurt your chances of winning. Some of
my golf students, for example, are happier shooting 72 while
hitting the ball well instead of shooting 70 and scraping the
ball around, but scoring well. This does not seem rational to
me because the goal in golf is to shoot the lowest score!
Some basketball
players, for example, get too obsessed with looking pretty and
hitting pretty shots. This is fine if they are hitting every
shot in a game, but a miss can cause them to pass the ball instead
of keep shooting. A focus on style and form is not the best
mindset if you want to score your best. You have to stop worrying
about how it looks and instead focus on the goal to get the
ball in the hoop any way you can that day.
____________________________________________
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____________________________________________
A good example
or winning ugly is the University of Florida Football team this
season. Florida has found a way to win several close games this
season, including last Saturday in Tallahassee, and Arkansas
38-28 this Saturday night. Late-game heroics have kept the team
in the national championship picture.
"We're
a bunch of scraping, fighting guys that find a way. What we
do have is very good chemistry and guys that believe in each
other and fight to the end. If you had a choice, that's the
kind of team you'd like to be around."
~Coach Urban Meyer, Florida Gators
All great
teams find a way to win and win ugly if necessary - they are
able to get the job done and win with whatever works. Florida
has definitely qualified for that this year. With their most
recent win over Arkansas 38-28 this Saturday, Florida has won
five games by seven points or less.
The Gators
are a team that avoids the pitfalls of perfectionism. They do
not worry about who was favored or by how much. The only thing
that matters is the final score and a "W" in the win
column when talking about winning ugly. Perfectionism in team
sports is the belief that everything must go according to a
well-conceived plan that looks and feels perfect. For many athletes
and coaches perfectionism can cause problems.
Sometimes
a coach can become obsessed with his knowledge and game plan,
the perfect play call, and the pretty pass (how it looked) for
the touchdown - when he still got the desired outcome, a win.
You can see the problems this might cause for a QB. Self-doubt
will creep in. He will be second-guessing himself instead of
letting his instincts take over and running for the touchdown.
In the end,
the only thing that is important is the outcome after you hit
the locker room. How you achieved the outcome - pretty, ugly,
or perfect is unimportant. Athletes sometimes strive too much
for perfection and not enough for a positive result.
Three tips for avoiding the perfectionism trap and adopting
the get-it-done mentality:
1. Do not
have any preconceived notions on how many points your team should
or needs to score to win or how you need to win. Focus on execution
and generating good outcomes instead of the perfect play or
shot.
2. If you
coach, let players play the game you trained them to play. Do
not over coach. On those times when a contest is very tight,
your players must rely on their instincts, and the hours of
training you have spent with them. Trust in the abilities of
your players to perform.
3. Sports
is not like Hollywood (or at least not most of the time!). Your
performance does not happen according to a perfect script in
sports. Whatever play is working, no matter how it looks or
what other people may think about your strategy, use what ever
works to win.
Want over
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Online Mental Training system...
Sports
Specific Mental Training Tip
Brad
Gilbert on Winning Ugly
The best
athletes in the world both love to work hard and to also have
total confidence when they hit the courts. However, some players
worry too much about winning the perfect way - with no errors
and perfect shot-making. This is great for developing a perfect
stroke in practice, but does little in competition when you
need to accept you can't be perfect and get the job done.
"Most
players will bust their buns to improve a particular stroke.
They'll take lessons, hit on the ball machine, bang against
the back board, practice in the hot sun... Then having improved
whatever stroke they're trying to perfect, they won't spend
a minute figuring out how to use it to maximize effect during
a match. Brain dead. Hard workers, but brain dead."
~Brad Gilbert (1994) In Winning Ugly
My moto
is: strive for perfection in practice, but accept that you cannot
be perfect in competition and be mentally prepared to accept
mistakes. Study your technique all you want for competition,
but when the match comes, it's time to let go of studying and
allow your instincts take over!
Podcast
of the Month
Get Psyched for Sports
- Podcast of the Month!
Podcast 9 teaches athletes and coaches tips
for letting go of errors. Using examples from his personal coaching
students, Dr. Cohn helps you understand whey athlete dwell on
errors and how this affects your performance. Furthermore, Dr.
Cohn Gives you two mental strategies to help you let go of errors
quickly.
Show me
the Podcast of the Month!
Pro
Athlete Quote of the Month
"I
stayed very calm, even when I made triple (bogey) at the seventh.
I just said to myself, 'Right, you're still tied for the lead.
Game on'. It was awesome to bounce back at eight with a birdie."
~Justin Rose, after winning Australian Masters
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Doc Cohn
Baseball
Dad:
My son is
a good athlete who has always had good success. However, he
seems to focus on the negative, not the positive. If he is practicing
hitting, and doesn't make good contact, after about 3 swings
I hear "I stink". Unfortunately, things tend to go
down hill after a couple errors. He also does this same thing
in other sports like basketball. He seems intent on immediately
focusing on the negative. What should I do to help him stay
more positive and let go of errors?
Jump to Dr. Cohn's
answer now!
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Dr.
Patrick J. Cohn
Master Mental Game Coach
Dr.
Patrick J. Cohn is the President and founder of Peak Performance
Sports of Orlando, Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from
the University of Virginia in 1991, and founded Peak Performance
Sports in 1994. Dr. Cohn is an author, speaker and one of the
nation's leading mental game experts. His coaching programs instill
confidence, composure and effective mental strategies that enable
athletes and teams to reach their performance goals. Dr. Cohn
has helped athletes from a variety of sports backgrounds (both
amateurs and professionals) identify and develop the mindset needed
to achieve peak performance. World-class golfers, runners, shooters
and auto racers, as well as motocross, tennis, baseball, softball,
football and hockey players, are among those who have benefited
from his mental game coaching and training.
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