Focus on Process vs. Result
By Scott Mosier, HSC Director of Coaching
The information that a coach, parent and ultimately the player puts focus on is crucial in determining the mindset, development and success of a player. This is a fact. Wherever an authority figure places emotion, so too will the players. Therefore parents and coaches must pay special attention to what they emphasize during the games and practices.
So is it OK to get excited about a win? Before you answer think of the fact mentioned previously. If you get overly excited about a win then the same intensity must be true for a loss in a negative direction. The key is to focus on the process of performance, otherwise known as the task at hand. For example, a coach or parent should be happy for the child’s big win, but because of the pieces of the puzzle he needed to do correctly to get that result, not for the result itself. One should encourage the performance, win or lose, not the end result.
Here are two ways of praising a player, “Congratulations on the championship, you guys are the best team in the area” or “Good job today, you guys really played well and finished your chances against a tough team.” They may sound similar, but the second quote places emphasis on their actions today, not that they have a standard that they now have to live up to. The problem with the first scenario is that inevitably they will lose that game and will be extremely disappointed and so they should, but only because they didn’t perform well, not because of the result.
Another reason to place emphasis on the performance and not the result is to perform better. It is known that a player must be thinking about the task and/or technique at hand to perform his/her best. If that player is thinking about whether his success or mistake will ultimately win or lose the game he/she will not be focused on the task at hand, possibly leading into a mistake and more importantly into not enjoying the game. Think of it as if a player is about to take a penalty kick. What do you want their thought pattern to be; "Will my miss lose the game?" or "I'm going to keep my knee over the ball."
The key to developing successful, motivated, enthusiastic young players is to get them to try to perform the best they can at each game and at each practice and to do that they should measure success by their own standard and not by a competitive goal. After all, where there is a winner, by definition there must be a loser.
Scott Mosier
Hockessin Soccer Club
Director of Coaching
2008 Champions of the Delco EPYSA1 fall League finishing with an undefeated record.
The Arsenal captured the U12 Delaware State Cup on June 1st 2008. They traveled to Maine to compete in the Region 1 Tournament.
The team advanced to the semifinals in the Delco Cup May 2008.
The U11 Hockessin Arsenal competed in DELCO Division 1 Gold for the Fall 2006 Season. Leading in the Division 1 Gold, the Arsenal completed the undefeated Fall season up to the semi-finals.
Associated with the Hockessin Soccer Club, this team won the Division 1 DELCO U10 Championship in the 2005-2006 Fall season.
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