by Jim Thompson
Perhaps you can help me solve a huge mystery in youth sports. Why don't more youth coaches use a mistake ritual with their teams?
Being able to deal with, rather than fear, mistakes is one of the most important character traits for a "Major League Person" to acquire.
Consequently, I have felt that one of the most important contributions Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) can make to improve youth sports is to make the "mistake ritual" a common practice in youth sports.
I first learned about "flushing mistakes" from Mike Legarza, then basketball coach at Cañada College in Northern California, and later a PCA Trainer. Mike (lifetime winning record of 85%) had his players make a flushing motion with their hand whenever they made a mistake, and I remember Mike often yelling to his players, "Don't worry. Flush it!" I watched as opposing teams played aggressively until crunch time, when they became tentative. Mike's players, on the other hand, played as aggressively in crunch time and rarely lost a close game.
The 2000 US Women's Olympic softball team used the flush to come out of the loser's bracket to win the gold medal in Sydney.
Ken Ravizza, sports psychology professor at Cal State Fullerton and consultant to many college and professional teams, has developed the concept further. Ken, a member of PCA's National Advisory Board, helped Cal State Fullerton turn around its season to win the NCAA Baseball Championship in 2004.
More recently Tampa Rays star Evan Longoria credited Ravizza with helping him deal with mistakes.
And now the flush played a major role in LSU's successful quest for the NCAA baseball title.
- Ryan Schimpf, after hitting a homerun in the Super Regional to beat Rice on June 5: "I had two terrible at-bats previously, and I just tried to flush it."
- Pitcher Anthony Ranaudo after a bad outing against Virginia: "I just have to be able to flush it mentally and go out there with a new attitude and approach." He then allowed only 4 hits in 6 shutout innings to defeat Arkansas in the College World Series.
LSU head coach Paul Mainieri after losing to Texas in the finals: "This just wasn't our night. We have to flush this loss and come out ready to play for the national championship on Wednesday night.
Oh, and who was that pitcher who picked up the win for LSU in the deciding game against Texas? Frequent flusher Anthony Ranaudo.
So why don't more coaches use a mistake ritual (of which the Flush is only one example)? Is it because they haven't heard about it? They don't believe it works? It seems silly?
It can't be because it's complicated. You simply tell your players that mistakes are inevitable if you're trying hard. The goal isn't to avoid making mistakes but to bounce back from them quickly.
Give them a physical gesture to use after a mistake. I like making a flushing motion like I'm flushing the mistake down the toilet, but some coaches use "no sweat" and gesture like they are flicking sweat off their brow. Some coaches actually have their players write "Next" on one of their shoes and "Play" on the other so if they hang their head after a mistake they see "Next Play" staring up at them.
The real test is at crunch time. A player makes a mistake that really hurts. What you do then is crucial. If you turn away, scowl or throw your clipboard on the ground, your players won't learn to bounce back from mistakes. Instead make a flushing motion with your hand and say, "That's okay, big guy. Flush it!"
So help me out by clicking on the Comments link below to let me know why you think more coaches don't use a mistake ritual with their teams. And, if you've used a mistake ritual, I'd love to hear your experience with it.
Also, if you like PCA's advice about mistake rituals, click here to start or renew your PCA membership. You will receive an eco-friendly recyclable tote bag, touting PCA's effort to develop character through sports; a subscription to our Momentum print newsletter; and at higher levels of membership, a signed copy of my book, Positive Sports Parenting.
Most importantly, your membership will support PCA's continued effort to share tips such as the "mistake ritual" so that youth sports leaders, parents and coaches can provide our children with a positive, character-building youth sports experience.
-- Jim Thompson, PCA Founder
Posted by Emily Wyffels at 07/07/2009 08:08:26 AM |
I first read about the CSF team and their mid season turnaround in I believe 2004 that went on to win the CWS. At the time I was Managing a 11 year old LL team in Washington State and I found a picture of a kitten drinking out of a toliet bowl and I pasted the picture in our dought out at each of our games with a big "FLUSH IT" above the picture of the kitten. Each time a player would make a mistake he would touch the sign when he came back to the dought out. If he made a mistake in the field I would hand signal the flush it sign, you know like I was flushing a toliet. Not totally sure it worked, we went 10-4 for the season, however the parents and players thought it was fun and I will continue to use it when I coach pee wees in football this fall. I liked Ken's idea so much I purchased his book.
Posted by: Russ Butler ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 9:41 AM
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What a wonderful article on mistake rituals! And the title is especially powerful because as I reflect on the issue, I wonder why I have not used this ritual more often. Thick skull, I guess. I first learned of flushing through a video by then-LSU coach Skip Bertman. It impressed me and we used it for a while. Then I got away from it, Thanks to your article, it will be be a huge part of our program. Thank you for writing it.
Posted by: Mike Tully ( Email: | Visit ) at 7/7/2009 9:55 AM
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Jim,
While I think a general escalation of focus on what I'll call "mistake management" is way overdue - as you imply - I think the whole domain of "mistakes" is much more complex than you assert and this is one reason for the under-coaching you observe.
Here are some examples:
1) Some mistakes are caused by trying TOO hard. Forcing the ball up court in basketball or rushing a throw in baseball are common examples. So telling the players to flush the mistake may or may not be the right thing in the short run, but it's certainly not the right thing in the long run.
2) It's true that coaches usually like it when their athletes try hard - and for good reason, but it may not be the way to succeed in the near term. In swimming chasing a swimmer who is much better usually leads to someone else taking second. Also, some teams win not by trying hard but by staying within themselves and letting the other team make mistakes. I think this reflects the personality of the coach. If the coach says "I don't care if you win or lose, just so you win big" what he really means (in basketball) "Don't let up the pressure". Alternatively, if a coach says "Play your game" he means "stay within yourselves and let the other team self-destruct."
3) Mistakes can have so many causes; do we want to treat all causes as the same and "flush" them? Mistakes can result from a loss of focus, from fear, from laziness, and from misunderstandings. With the bases loaded, middle of the game, the center fielder picks up a hard-hit ground ball up the middle and then hesitates before throwing to 2nd - too late to get the runner. This is not a mistake from trying to hard. The lesson to learn is to know what to do before the ball is hit. Do we want to treat this "mistake" the same as striking out with the bases loaded?
4) What is the player doesn't even know that he or she made a mistake. I realize you're talking about getting over the "head-on-the-chest" kind of mistake, but this is just one of many kinds and as observed above even these can have many causes.
5) Some youth coaches want their players to learn to coach themselves. This may require some moments of introspection - that might be interpreted as "head-hanging" but which in fact is a few moments of self-analysis. It's hard to know where to draw the line.
6) I think your general observation that over-coming mistakes - or sub-par performance - is a big part of athletic success and a big part of the lessons to be learned from sports is right on. I just think it's complicated and thus over-whelming to many youth coaches.
You, and PCA, can help by "triaging" mistakes and proposing recommendations for the different kinds. The older I get the more I see coaching as helping individuals who can be very different rather than a formula to be applied to all players in all situations.
Thanks for this good question.
-- Mark
Posted by: Mark Samuel Tuttle ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 10:13 AM
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I coach youth and high school rugby along with youth lacrosse. One of the first things I tell players are that I want them to make mistakes in traning. That is how you learn. Also when we go over drills I will show the the wrong way to do something and that most of the players will do it wrong. That is why they have a coach, to fix mistakes.
One last thing is I don't coach to win. That is up to the players. And most of the time I will not know the score. Over the last 6 years I see most of my kids enjoy playing rugby or lax. With great feedback from mom and dads.
Straw
Posted by: Straw ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 10:20 AM
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I use the three count rule. I have asked my girls on my soccer team to count to three, shake it off, and get back into the game. Many times when I see a mistake, I will remind the player the "three count" and shake it off. It works and the player does not feel guilty and usually continues play. Many times they will come off the field during a substitution and apologize for their mistake. I just tell the player to not worry about it. My philosophy is that if they aren't making mistakes they are not trying nor are they learning.
Posted by: Len Farias ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 10:27 AM
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My son's coach wouldn't use this device. I (I'm guessing a little here) imagine he would think it "silly" or "wimpy". For some coaches, using shame (lazy shortcut that it is) is a tool, and they don't want the child to forget. It's destructive and unhelpful. Does anyone else see this?
Posted by: Tom Watson ( Email: | Visit ) at 7/7/2009 11:07 AM
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Jim, this is a great topic. I don't think there is any one answer, but perhaps a number of observations can begin to explain why the mistake ritual is not more widely used. I have been coaching for 10 years and here are a few of my observations that might help:
1) If coaches do not use a ritual for themselves, then they are less likely to teach it to their players. Most of us feel more comfortable teaching techniques and ideas that we know will work (that we have personal success with)...but if we don't use them ourselves, how will we know they are effective and how will we teach others?
2) Some coaches, sadly, are coaching either for their own ego (to win) or for the promotion of their own child. A mistake ritual doesn't have appeal to a singularly focused individual like this.
3) Many coaches spent too much time focusing on physical drills and not enough time on teaching the mental side of the game. It's a value decision that every coach makes when he sets up a practice plan. If more coaches understood the value of teaching mistake rituals, they would see performance improve and kids would reap more enjoyment from the game. Everybody wins!
Posted by: Scott Burford ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 11:19 AM
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The answer? It is a function of the use of blame, mixed in with ego, mixed in with the sense that any athletic event is, in itself, life-changing. I can remember, many years ago, when my son was charged with an own goal in a soccer match. It was hard for the team and my son to move on from the incident. My usual upbeat(and ignorant) response to him was to think about future games and how he could possibly learn from his experience. I say ignorant because I had little clue,then, about all the vagaries of futbol. And, that ignorance may have been a good thing. I focused on immediately moving past the negative feeling, fully imagining a brighter, more positive,future moment. This is an Asian(eastern)philosophical premise. And that is, focus on the overall objective and not on distractions toward that objective that tend to muddle(fog)the clarity of the path to the overall objective. In my son's case, the objective, at his age, was to improve his technical and tactical skills. I'm happy to report he improved both in short order. I'm also happy to report that he improved in a happy, nurturing environment. I know that sounds touchy feely, but, now he is a normal, well adjusted, successful businessman. Although it sounds as though I am tooting my own horn, but I use the example to highlight the fact that a particular soccer practice, or game should not leave children,in particular, devoid of support and encouragement and practical, constructive criticism. Too many times a coach feels compelled to lay blame at the feet of individual players. Parents too many times feel compelled to lay blame on their own kids as well as their child's teammates. This blame "game" of casting aspersions regarding errors helps only in the normal downward spiraling that concludes in total demoralization of individuals and teams. Too many strong individuals and teams conclude their experiences having not achieved their positive objectives simply because they employed an incorrect social construct or philosophy. I don't know Phil Jackson personally, but from what I see, read, and hear about him, I would bet he uses the power of positive thinking to coach his team at practice and at games. There is a vast difference between strong, thoughtful, and consistent leadership and capricious, abusive, thoughtless, and inconsistent coaching and parenting. Coaches and parents must begin to consider less their personal egos and begin to listen, observe,and stridently defend the building of character of our youth. This is not a one-shot deal. This program is part and parcel of dealing daily with the little deviations of life with a mind to the ultimate objective. We need to change the adage of 'this too shall pass' to 'it's gone'. We didn't tie our shoelaces, so now they're tied. Let's get to the beach! We, as humans, waste too much time on instant evaluations. And we deny the built-in human factors of resilience, courage, and tenacity. In our recreational soccer program,countless times I get the phone calls from coaches from the very beginning of the season complaining about some player lacking this skill and that skill. It's the same complaint I get from my teacher colleagues about this child lacking a number of skills. What I say to both is train/teach 'em! That's your job! What I say to coaches ,teachers and parents is that your jobs are to positively guide, nurture, support, lead, and promote your charges.
And, finally, for today(whew!) whatever positive thing you do to move a child along will not see immediate fruition. Whatever you do positively to move a child along is registered in the mind of the child forever. Whatever you give to a child that is real(and children know this intuitively)and positive is with them forever. By the time a child is ready to express appreciation for whatever you did,5, 10, maybe 15 years may pass. But, get this, they will express it. Let's hope that expression is about you. I know. It feels really great.
Posted by: Border Soccer Coach ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 11:35 AM
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Fantastic article Jim. Something similar to the "flush it" method that I found helpful while playing collegiate and professionally was to always think "next play". This thought process is effective both in making mistakes and good plays as well. It is important not to dwell on either to long during competition.
Also I think that the "flush it" mentality must be embraced by both the coaches and partents, particularly in youth athletics. A lot of times I have found that the fear does not always come from making the mistake but in how others react. Especially coaches, parents and even other teammates.
Posted by: Wayne Simien ( Email: | Visit ) at 7/7/2009 11:54 AM
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Jim, the mental/psychological part of learning to compete in youth sports is as important as the development of physical skills, in my opinion, particularly if you look at it from the longer "life lessons" lense.
Your blog topic today is a good one as it relates to developing the mental disposition to compete. While Mark above makes very good points about different types of mistakes, kids and circumstances, your general premise of learning to quickly refocus on the next play and move on after a mistake is valid and a good one to proffer up to the PCA network.
As a Little League and basketball coach, "flushing" is one of the most beneficial tactics I've seen and used in helping younger kids refocus. It is something that most can relate to, both physically and symbolically, and it is relatively easy to do/deploy for the kids and coach alike.
No doubt there are other gestures and measures to help kids learn to deal with mistakes and not all kids are created equal; but having some sort of basic ritual can be pretty useful for many kids in many situations regardless of age or sport. Mistakes are part of sport and life. So too is the need to deal with them. Thanks for the reminder - thought provoker...
Posted by: Scott Barnum ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 11:54 AM
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Well said, Jim. Mistakes are great learning tools, as well...you find your limits, a very important concept. And, I use them to reinforce teamwork. I coach hockey and encourage my players to take chances, to risk making a mistake. If they do make a mistake, it's up to their teammates on the ice to recognize it also, and to help cover for them. So it keeps everybody involved and teaches teammates to watch out for each other.
Posted by: John Lee ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 12:20 PM
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great article - now combine it with thoughts from the business world - kids have to fail - and learn from it -
check this HBS article out:
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/07/why-you-need-to-fail.html
Posted by: Mike Bowes ( Email: | Visit ) at 7/7/2009 12:24 PM
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I coached high school girls volleyball for seven years and it took me the firts five to discover this "flushing" method only we would pretend to throw the mistake on the floor and step on it. It was such a moment of relief and an awesome tool. I had forgotten about it until I read this, now I plan on sharing it with all my coaches.
Posted by: Crystal Hughes ( Email: ) at 7/7/2009 1:18 PM
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Mark Samuel Tuttle,
That was a really good breakdown of some of the many reasons that players make mistakes. The beauty of the mistake ritual is that it allows players to flush, brush off, throw away, or put mistakes behind them. The only part of the mistake a player needs to remember is that part that teaches them. So we don't want players to simply "forget it" we want them to learn from it.
In order to learn from mistakes a few things have to happen, some of which you hit on. The most important thing is that the player must 1) Recognize that a mistake was made. If the player recognizes it on their own, there is no need for the coach to pile on. As a coach, most of the time you can tell whether they know or not - if not you may need to let them know, and thats alright. A player must also have some 2) Reassurance that it's OK and they can play without the *fear* of making another one. That's why I like the word "encourage". It EN-ables players to play with the COURAGE to try... without the fear of making a mistake.
You asked, "Do we want to treat this "mistake" the same as striking out with the bases loaded?" That would lead me to ask"when is a mistake *not* OK". By using a "mastery" definition of winning where trying your best, learning what you can, and bouncing back from mistakes is more important than the scoreboard, it is simple to define what mistakes are not OK. Those that come from lack of effort or repeated mistakes that indicate a lack of learning. Those need to be dealt with. But it's not the "mistake" and how it effects the score that is the problem - it is the action that caused the mistake. So we go back to the drawing board put in more effort, learn some more and try again. Without the worry that accompanies scoreboard watching.
Sometimes, if a player doesn't know what they did wrong, they may need some 3) Re-instruction. This works best if it's a short "trigger word" rather than a long explanation. Communicating your terminology and an economy of words is key when it comes to coaching - especially during games. A word or two and they should know what correction they need to make. Finally, and most important they need to get 4) Ready for the next play. They can't do anything about the last one. Except learn from it.
Depending upon the sport you have 5, 6, 9, 11 players to coach and any number of them may have made some mistake on each and every play. You don't have time to make all those corrections so a simple sign or symbol (and maybe a "trigger word or two") says the rest. Whatever your "ritual" is, if the players know it means, "I saw you made the mistake, it's OK, (insert trigger word here), now let's go!" they can learn AND move on. If they don't KNOW you saw it - they also don't KNOW it's OK... so you have to do something. If that something is a verbal barrage they'll be afraid of making a mistake next time and if it's a litany of instructions we run the risk of "Paralysis by Analysis". If it's a simple "mistake ritual" it may say, and do, all you need in mere seconds.
So when a player looks at the bench after a mistake What are they looking for? And what does he or she see? Does it help them 1) Recognize it was a mistake, 2) Reassure them that it's OK, 3) Re-instruct them , and 4) help them get Ready for the next play? Anything else is defeating the purpose.
Posted by: Ray Lokar ( Email: | Visit ) at 7/7/2009 8:42 PM
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I COACH YOUTH BASEBALL, AGES 8-10 YRS OF AGE. I STRESS TO MY BOYS THAT EVEN THE PROS MAKE MISTAKES. THE DIFFERENCE IS YOU don't notice it in the player right after the mistake. I tell my players that they WILL make mistakes and that it is alright. I instruct them to walk in a circle and talk to themselves about their mistake and then they MUST "STOMP IT OUT!!! In other words they acknowledge the mistake to themseves and literally stomp on the ground and move on and be ready for the next play. I support them when they do this ritual and let them notice the difference when they don't. I also make sure that the other players encourage this ritual by reminding each other when necessary. Our record is 7-2 with 7 more games left. I don't see us losing any more this season via mistakes. Coach Jerry "Z"
Posted by: Jerome E. Zieminski ( Email: ) at 7/8/2009 10:47 AM
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To answer your question: It´s simple Jim. Ignorance.
The flush is a fantastic performance tool. More should use it.
Posted by: Jeremy Pryce ( Email: ) at 7/9/2009 10:02 PM
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I started reading your books when I began coaching. Now about ten or eleven AAU teams later, I do not teach a flushing ritual in games since we do not acknowledge them in a game situation. I focus on what is going well, and things that we need to work on. Mistakes are never brought up. The kids know that bad shots, passes..etc happen to everyone, and they are to be forgotten.
We only remember what we do well and try to repeat those actions. It's similar to not acknowledging players that are acting up in practice, but acknowledging the ones that are doing what they are supposed to be doing. We only acknowledge the things we are doing well.
My spring AAU girls freshman basketball team was playing in the State AAU Tournament. We were in the game for third place. We were down by two with 9.5 seconds to go in the game. We inbounded the ball and our player was fouled with 4.5 seconds to go. She missed the first foul shot and made the second. We lost the game, and placed 4th. No mention was made by anyone on the team or the parents regarding the missed foul shot. It was a heartbreaking loss, but not one girl on the team said anything about the missed foul shot. There were no, “If only….”, or “What if…” After we shook the other team’s hands, I started to speak, and one of the girls on the bench goes, “4th place coach, we are taking home hardware.” There was not much I could say to follow that. The girls were all smiles laughing and goofing around. I was proud of them for how they played, but I was more proud of how they reacted to a tough loss. They chose to see the positive.
Posted by: Todd Stephens ( Email: ) at 7/10/2009 8:36 AM
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What a great article. I cannot wait to pass it on to my son's youth baseball coach. The kids on this team pretty much stopped playing because they were so afraid to make a mistake. Especially because afterward they would be told how "pathetic" they are. The coach even told them after a loss that they were so pathetic that he didn't even want to take them to the State tournament they had qualified for. I already printed the article to share with my son. I hope to see him "flushing it" if he walks a batter or strikes out. Thank you so much for sharing this article.
Posted by: Debbie ( Email: ) at 7/14/2009 2:11 PM
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One big challange to teaching players to move on after mistakes in youth sports is peer pressure. The coach can build a player up in practice but when the kid makes a mistake in a game some peers can't help but show their disapproval. The affect is even more harmful for the players who are less agressive and need the positive reinforcement to move beyond mistakes. The highly competitive players who are usually strong and considered leaders tend to be the most negative when others make mistakes. Any suggestions to work on this issue?
Posted by: Michael Lunzer ( Email: ) at 7/14/2009 4:15 PM
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I have been using the "flush" sign for years. It's serves it purpose many times. I also go with the "zone" method. There are three zones when we are on the court: Green - we are executing the game properly. Yellow - a couple of mistakes here and there and Red - time to come out and review the game for a few minutes. I'll call from the side line - "let's get back to the green zone ladies. Keep focused." Every coach has to find their method of communication with the players throughout the game. In practice you remind them mistakes are learning mechanisms. You learn from your mistkaes - but you also do not want to commit them continuously. It's only a game and that's what it is - a game. It's not life and death. It's to be a leaning experience for life and it has to be fun. Afterall, the persentage of youth athletes going on to high levels of participation gets smaller and smaller as you go up the ladder. You have to keep everything in perspective. Peace
Posted by: Marianne Collins ( Email: ) at 7/14/2009 5:00 PM
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It takes approximately 10 shots on goal for every goal scored so I have repeated this to my soccer players with "they don't all go in, unlucky!" And, there is no "sorry" in practice as practice is the time to make mistakes and experiment. By preparing athletes for these failures before success in advance it raises their courage to try again without any repercussions from the coach. All members of the team hear this and know this. Knowledge is power and they don't need rituals if this is understood by all.
Posted by: John Keefer ( Email: | Visit ) at 7/18/2009 6:29 PM
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