| Helping Athletes Through the Stress Barriers |
Following is a summary of a presentation in a panel discussion at the 2001 Philadelphia convention on the topic “Leadership as a Function of the Coach.” This article originally appeared in the July-August 2002 issue of Soccer Journal.
By Mel Lorback
An essential ingredient of coaching leadership is the ability of the coach to “pull” his athletes through barriers of stress that accompany the intense work required for successful performance. Of course, we know from our physiology of exercise and training that the discomfort associated with the preparation of the athletes for sustained (aerobic) and repetitive explosive power movements (anerobic) is unpleasant. In addition there is the requirement for energy expenditure in the practice required for technique development and skill acquisition. Motor learning, although remarkably rewarding when successful, is usually associated with fatigue and tedium.
Often competitive preparation and participation are accompanied by unpleasant vagaries associated with adolescence, young adulthood and approaching maturity. Psychological dissonance is often increased when adding insult (from coaches) to (nagging) injury. The demand for inspired, sustained performance under intensive conditions requires a resilient individual with a strong will. Most athletes have periods where resolve falters.
Under such circumstances the coach must try to move his players through the stress barriers. All living organisms seek through the natural, protective, survival process to remain in a steady (stable) state of internal balance (equilibrium). This is the much-desired Comfort Zone (homeostasis).
In order to move people out of the comfort zone, into and through stress barriers, there must be a strong push by the athlete and pull by the coach. There is no magic potion or short cut. This progressive and sequential adaptation and adjustment to the gradually increasing increments of stress incorporates the SAID principle: “Specific adaptation to imposed demands.” Hopefully this process of habitually smashing through stress barriers will result in a relentless pursuit of standards and objectives.
Most people need assistance to move through these barriers. Outside (extrinsic) motivation is usually provided by coaches, but can be enhanced by teammates, parents, girlfriends/ boyfriends, crowds and publicity. An even more effective source of incentive is intrinsic (internal) motivation. With this the drive to succeed and prevail has been internalized and provides self-generating, self-renewing power (make the team, be a starter). Stress, both physical and mental, is most often the result of the inability to control conditions and/or the lack of the ability to adapt and adjust. Application of the SAID principle is a valuable means of coping. It produces the achievement of standards and objectives for which, once established, there should be very little, if any, tolerance for deviation.
The keystone in the arch of leadership is setting and maintaining standards. There is no substitute for it. It is imperative in establishing leadership and achievement of objectives and critical in building discipline and morale. Individuals must be held responsible and accountable. So many problems emerge from lack of structure and established roles. Don’t give any credence to the touchy-feely, warm and fuzzy, politically correct crowd’s emphasis on cultivating self-esteem. It is only a phony illusion that leaves people rudderless and adrift, and its practitioners without the ability to evaluate and discriminate. These almost professionally sensitive attitudes are antithetical to leadership. Respect flows from standards and self-esteem from achievement. This process develops personal discipline that fuses into organizational discipline which produces morale.
Discipline is the imposition of restrictions and control in an attempt to make behavior predictable. The required elements are: respect for the person establishing the rules, strong leadership and a “no compromise” stance for the standards you have set. Make as few rules as possible, but enforce, at all costs, those you do make. It is not enough to demand discipline, you must have the will to enforce it. Psychological fitness, like all fitness, results from specific adaptation to imposed demands of gradually increased increments of overload. It should be noted that courage is secured through discipline. It insures the strength of wisely united effort in spite of setbacks.
Morale is creating an environment of confidence and enthusiasm, unity and fighting spirit — building group cohesion. It is the transfer of ego identification from the individual to a group (the “I” to “we”) manifesting mass emotional commitment. The essential ingredients of morale are unity of purpose and emotional cohesion (strength of organization). This produces a state of readiness to execution, passionate performance, and finally, courage. Courage is the domination of the will over instinct.
In building morale the coach should understand its building blocks, which include:
• Inspiration is a product of emotion, belief in a cause, unity of purpose, similarity in attitude and values, symbolism, distinctive uniforms, colors and badges, lots of humor and joviality, safety valve periods of rest and relaxation, and emotional pressure that lifts and pushes you.
• Developing a hierarchical (ranking) structure in your team. The players move up through positions of greater responsibility and authority.
• Leadership (and leadership integration) is bi-directional in that it is both vertical and horizontal. Vertical is injection from the top down and horizontal is diffusion from within. The foundation of this component is responsibility/accountability based on discipline and morale.
• An Intense Indoctrinating (SAID) Training Program for the development of both mental and physical fitness.
Discipline and morale are competitive factors that lie in the psychological domain. Superior leaders/coaches utilize them to develop passionate and inspired elite organizations that demonstrate consistent quality and are reliable and confident. This internal fabric makes athletes play hard despite stress and discomfort. It is the foundation of a commitment to excellence.
The most essential components of leadership in order of impact are respect, integrity and a commitment to standards, with the latter segment of leadership leading to a coaching and group excellence.
At a personal level the coach must possess courage and be willful. The coach must also be intelligent, but the use of this must be coupled with good judgment. This is critical. The coach must also be dynamic. This includes some degree of enthusiasm and passion, as those components lead to inspiration. Finally, the coach must have an ability to communicate. This must include the ingredients of humor, eloquence and clarity.
Editor’s note:
Mel Lorback is retired from West Chester State University (Pa.) where the highlight of his long coaching career was winning the 1961 NCAA men’s championship. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2001. Lorback was awarded the Bill Jeffrey Award for service to collegiate soccer
in 1997 and was the 2003 recipient of the NSCAA Honor Award.
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