A recent instalment of the Prepared Blog spoke about the transition into the teenage years as a key window where young performers start to become equipped and amenable to taking greater ownership. In the realms of coaching it is often advocated that we should place the performer at the centre of things. Like many others I have written about autonomy being an important objective in the coaching process. Clearly this does however place some onus on the performer. So what exactly do we require from the performer themselves in order to make it all viable?

Whilst this is primarily written in the context of young performers, these themes are equally applicable to performers of any age. To some degree we are all on this journey!

A FIRST STEP TO ACCOUNTABILITY…

One of the reasons why it is so powerful when young performers first decide upon their long-term aspirations in sport (or elsewhere) is that they become so much more invested in the journey to realise those dreams. In contrast, for as long as they defer to others and delegate responsibility the young performer tends to remain a passive actor in the process.

At some point every individual must have the realisation that their destiny is in their own hands. There must then be some willingness to take command of their own destiny; and this is precisely what coaches in youth sports should seek to foster and preserve.

Often the journey begins when the individual identifies a long-term objective and then commits themselves to fulfilling these aspirations. Being accountable to the ultimate goal in turn means taking responsibility for the process.

Some young performers are reticent to take this step and this may be a protective strategy. After all, as long as they do not fully commit or invest themselves they cannot truly fail. Identifying a objective that really means something to the individual and fully committing to the quest takes courage.

EQUIPMENT AND LOGISTICS…

At the most basic level, in order for performers to take greater ownership and start to steer their own course this should perhaps begin with taking responsibility for organising themselves. Personal admin is often not a strong point for a young performer, so this seems like a good starting point!

Clearly there are some logistics and practicalities involved in regularly attending practices and arriving at competitions prepared and equipped to compete. Notably this includes being responsible for their own kit.

The highly successful New Zealand All Blacks rugby team are renowned for the fact that upon arriving at the venue on match day it is the coaches and players themselves who roll their sleeves up and together unload their bags and equipment from the team bus. This is indicative of the team culture that places high importance on humility and taking care of themselves so that others do not have to. A related All Blacks mantra is ‘sweep the sheds’ - the players themselves take responsibility for tidying up after themselves (including quite literally sweeping the changing room before they depart).

There are important lessons here. It is great to have supportive parents, but the danger is that young performers become used to delegating these responsibilities to others so that they are ill equipped to take care of themselves when the time comes.

BECOMING SELF SUFFICIENT…

Clearly making sure they arrive at practice and competition on time, with the right kit and their equipment in good working condition are important aspects for a young performer to take care of. Equally what is often overlooked is the importance of performers becoming self-sufficient when it comes to looking after themselves during the times in between.

Sleep and nutrition are two of the most important pillars of physical preparation. Both are reliant on the individual organising themselves and catering for their own needs (quite literally). To that end, beyond personal admin and self discipline, basic domestic and culinary skills are critical capabilities that young performers should seek to develop during their high school years.

Once again, the comforts of the home environment are not necessarily conducive to developing these athlete life skills. When caring parents are cooking the meals and doing the laundry (as well as providing the taxi service to ferry them to and from practices and competition) it is not altogether surprising that young performers might not invest themselves in learning how to do these things for themselves.

It is sadly a reality that student-athletes (and students in general) are arriving at college so ill-equipped to take care of themselves that some colleges in the United States now provide crash courses in basic cooking and how to use a washing machine. That there is a need for these courses at all is a bit mind-blowing, but the fact that these courses are over-subscribed speaks to the extent of the problem.

TAKING THE LESSONS WHATEVER THE OUTCOME…

It is said that experience is the best teacher. However, this is only true to the extent that we are able to connect the dots and heed the lessons.

All of us are prone to attribution bias. We are generally quicker to recognise and highlight our role when the outcome is positive. Yet whilst we are happy to take the credit when it goes right, we are often far less quick to acknowledge our part and accept our share of the blame when things go wrong. Whilst this might be human nature, it is nevertheless a major impediment to taking the salient lessons from the experiences we encounter on the journey.

Just as being accountable for the outcome means taking responsibility for the process, failing to accept accountability begins with a refusal to acknowledge responsibility. A hallmark of this is a tendency to blame others.

Performers are often quick to point fingers and bemoan external forces and events that were beyond their control. In doing so, they fail to reckon with all that was within their power to control. A key question to reflect on after the event regardless of the outcome is always ‘did you do everything you could to the highest of your ability?’. In some instances, had the performer taken responsibility and acted to control all the controllables, their actions might have averted whatever situation befell them.

Often the situation is complicated by the fact that they might have a legitimate claim: unforeseen events do occur and at times performers will be let down by those they were relying on. Even so, this should not necessarily change the conversation in the debrief. It is still critical to direct the performer’s attention inwards and examine their own role. There is always merit in rigorously evaluating whether they did all they could to positively influence the outcome, regardless of what other external factors were at play.

IN CLOSING…

As the grown ups (in our role of coach, parent, etc.) it is our job to ensure that young performers are afforded the opportunity to take greater charge of their own destiny. Practically this means prompting them to take greater responsibility and accept a greater level of accountability. At times, this means letting them fail.

Experience is the best teacher, but performers need to connect the dots and heed the lessons. After the event, whether the outcome was positive or negative, those around the performer have a role to help them objectively evaluate their role and take the salient lessons to see where they can improve for next time.

The final and perhaps most important take home message is that the responsibilities of the performer extend beyond the practice and competition arena. Young performers must become self-sufficient: culinary and domestic skills are crucial athlete life skills for them to develop during the teenage years!

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Thanks also to all those who have shared feedback on the recent release Prepared: Unlocking Human Performance with Lessons from Elite Sport (click on the image below for details).