Essential to keep track of factors that impact on performance
There is no doubt that there are many elements that go into ensuring an athlete is a success at an elite level, or for that matter, whatever level they are competing at. Talent is naturally a significant factor, but as we have seen in many sports over the years it is only one aspect. Among the other factors contributing to success are desire and proper coaching, while the mental side of sport has also a major bearing on seeing potential transformed into success.
The question of why one athlete can make the breakthrough to the elite level, while somebody of similar talent fails to realize their potential is one that has troubled coaches and clubs across the globe at a variety of sports for many years. In the modern world where sport is a multi-million dollar business, the ability to identify the talent that will make it to the top is invaluable. It has, of course, proven very difficult to achieve this insight as the mental aspect of sport is extremely difficult to understand. Knowing how a player will react in a particular situation, such as when the pressure is on, when they are becoming frustrated with their game, when decisions appear to be going against them, or even when everything seems to be going their way, is a great benefit to a coach. The question over the years is how to accumulate such information.
EPPP focus on mental strength
An indication of how important it is to understand the psychology of an athlete is the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) in the English Premier League. This is part of the long-term strategy designed to ensure the best young players are developed into Premier League footballers. This approach gives great importance to the area of mental strength. The aim of the initiative is to ensure that young players prosper and make an impact at the top level, and it is significant that the emphasis is not just on coaching but on creating an elite environment.
David Buckwell in Reviewing the performance environment to nurture player development outlines the importance of compiling data on all aspects of an athlete when he states:
By further understanding the impact the performance environment has upon perceptions of performance, coaches, practitioners and academy managers can further understand the organizational adjustments required to create an optimal performance environment for player development.
He continues to reveal that since the EPPP began, customized systems have been introduced by academies in order to track the progression of players and compare it with the individual goals set by coaches.
A significant number of academies have adopted clearly defined macro, mezzo and micro cycles regarding the individual development priorities for each player across the four-corner model (technical, psychological, social and physical)
Creating the best performance environment
Another study which highlights the importance of being aware of an athlete’s mental state ahead of training or competition is provided by Pain and Harwood, which concluded that there was much more than mere talent and coaching that went into bringing an athlete to the elite level. In analysing England’s U-17 and U-18 teams in 2007 they identified the following factors as influencing the performance environment:
- planning and organization
- physical environment
- tactical factors
- development and performance philosophy
- psychological factors
- physical factors
- social factors and
- coaching
In order to provide a greater understanding of the performance environment, the findings were divided into three categories
- pre-game
- psychological and
- team/social
with David Buckwell summing up the results as follows:
The pre-game results show that players felt physically and mentally prepared going into development matches and this positively impacted upon performance. The psychological results from the PES show that players felt that understanding their role, confidence, using a pre-match routine, being relaxed, friends and family and goals within the game positively impacted upon performance perceptions.
The team/social results show that players felt that having a positive team leader, good team cohesion, high levels of commitment, coach/team relationships, confidence and strong social relationships, trust and resilience positively impacted upon performance perceptions.
Keep track with Metrifit
Having established that these external factors are important in the performance of an athlete, the key is to be able to identify them and address any problems that may arise. If a student-athlete is affected by pressures such as exam stress, social difficulties, money problems etc then identifying them is vital in ensuring they don’t have a negative impact on performance. Such factors can be easily tracked by the Metrifit system.
It provides a voice for the quiet student and a way to “reach out” if needed which can be easier than explaining face to face. In 2014, The University of Wisconsin started using Metrifit for several teams including the Badgers men’s basketball team. That team went on to win the Big Ten regular season and conference tournament as well as a trip to 2015 NCAA Final Four which included a victory over then-undefeated University of Kentucky and a strong performance in the National Championship game. Erik Helland, Director of Strength and Conditioning at Wisconsin and also Head Strength Coach for men’s basketball, commented on that successful run
During last season, I felt that Metrifit was absolutely critical to our success and how we were able to address individual and team needs throughout the campaign. The ability to acutely monitor stress and recovery and make the correct adjustments was critical to our health and performance throughout the NCAA tournament.
You can follow Metrifit on Twitter: @metrifit or Facebook: Metrifit Athlete Monitoring
References
Elite Player Performance Plan – Long-term strategy designed to advance Premier League Youth Development
Is the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan working?
Reviewing the performance environment to nurture player development by David Buckwell
Youth revolution aims for better England players – but will it work? by David Conn
The performance environment of the England youth soccer teams by Matthew A. Pain & Chris Harwood
About Metrifit
Metrifit is an athlete monitoring system that gathers subjective and objective information from both coaches and athletes in a simple but effective manner with intelligent visualization helping coaches and athletes to act on that data. Why not have a look at our Ready to Perform product and gain insight on the physical and mental state of your athletes through our daily wellbeing questionnaire? To find out more visit our Metrifit Product Overview page or get in touch for a free demo.