18. March 2010 by John Schinnerer.

Amazing new research is coming out showing the fundamental importance of your sense of touch. It is the first sense available to you as a baby. A variety of positive and negative emotions can be understood through brief one second touches to the forearm, even when you cannot see the person touching you.

It may be that touch sends more information than gestures, body language or facial expressions. Touch varies widely in its expression - a hug, a gentle touch on the shoulder, a scratch on the face, a hip check, a high five, a punch to the bicep, a desperate clutch to the forearm. All of these are expressions of touch filled with social and emotional meaning for the person whom receives the touch.

While I follow the latest research on emotion and psychology, I was surprised and delighted to see a study on touch appear in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated (The Metaphysical Significance, Staggering Ubiquity and Sheer Joy of High Fives by Chris Ballard). The study which looked at the effects of touch on performance in the NBA is entitled Tactile Communication, Cooperation and Performance: An Ethological Study of the NBA and comes out of the greatest university in the world - U.C. Berkeley (okay, I’m biased!). Lead researchers of the project are Michael Kraus and Dacher Keltner.

The researchers observed nearly 300 NBA players (across all 30 teams) over a period of 2 months. They catalogued and recorded every touch between players during games. The touches were classified in one of 12 areas including categories such as high fives, head slaps, and jumping shoulder bumps. The results were nothing short of awe-inspiring. The more touches between teammates, the more wins the team had.

The teams that touch the most? The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Both of these teams surpassed the 60 win mark last season. And both teams averaged more than 100 seconds of touching during games. The results held even when the lofty expectations are taken into account for these elite teams.

The teams that touch the least? The Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Bobcats. They averaged a measly 16.5 seconds and earned only 52 wins last season combined.

How about individual players? Does the power of touch hold at an individual level?

The ’touchiest’ players (i.e., most high fives, chest bumps, head slaps) are also among the NBA’s elite players including Kevin Garnett of the Celtics, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks. Garnett averages 15.7 seconds of touching per game which is over two times as much as the entire Sacramento Kings entire team.

Apparently, it’s the leaders of the team that initiate most of the touching in the form of hugs, low fives, fist bumps and more.

Why is there such a powerful effect for the sense of touch?

We know that massages from loved ones not only reduce pain, they also reduce depressive symptoms. Students who are given a compassionate pat on the shoulder are 200% more likely to volunteer for an in class assignment. When your doctor offers a sympathetic touch, it makes you feel as if he has spent twice as much time with you during the visit.

How can one sense be related to such varied and significant events as wins in the NBA, reduction in depression, perception of time, reduction in pain, and promotion of altruistic behavior?

The primary theory is that touch activates the autonomic nervous system which has two branches - the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).  One helpful metaphor to understand these two is the idea of a car in which the accelerator is like the sympathetic nervous system and the brakes are akin to the parasympathetic nervous system. Positive touches (e.g., kind, compassionate, tender, gentle, sympathetic, etc.) seem to activate the PNS, or the body’s brakes, which helps the body to relax, to experience positive emotions. Negative touches (e.g., a punch, a pinch, scratch or a bite) seems to activate the SNS, or the body’s gas pedal, which prepares the body for the fight or flight response.

In many of us, the SNS is chronically active as if the gas pedal is being pushed continuously. Due to the fast pace of society, the financial demands, the pressure of balancing work, home and personal health, many get into a cycle of chronic low level stress. In this case, the PNS, the relaxation response, is rarely, if ever, activated.

In sports psychology, it is known that the zone, where optimal human functioning occurs, requires a balance between stress and relaxation. In other words, there needs to be a balance between the functioning of the SNS and the PNS. Touch seems to be one way to activate the PNS thereby balancing the pressure of performing in the moment with the relaxation response, allowing athletes to perform at their peak.

Hope you enjoyed this one! I sure enjoyed writing it!

All the best,

John Schinnerer Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Positive Psychology Coach

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18. February 2010 by John Schinnerer.

Soccer practice two times per week for 3 months found to dramatically lower blood pressure, percentage of body fat & resting pulse rate in previously nonactive adults.

Also, it increased oxygen uptake, improved heart function and elasticity of the vascular system.

Not bad for two workouts per week! I wonder if it reduces chronic anger as well?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100202101249.htm

I’m still recovering from the bruised ribs I received in the last game of indoor soccer I played. Ouch, it hurts to breathe!

Cheers,

John Schinnerer Ph.D.

Posted in San Ramon CA, Danville CA, Optimal Human Functioning, Soccer psychology, Alamo CA, Emotion & Athletics, National speakers, Anger Management, Dr. John Schinnerer, Managing stress, Life coach, Psychology & soccer, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

17. February 2010 by John Schinnerer.

New study finds simple test helps diagnose concussions in athletes.

The test also indicates when athletes are ready to play again

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100215173938.htm 

Make it a great one!
John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Posted in Football and concussions, Brain plasticity, Optimal Human Functioning, Emotion & Athletics, Alamo CA, San Ramon CA, Danville CA, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Psychology & soccer, The human brain, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

14. December 2009 by John Schinnerer.

‘ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2009) — A new study may explain why the England soccer team keeps losing in penalty shootouts — and could help the team address the problem in time for the World Cup 2010. Research by the University of Exeter shows for the first time the effect of anxiety on a footballer’s eye movements while taking a penalty.

The study shows that when penalty takers are anxious they are more likely to look at and focus on the centrally positioned goalkeeper. Due to the tight coordination between gaze control and motor control, shots also tend to centralize, making them easier to save. The research is now published in the December 2009 edition of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

The researchers attribute this change in eye movements and focus to anxiety. Author Greg Wood of the University of Exeter’s School of Sport and Health Sciences said: ‘During a highly stressful situation, we are more likely to be distracted by any threatening stimuli and focus on them, rather than the task in hand. Therefore, in a stressful penalty shootout, a footballer’s attention is likely to be directed towards the goalkeeper as opposed to the optimal scoring zones (just inside the post). This disrupts the aiming of the shot and increases the likelihood of subsequently hitting the shot towards the goalkeeper, making it easier to save.’

Remind your players to breathe deeply in order to relax and dial down the pressure after the referee has blown the whistle to proceed with their shot from the mark.

Have an enjoyable Saturday night!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Positive Psychology Coaching

www.GuideToSelf.com

Author of ‘Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought’<–>

Posted in Positive expectations, Emotion & productivity, Body posture & the mind, Danville CA, Emotion & learning, Mindfulness, Awareness, San Ramon CA, Visual Attention, Penalty Kick Success, Emotion & Athletics, Soccer psychology, Optimal Human Functioning, Brain plasticity, Visual perception, Men's emotions, Managing Anxiety, Anxiety, Staying calm, Dr. John Schinnerer, Managing stress, Sports Psychology, Positive Psychology, Social anxiety disorder, Nervousness, Emotional mind, Emotional management, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Psychology & soccer, Social phobia, Tips to help anxiety, Mean coaches | Print | No Comments »

14. December 2009 by John Schinnerer.

From ScienceDaily News…

‘ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2009) — A study shows that knowing the anticipatory movements of a goalkeeper before kicking the penalty reduces the decision time and increases the success rate when choosing the direction of the shot in football (soccer). The results, extracted from the second paper by researcher F. Javier Núñez Sánchez from the University Pablo Olavide (UPO), which he wrote for his thesis, have recently been published in the scientific journal Perceptual and Motor Skills.

This research, developed by the group for Analysis of Human Movement, lead by Professor Antonio Oña of the University of Granada, has analysed the elements that interact during a penalty shootouts, including the movements and the response and reaction of the goalkeeper and the speed of the decision of the kicker when deciding the direction of the shot. According to their results, by studying the position of the goalkeeper in the instant immediately before the shot may significantly increase the probabilities of selecting a successful direction for the shot and reduces, in turn, the time of this decision process.

In the first phase, the researcher studied the movements of the goalkeeper during a penalty shootout. Among the findings, published in the International Journal of Sport Psychology in 2005, he stresses that all the goalkeepers begin their final movement instants before the player kicks that ball because, otherwise, they would not manage to reach it. These signals were named “movement pre-indexes,” and help us know, in the exact moment when the player takes his last step before shooting, if the goalkeeper will jump towards his right or left before hitting the ball.

Once the aspects regarding the goalkeeper have been detected, a second phase of the study analysed the ability of the football player to decide if to hit the ball towards the right or left, in this short space of time. They also observed if it was effective or not to show the movement pre-indexes to increase success. They used a sample of 20 individuals for this study. These were later divided into four sub-groups (two control groups and two experimental groups), depending on whether the players were experts or inexperienced, i.e. those who occasionally play football and for leisure. The participants underwent two tests using a life-size projection of the goalkeepers and where the players had to simulate their penalty shot.

The professionals and the inexperienced

In the results obtained in the first test they did not find significant results between the experienced players and the inexperienced ones. However, different results were obtained after the test. After the initial test, the experimental groups watched a video that clearly explained the goalkeeper’s movement pre-indexes. “During the informative film we explained where to focus, noting that when the kicker takes the last step before the penalty, he should direct the shot towards the area where the goalkeeper has the most extended knee, since he will shift towards the opposite side,” states Javier Núñez.

In this sense, the decision time of the expert players in the experimental group passed from 275 to 189 milliseconds.’

For full article at Science Daily, please click here.

Hope you enjoyed this info!

Have a calm, cool and collected holidays!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Positive Psychology Coaching

http://www.GuideToSelf.com

Posted in Brain plasticity, Visual perception, Soccer psychology, Penalty Kick Success, Visual Attention, Awareness, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Psychology & soccer, The human brain, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

16. October 2009 by John Schinnerer.

APA, Science Directorate, Volume 23: No. 10, October 2009

The Beautiful Powers of Unconscious Thought

by Ap Dijksterhuis

“When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters however…the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves.”

Sigmund Freud

When you are facing an important decision, others will sometimes tell you to postpone your decision and “sleep on it” first. In my case it was often my grandmother who gave me this advice. It is a belief many people intuitively share: It helps to put a problem aside for some time in order to arrive at a better decision. Somehow, waiting seems to help us to differentiate between the vital and the futile. Postponing a decision helps us to base our decisions on the appropriate reasons.

But does this “folk belief” hold in a scientific experiment? A few years ago, we conducted an experiment in which we had people choose between four hypothetical apartments. The information was constructed in such a way that one of the four apartments was objectively more desirable than the other three, in that it possessed more positive and fewer negative qualities. However, this was not immediately evident as the apartments were described with a great deal of information. After our experimental participants read all the information about the apartments, they chose their favorite one either immediately or after a period of distraction during which they did some other things. Our hypothesis was that the latter group would continue to “unconsciously think” about the apartments while they were distracted. Indeed, our findings showed that 37 % of the participants who decided immediately chose the appropriate apartment, whereas 60 % of the unconscious thinkers chose the best one (see Dijksterhuis, 2004; Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). Postponing a decision helps, even if one does not consciously think about it anymore.

The next question was whether unconscious thought could be even more helpful than an equal period of conscious thought. Traditionally, most scholars on decision making have assumed that thorough conscious thought is the best strategy to arrive at sound decisions. This is without doubt sometimes true, but as a general principle it needs to be qualified. We know that under some circumstances (e.g., Wilson & Schooler, 1991), conscious thought deteriorates the quality of decisions. In another experiment we conducted (Bos et al., 2009), our participants chose between six houses that were on sale in our home city, Nijmegen. We simulated the website on which these houses were advertised but removed the asking price. Our participants were given a few minutes time to navigate our “website,” and some participants were then given as much time as they wanted to think about the houses, and to further browse through the information. Others were distracted for about 45 minutes (they actually did other experiments) before they decided. Finally, participants chose their favorite house and they were asked to estimate the asking price for each of the six houses based on the information provided. The unconscious thinkers - that is, the ones that were distracted - performed significantly better than the conscious thinkers, a finding that has now been replicated a number of times (see Strick et al., 2009, for a meta-analysis).

In other experiments (Dijksterhuis, Bos, van der Leij & van Baaren, 2009), we asked immediate decision makers, conscious thinkers, and unconscious thinkers to predict the results of soccer matches that were to be played in the near future. The accuracy of the predictions did not differ much for people who didn’t know much about soccer. For fans, however, the results did differ. Fans who thought unconsciously made better predictions than fans who thought consciously or fans who guessed immediately. Interestingly, for both immediate decision makers as well as for conscious thinkers, knowledge of soccer did not correlate with the quality of the predictions. Only among unconscious thinkers was this correlation obtained, indicating that the benefits of expertise, at least within the confines of the present paradigm, become apparent when one thinks unconsciously rather than consciously.

For the entire article, including when, how and why unconscious thought may be better than conscious thought, click here to go to the APA site.

Become more aware. Cultivate mindfulness. Have an enjoyable weekend!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Executive Coach

Danville CA 94526

Posted in National speakers, Danville CA, Executive coach, Unsconscious mind, Awareness, Mindfulness, Psychology & soccer, Rational mind, Consciousness, Subconscious mind, Dr. John Schinnerer | Print | No Comments »

12. October 2009 by John Schinnerer.

From Science Daily…

‘ScienceDaily (Oct. 10, 2009) — The game is up for football’s (soccer’s) divers: A new study by Dr Paul Morris from the University of Portsmouth could help referees know when a top player has genuinely been fouled or taken a dive.

Dr Morris, an expert on the embodiment of emotions and intentions in the Department of Psychology, says refs could be helped to spot the tell tale signs of cheating, sometimes even in the split seconds in which they occur.

“Referees have a very difficult job and given the demands of the task they do it remarkably well. We think even experienced professionals could enhance their decision-making by studying the categories of deceptive behaviour we have identified,” said Dr Morris.

Published in the Springer Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, and conducted in three separate studies, the research could also help by improving decisions based on video evidence.

Dr Morris’s research shows that there are distinct actions which footballers use – either individually or in any combination - when faking a fall. These include:

• clutching their body where they haven’t been hit
• taking an extra roll when they hit the ground
• after being tackled taking fully controlled strides before falling
• holding up both arms in the air, with open palms, chest thrust out, legs bent at the knee in an “archer’s bow” position

“In most dishonest tackles the behaviour itself does not indicate dishonesty – the deception is revealed in the timing and co-ordination of the behaviours,” said Dr Morris.

“But one action is unique to a faked fall – the archer’s bow. This occurs in many dives but biomechanically it does not occur in a natural fall. Instead instinctively the arms either go down in an attempt to cushion the fall or out to the side for balance.

“Although this behaviour is absurd, the fraudulent footballer does it to try to deceive the referee into believing that the tackle was illegal, and the histrionics are necessary to get the referee’s attention in the first place.

“This behaviour has no national boundaries; everyone does it, it even occurred unprompted during our research trials.”

Dr Morris said that a player who positions his body into this peculiar shape to show that he has been fouled as a result of a tackle looks quite bizarre.

“Moving the body like this is completely controlled behaviour so it clearly doesn’t show a genuine fall.

“The moment both arms go above the shoulder is a clear indication of deception,” he said.’

Having just coached a soccer tournament where I saw 1 or 2 suspect dives, this is highly interesting information in terms of the embodiment of emotion, and the actual trip vs. planned dive.

By the way, I love Drogba (pictured above). He is one of my favorite players. He is definitely taking a dive in this particular situation, however.

Have a wonderful week!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Positive Psychology Coach

Guide To Self, Inc.

Danville, San Ramon, Alamo CA

Posted in San Ramon CA, Awareness, Psychology & soccer, Morals and values, Dr. John Schinnerer | Print | No Comments »

1. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

From the abstract from International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology…

Thelwell, R., Lane, A. M., Weston, N.J.V., & Greenlees, I.A. (2008). Examining relationships between emotional intelligence and coaching efficacy. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 6, 224-235.

The study examined the relationship between EI, as measured using the EI Scale (Schutte et al, 1998) and coaching efficacy, as measured using the Coaching Efficacy Scale, among 99 athletic coaches. Results revealed significant relationships between the two sets of variables. More specifically, results showed that motivation efficacy (e.g., maintain confidence) was significantly associated with the regulation of emotions and social skills, whereas character-building efficacy (e.g., promote good sportsmanship) was associated with optimism. Teaching technique efficacy (e.g., demonstrate the skills of your sport) was significantly associated with appraisal of own emotions.

The results indicate that should coaches be unable to appraise their own emotions and regulate them accordingly, then their ability to affect the learning and performance of their athletes will be severely hindered. As such, it may be that coaches who lacks awareness of their own emotions are subsequently unable to regulate them accordingly for the situation and ultimately their performers’ well-being. This is clearly in line with some of the reports from the business environment (e.g., George, 2000) where leaders lacking in EI had significantly reduced leadership effectiveness. Alternatively, coaches who can appraise their own emotions will arguably possess greater sensitivity to when their emotions need to be regulated in accord with the situation, thus enabling them to fulfill their coaching role (Gould et al., 2002). Again, this mirrors research outside of sport where leaders with high EI deal with potentially difficult situations more effectively (Jordan et al., 2002).

Posted in Emotional mind, Psychology & soccer, Emotional management, Anger Management, Awareness, Resiliency, Emotional IQ, Guide to Self, Swim coaches, Sports Psychology, Abusive Coaches, Positive Psychology, Life coach, Dr. John Schinnerer, Mean coaches | Print | No Comments »

27. May 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Gratitude produces calm energy (Robert Emmons).

Strategy: Think grateful thoughts during athletics to prevent yips (tiny muscle contractions due to stress)

Dr. John Schinnerer

Posted in Tips to help anxiety, Psychology & soccer, Gratitude, Staying calm, Emotional IQ, Swim coaches, Positive Psychology, Dr. John Schinnerer, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

12. February 2009 by John Schinnerer.

By Dr. John Schinnerer

Guide To Self, Inc.

I played soccer yesterday. It was a simple pickup game that is held every Sunday during the off season. It’s a joy to me to be out there, with the smell of the grass, running with the ball, running without the ball, passing and shooting. I’m happy simply to be playing.

Inevitably, there is one player who is driven by something else, the need to win, perhaps. Such players have an uncanny ability to humiliate and criticize their own teammates and as a result bring down the overall performance of the team.

One person, in particular, plays as if our pickup game is the World Cup and is furious whenever one of his teammates makes a mistake on the field. He says things like, ‘Stop playing like a girl,’ ‘Never make such a stupid pass,’ or ‘You guys are an embarrassment.’ To put it bluntly, he is a bully.

Yesterday, he stole the ball from a player on his own team. His behavior inevitably leads to infighting amongst his team. One Sunday it led to a fistfight.

The whole situation fascinates me – sort of like observing a social experiment gone awry. This is particularly true given psychological research in the area of bullying, anxiety, relaxation and performance in the zone under pressure.

The Old Sports Mindset

In sports, there seems to be a stubborn mindset in which bullying is tolerated and, at times, encouraged. This tired, uninformed mindset justifies insults, intimidation, shame, and public embarrassment as viable ways to motivate people to excel. However, studies show that people usually shut down when negative emotions, especially fear and shame, arise. More specifically, the mind tends to freeze when these destructive emotions come into play.

Let’s return to the example of the bullying soccer player. When he lays into a teammate, and belittles their efforts, generally that teammate will feel a negative emotion such as anger or doubt. This anger or doubt has the effect of narrowing the player’s attention, usually creating more self-consciousness (or self-monitoring) in terms of how he or she is playing. In other words, it makes them consciously focus too much on their performance which makes them perform worse. As the victim quickly becomes angry and embarrassed, other players ‘catch’ the disrespected players anger and embarrassment. As a result, the overall performance of the team declines. Bullying behaviors work against the bully’s desired outcome which is victory. 

Negativity from Peers or Coaches Impairs Performance

The old school of thought was that a little yelling at players will ‘toughen them up and prepare them for real life.’ Now we know better. In 2003, Dr. Stephen Joseph at University of Warwick reported that ‘verbal abuse can have more impact upon victims’ self-worth than physical attacks, such as punching…stealing or the destruction of belongings.’  In 2007, JoLynn Carney at Penn State found that the trauma endured by individuals due to bullying results in changes in the body. The study found higher cortisol levels (a major stress hormone) in the saliva of individuals who had been bullied recently. That makes sense. What is amazing is that cortisol levels were elevated for individuals who simply thought about being bullied. Ironically, when cortisol levels go up and the body goes into fight-or-flight mode, the ability to think clearly and to learn goes down. So coaches who rely on fear and intimidation create an environment where less is learned and less is remembered to the extent that they create destructive emotions in others.  

New Learning Take Place in the Cortex

So what should the bully do if he really wants to win? His best action would be to help his teammates perform better by staying calm, and making room for learning via mistakes (e.g.,  ‘On this field, it’s okay to screw up’).  If he really wanted to win, he would know that the learning of new skills takes place in the cortex. And when you first learn a new skill, you actively use the cortex to consciously map out movement, plan actions, prioritize, and so on. When learning a new activity, brain scans show a great degree of activity in the cortex.

Practiced Skills Are Controlled By the Cerebellum

As an activity gets repeated, the cerebellum gradually takes over control of the activity. With practice or repetition, the activity goes from requiring a good deal of conscious thought (using the cortex) to requiring no conscious thought (when the activity is controlled via the cerebellum).  Once the activity becomes automatic, it becomes more energy efficient, precise, graceful and lightning fast. However, you cannot consciously access the cerebellum.  It all takes place on a level of which you are not consciously aware.

Optimal Performance Is Negated By Conscious Thought

Performance in the zone, or being fully engaged with a task, is not a result of conscious thought. It’s a result of not thinking. More specifically, it’s a matter of thinking only one thing. I’ll tell you more about what that ‘one thing’ is later.

When performing in the clutch, some experts will tell you ‘slow down’ and ‘take your time’,  or ‘relax.’

That is outstanding advice for the rest of your life. But it’s not such good advice when in the clutch.

Slowing down gets in the way of exceptional performance – too much time to think, too much self-monitoring (i.e., consciously thinking about your performance). It is better for your performance if you simply go through the routine you’ve practiced over and over. Ideally, you also want to create safe yet stress-inducing practices in an attempt to recreate the conditions under which you perform.

So the conscious mind can kick into high gear and mess up stellar performance. Is it possible to under think performance?

Yes, it is possible to be so unfocused that the performance isn’t even started, let alone finished.

How Much Thinking Is Optimal for Getting In the Zone?

So the question becomes, how much self-monitoring is best for optimal performance?

To answer this question, Dr. Daniel Gucciardi from the University of Western Australia looked at the putting performance of 20 golf pros under three conditions (January 2008, Psychology of Sports and Exercise). Golfers in the first group concentrated on three words having to do with their technique (e.g., ‘head’, ‘balance’ and ‘shoulders’); the second group concentrated on three words unrelated to putting (e.g., ‘white’, ‘black’ and ‘blue’); and the third group concentrated on one word which summed up the entire putting motion (e.g., ‘smooth’, ‘seamless’). When the golf pros putted without any pressure on them, their performance was similar – most did very well. Yet, when pressure was added in the form of cash prizes, the performance of the groups differed dramatically.

What Should You Think To Stay In The Zone?

Two of the groups performed very well under pressure: the group focusing on one word and the group focusing on words unrelated to putting. The group that focused on several words having to do with their technique performed poorly under pressure. These results were similar to a 1999 study by Lew Hardy from University of Wales. In other words, athletes who focus on a specific set of rules regarding technique during their performance (e.g., ‘keep head down’, ‘breathe every other stroke’ and ‘touch the wall with two hands’) are more apt to falter under pressure than those who do not have a specific set of rules in mind.

Focus on One All-Event-Encompassing Word for Best Performance

Therefore, the latest studies indicate that focusing on one word which idealizes the whole performance is best for achieving at a high level under pressure (e.g., ‘smooth’, ‘strong’, ‘beautiful’, or ‘effortless’). By concentrating solely on the All-Event-Encompassing word, the conscious mind is kept busy enough to prevent slipping into the thought stream which fouls up best performance. Yet, the All-Event-Encompassing word is sufficient to activate the automatic, unconscious muscle motor program.

Not too much, not too little.

Just enough.  

Smooth.

About the Author

Dr. John Schinnerer

Dr. John Schinnerer is in private practice helping people learn anger management, stress management and the latest ways to deal with destructive negative emotions. He teaches clients to seed more positive emotions in their life in an effort to get at Barbara Fredrickson’s 3:1 ratio for a happy, thriving life. His practice is located in the Danville-San Ramon Medical Center at 913 San Ramon Valley Blvd., #280, Danville, California 94526. He graduated summa cum laude from U.C. Berkeley with a Ph.D. in psychology. Dr. Schinnerer has been an executive and psychologist for over 10 years. Dr. John Schinnerer is President and Founder of Guide To Self, a company that coaches clients to their potential using the latest in positive psychology, mindfulness and attentional control. Dr. John Schinnerer hosted over 200 episodes of Guide To Self Radio, a prime time radio show, in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Dr. Schinnerer’s areas of expertise range from positive psychology, to emotional awareness, to moral development, to sports psychology. Dr. Schinnerer wrote the award-winning, Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought, which is available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and AuthorHouse.com.  

Posted in Emotional mind, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Emotional management, Consciousness, Awareness, Mindfulness, Psychology & soccer, Happiness, Life coach, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Emotional IQ, Anxiety, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

2. October 2008 by John Schinnerer.

Here is an article I wrote recently for Article Dashboard…

A varsity soccer player heads the ball into the goal to put his team ahead by one. With more than 20 minutes to play, players on the team that is behind start to hang their heads. Their body language, slumped shoulders, a slow walk, and frustrated, angry expressions convey their temporary lack of resiliency. The speed with which they can bounce back from this setback holds the key to their success. Do they give in to their disappointment, let it turn to resignation, and ever-so-slightly decrease their efforts? Or do they use their anger to stoke the fires of competition and redouble their efforts to score and tie the game? Psychology is beginning to unravel some of the mysteries around sports performance in general and around soccer in particular. This article discusses three recent findings in sports psychology and how they can be best applied to soccer.For instance, players who make predictions about who will win the upcoming game enjoy the game less than those who do not. By predicting the outcome of the game, it creates the possibility of being incorrect and thus leads to the anticipation of regret. This anticipation of being wrong puts more pressure on the player to perform. As we know, too much pressure can push a player out of the zone (where performance is maximized) and into a subpar performance.

Focus On Playing to Potential, Not Winning

A better approach is that of nonattachment where players do not get overly attached to the idea of winning or losing. Soccer players can control one thing – their own play. By focusing the team on playing to their best individual and team potential, and decreasing focus on winning, the team plays more relaxed, more effective soccer.

Understand Your Players for Better Penalty Kicks

Another finding shows that some individuals look for potential gains in general and on the soccer field. Other people spend their efforts attempting to thwart negative outcomes. So one group looks to maximize gains, while the other group looks to minimize losses. Soccer coaches can identify this tendency in individual players and use it to fulfill their players’ potential. For example, when preparing players for penalty shootouts, coaches can talk to players who look to maximize gains (usually the forwards and some midfielders) and tell them to focus on scoring. On the other hand, coaches can prep those who seek to minimize losses (usually the fullbacks) by telling them to focus on not missing the shot. These are individualized messages that can run through the shooter’s head while preparing to take the PK which will increase the probability of success during the shootout.

Use Mirror Neurons to Your Advantage

Finally, soccer players become better simply by watching world class players. There is a ‘mirror system’ in the human brain which responds to actions we watch, such as Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a goal with a heel kick or performing a scissor move. This system in the brain has been shown in brain scan studies to activate when the individual is viewing a sport or activity in which they participate. However, the mirror system does not activate for a dancer watching a soccer player. The mirror system only activates for individuals who have been trained in the particular sport being viewed. We have known for over 50 years that visualization is helpful in improving sports performance (beginning with slalom skiing back in the 1950’s). Science is just discovering that the brain also learns by observing experts. Although no muscle movement takes place in the observer, the brain acts as if the body is replicating the movements being made while watching Ronaldo. The same pattern of neurons fire when watching Ronaldo perform a bicycle kick as when the player him- or herself does a bicycle kick. The possibility exists that players can hone their skills during injuries by watching professional soccer games, highlights on YouTube of favorite players and attending live games.

There are a number of things that psychology can add to sport in general and soccer in particular. Try incorporating some of these suggestions in your play or coaching and see what results come. Above all, have fun. Soccer is first and foremost a game!

About the Author

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Dr. John Schinnerer is President and Founder of Guide To Self, a company that focuses on coaching individuals and groups to their potential using the latest in positive psychology, psychoneuroimmunology and physiology. Most recently, Dr. John Schinnerer hosted over 200 episodes of Guide To Self Radio, a prime time radio show, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated summa cum laude from U.C. Berkeley with a Ph.D. in psychology. Dr. Schinnerer has been a coach and psychologist for over 10 years.

Dr. Schinnerer is also President of Infinet Assessment, a psychological testing company to help firms select the best applicants. Infinet was founded in 1997 and has worked with companies such as UPS, CSE Insurance Group and Schreiber Foods.

Dr. John Schinnerer was Chief Communication Officer of Emotion Mining Company, which has a patented method to measure and quantify conscious and subconscious emotions for branding, marketing, leadership development and organizational change.

Dr. Schinnerer’s areas of expertise range from positive psychology, to emotional awareness, to moral development to sports psychology. He is a noted speaker and author on topics such as emotional intelligence, sports psychology, and executive leadership.Dr. Schinnerer wrote, “Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought,” which was recently awarded the “Best Self-Help Book of 2007.” He has written articles on corporate ethics and EQ in the workplace for Workspan magazine, HR.com, and Business Ethics. He has given numerous presentations, radio shows and seminars to tens of thousands of people for organizations such as SHRM, NCHRA, KNEW and KDIA.By: Dr. John Schinnerer

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.comDr. John Schinnerer is Pres. of Infinet Assessment (www.InfinetAssessment.com) a testing company to help firms select the best applicants. Infinet has worked with companies such as UPS, CSE Insurance Group and Schreiber Foods. He also runs Guide To Self(www.GuideToSelf.com), a company that focuses on coaching individuals and groups to their potential using the latest in positive psychology. In 2007, he wrote ‘Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought’

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