Did you know in 1991, Jose Yanez was the first person to perform a backflip on an 80cc motocross bike? Carey Hart nailed the first ever back flip (…kinda) on a full-sized motorcycle at the Gravity Games 2000. FMX riders from all over knew if they wanted to compete, they had to measure up. They now saw a backflip was not only possible, it was required to compete. Seeing the FMX backflip for the first time helped FMX riders discover so many ridiculously creative tricks and made FMX what it is today.
Self-Confidence comes from our own observations,
“That’s how you do it…”
“It can be done…”
“Now, I get it…,” and even
“What would coach do in this situation…”
Modeling for our players is the single most important thing we can do for their Self-Confidence.
I’ve even been reminded, if I want my child to calm down, then I’d better stop yelling at them 😊
Social Media is a great source for our athletes to watch others perform, but it’s a double edge sword. Watching all those great videos can be detrimental, especially if they do not recognize the video they are watching may have taken 20-50 takes to get just right.
I prefer to direct athletes to instructional videos to gain insightful observations in learning how to perform a specific task.
Regarding Recreational Coaching, it is important to understand our players are constantly looking to us for guidance and Self-Confidence. They will model our behavior whether we like it or not. It is imperative that we are mindful of our own behavior, and that we model healthy self-esteem behavior.
For example, if we do not want our athletes to argue with the referees, blame others for shortcomings, or to trash talk, then it is best you we refrain from demonstrating those behaviors ourselves.
A better solution is focus on the things we can control, like our attitude, effort, and even own self-talk. I’ll cover those behaviors in the next post.
Jimmy Karam, CMPC