Athletics have always been a big part of my life and that is a very visible area where both negative and positive reinforcement are used. It isn't just for athletics though. These principles apply to business and life as well.
Negative Reinforcement
Up until college I primarily received more negative reinforcement than positive. My dad was particularly bad about this. I suppose he meant well in that he cared to be involved but a lot of it was more detrimental than positive. He really didn't know anything about sports but he would pretend to know and use fake physics and math to try to explain why something needed to be done a certain way. He would yell a lot at myself and my sister. It got really ridiculous to where we just didn't want to be around him at all. We always knew that the entire ride home from practice would just be him yelling and talking nonsense. We already knew he didn't know what he was talking about when we were 10 years old. Parents can be the worse offenders of negative reinforcement.
It wasn't just the parents though. Often times the general impression you get from the way high school football coaches should act is that they are real stern and are often times yelling. This is how my high school football coach was. He was very polarizing. Half the players liked him and half the players didn't really like him. Looking back on it I don't really know why I had respect for him. I almost got brain washed into respecting him in a lot of ways. It took a few years to 100% realize that a lot of his ideas and yelling was so far from the most efficient way to go about things despite some obvious situations that should have never happened.
My sophomore year one of the freshmen on the team broke his arm in a game and the head coach made fun of him and was humiliating him in front of the whole team telling him to toughen up and stop holding his arm.
The next day he returned with a cast on his arm.
The same scenario happened again my junior year. One of the seniors broke his fibula in the game. He was called a pussy and was told to stop limping around. Once again.........
Monday he comes to school with a cast on his leg.
These are egregious examples and it is sad to say they really happened.
Here are a few other examples I have witnessed first hand that are completely ineffective and ridiculous examples of negative reinforcement.
Not Letting Athletes Drink Water As Punishment
This is so insane and aggravating to me it is unbelievable. So you are going to run them into the ground and get them dehydrated so they end up pulling a muscle? How is that going to help you win games?
I always tell the kids that I coach anytime they need to drink water they need to let me know even if we are in the middle of a drill. It is very easy to get dehydrated in Arizona and heat strokes and pulling muscles from dehydration can happen very fast. The purpose of the training is to prepare for competition. If you are injured then you will never get to really compete.
Using Exercise As Punishment
You often see this when the coaches make athletes run because they didn't do something right. Clearly if you are playing a sport that involves running then doing sprints is part of the normal training. Not punishment.
Even worse than that is making someone do pushups for not doing something bio-mechanically correct. Let's take for instance that you are teaching a kid proper pitching mechanics. If they mess up and don't throw a strike how is it going to improve their mechanics to have them do pushups? That is so stupid but unfortunately some people try to coach this way.
Yelling or Punishing Athletes For Messing Up In A Game
This makes athletes more likely to lose confidence and mess up more. Especially when it is a physical error it shouldn't be punished by yelling at them. For instance if they strike out in a baseball game or miss a tackle in a football game.
If you are going to talk to them about it use the opportunity to point out something to look for. For instance. If the pitcher in a baseball game does something slightly different when they throw their curve ball that clues the hitter into what he is throwing focus on that and don't yell or act aggressive when you are talking to them.
Ways I Display Positive Reinforcement To Athletes
It wasn't until college when I realized that positive reinforcement was the superior way to coach. My event coach for Track and Field was always 100% positive in his coaching methods. He always built his athletes up mentally and gave everyone equal attention. He commanded 100% respect from his athletes. There was no one he coached that didn't respect him.
I really built off of that when I started coaching and continually built my athletes up and always let them know that they were always improving and that they were outworking the competition.
I will say things like, "This is light weight for you! You are a beast man.....you got this!" "You are a next level player!" "Your ability is very rare." "Nobody is working as hard as you. They just kind of want it but that won't be good enough against you."
Talking like this to the athletes throughout training builds up their confidence and just by doing the training they will experience gains which makes them believe more in their ability. Overtime this really adds up and puts them on a higher level.
Should You Ever Use Negative Reinforcement?
Personally I'm typically not in a situation where I would ever need to use it. Most of my coaching is on an individual level with very serious advanced athletes so they are putting in maximum effort and not goofing around.
In a team environment the only real reason I can see the need for getting upset with the team is if people are just totally screwing around and not taking the practice or workout seriously.
It isn't worth my time to coach anyone that doesn't want to be there. That is why I personally prefer to coach college athletes or advanced high school athletes.
If someone does something incorrect instead of using negative reinforcement it is best to target the issue and do drills that will train their muscle memory to perform the action without thinking.
When it comes to game time everything for the most part needs to be reactionary and they don't need to be thinking to much about mechanics or the finer details. That will just cause paralysis by analysis if they think too much.
Play To Have Fun No Matter What
I always tell the kids I coach that playing sports at any level is to have fun and if they aren't having fun then there is an issue. I tell them this goes for the highest paid professional athletes as well. Lebron James had a lot of fun winning the NBA Championships this year. Usain Bolt had a lot of fun again this year at the Olympics. Usually when a highly paid athlete isn't having fun is when they are injured or in a slump. Everyone wants to perform well all the time and no matter how much you are paid.
Rule 1 through 10 of sports is to HAVE FUN!
Positive Reinforcement In Life
I am a firm believer that being involved in athletics can benefit a person in a lot of different ways. Achieving goals can be greatly enhanced by going through the process of athletic training. Having a strong mental platform from reaching goals and completing things can carry over to business goals and negotiations.
I personally utilize the same mental strategies I use when I'm coaching athletes. I tell myself that I can do it and that nothing phases me. If any bad thing happens to me I make it a point to tell myself it doesn't even matter. For instance the back light on my dash components in my car went out a couple days ago.
I just told myself that I have blue eyes that collect more light so I can pretty much see in the dark like a cat! It's not even a big deal at all.
Some people really get down on all these little things and it builds up and people think their whole life sucks. It just isn't the case.
Don't let the little things phase you!
Thank you for reading my post and please consider upvoting it and following my blog @brianphobos
Definitely, it's just a game after all. I think a lot of parents, even coaches are just living vicariously through these kids. Let them play. I've been on a lot of winning teams and a few losing. The memories and lessons learned were equally abundant on either.
I think you are right and I understand parents wanting to see their kids to better and go further than they were able to get. I have also seen a very big trend where parents are really pushing hard to hopefully get their kid a scholarship to play sports in college but oftentimes they don't realize how the scholarship money breaks down even at the division I level. It almost becomes more about getting college paid for instead of about the kid succeeding and becoming one of the small percentage of athletes that are able to compete at the college level which is a huge achievement in itself.
Good post, positive reinforcement is always the better option.
I agree. There is so much pressure on kids these days they don't need to be getting drilled when in reality they are just trying to have fun.
This is a fantastic post!
I love how you found and were apply to apply the positive reinforcement approaches in coaching. Even better how it translates to every day life as well.
Thank you!
Isn't it great when you meet positive role models? People who get so much from other people through motivation rather than bullying. I'm sure you are an inspiration to lot's of kids and young athletes @brianphobos !
It is one of the best feelings when the kids I coach want me to go see them in sports I don't coach them in. I recently had two of the kids I coach in baseball want me to come watch their football game.
This coach Russia handball.
He often shouts on command. But they won gold at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
But I'm still not a supporter of his ideas.
I agree with you. Any sport should be fun and positive moments. Man can then in full force, and even more.
Not for the this involved in sports?
I feel like a lot of the negative reinforcement in sports is starting to fade away. It always seems like it is the older coaches who use that tactic.
I think that they are acting on this idea - Shouted on us, we are now going to yell at you!
There was a situation a couple of years ago where an abusive coach was getting in his players face and the player punched him or shoved him down. Hahahah
WOW!
Perhaps after this case, it is slightly lowered its aggression in the future)
Very good advice about negative reinforcement. I do see its value as our team was punished in basketball for a rude interaction with another schools workers and even though it was a few people doing this, the entire team had to run sprints the following day.
I think that type of punishment is fair and may help with speed while teaching discipline.
But positive reinforcement works far better for building relationships between coach/player. Sports are awesome, but if you are respected as a coach by players, you not only have the chance to have a great team, but also to do something far more important. You can mentor and make a real difference in a players life. You might be able to help them through depression or the loss of a family member.
I know which coaches I would go to with problems, and which ones I would avoid like the plague.
I'm sorry your father didn't see the value in positive reinforcement. Many times parents project themselves onto their children and demand perfection and to be better than they themselves ever were.
I had the pleasure of a supportive dad who coached and made everything fun while still pushing us to do our best. He coached me in baseball and we shared some great wins and losses and memories together. The only time he was ever really critical of me was when I would let my anger get the best of me and throw a helmet after striking out or if he knew I wasn't throwing as hard as he knew I was capable of.
Glad that you have seen your fathers shortcomings and are able to work with some students who really want to put forth the effort to be as good as possible.
That is great your dad was involved and was able to be a positive part of your athletic experience.
Yes it makes me happy seeing kids playing ball at the local parks near me and remembering the fun times I had with my dad on the diamonds
Sometimes when I see some of the kids I coach tear it up I get emotional. It is fun to see them do well!
Humans have hunger for many things. They are hungry for food. Hungry for love.
One of the most important thing that humans crave for is appreciation. If a human is not fed this important dose of ego boost, he will have a deficiency.
This knowledge is a magic wand. The person who realizes this and use it to his advantage becomes a leader.
You are a leader.