USOPC Presentation #2
9-14 Years Old By Terri Milner Tarquini
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eveloping an athlete that lives in the growth mindset zone is paramount to their future – and coaches can have a massive amount of influence on that. At the 2019 PSA Conference in Palm Springs, coaches were presented with on-ice skating concepts, off-ice strength and conditioning, mental training and the success structure during what is considered the second stage of a skater’s time on the ice, titled “USOPC Presentation #2 – 9–14 years of age,” available now on PSA TV. “There are a bunch of different ways you can influence how your athletes are thinking,” said Nadine Dubina, USOPC Manager of Coach Development. “During this stage, getting them ready to go to the next level is really, really important.” Dubina opened her portion of the presentation with an exercise for the coaches: Holding their breath as long as they could, while being timed. Following exhale, she challenged coaches to do it again – but this time to hold their breath for a few seconds longer, asking the difference between what their brain told them the first time they held their breath versus the second go-around. “The first time, you let out your breath when your body told you to breathe,” Dubina said. “The second time, you were able to change that dialogue by your brain shouting, ‘You can do it!’ Your brain told you that you could go longer.” A simple exercise that can begin to nurture the growth of your skaters during this next stage of their learning. “You can easily do this with your athletes and can then have conversations about how to change the dialogue (in their brain),” Dubina said. “Everyone has the power to tell their brain what to do. The brain talks all day, but it can be controlled.” Imparting the idea of brain control needs to be an important part of a coach’s teaching structure. “Kids are kids – and we’re here to teach them something, so if we’re not teaching them personal choice and personal responsibility for their actions, then we (are part of the problem),” Dubina said. “Helping them to realize they have the choice to change their inner dialogue has to be part of our job.” Dubina believes the path to an athlete discovering their ability to control their brain lies in questions… But not just any questions. “Our power of influence over our athletes lies in asking
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really good questions,” she said. “I believe it’s a skill. I believe it’s an art. I believe it needs to be practiced.” For her second group exercise, Dubina challenged the coaches to NOT answer the following questions verbally or mentally: What color is the sky? What is the name of your best friend? What was the color of your first car? Where do you live? What did you have for breakfast? “Could you not answer the questions? Or did your brain immediately find the answer?” she asked. “The way brains work is they are hardwired to answer questions, so the more questions you ask, the more you’re going to be engaging your athletes in trying to find solutions because they can’t help but try to find the answer.” The best question-starters to illicit answers are: what, why and how? “These make you want to explain further,” Dubina said. The question-starters to avoid: is/are, do/did, would/will, could/can, who, when and where. “These usually result in one-word answers, and the athletes don’t usually have to think very hard,” Dubina said. Thoughtful answers won’t necessarily flow from the get-go, however. “Do not get discouraged in the beginning,” Dubina said. “When athletes are not used to being asked questions, the response you’ll get is, ‘I don’t know.’ That is not an answer. You have to actually teach them how to answer and how to respond to you. That is part of the skater-coach trust-building.” As with skating skills, where the building blocks of grassroots skating is key to a skater’s future, so, then, is expanding on the foundation of being in charge of one’s brain. When the athlete is in this second stage of their skating, they have the capacity to expand those mental skills. “What does all of this lead into?” Dubina asked. “That what we say to ourselves has influence on our potential and our future. That’s what we’re trying to do – we’re trying to craft and build the potential of our athletes.” Where does all this potential lie? In the fixed versus growth mindset. In shorthand: Fixed = bad; Growth = good. “The fixed mindset basically says that you believe that you’re born with certain skills and abilities,” Dubina said. “You have things you’re good at and things you’re bad at and that’s that. You have no control over it. Athletes in a fixed mindset don’t like making mistakes because they
