Positive Coaching Alliance and Responsible Sports often refer to the "ELM Tree of Mastery," where ELM stands for Effort, Learning and Mistakes. Players progress toward mastery of football as long as they exert maximum Effort, continually Learn and bounce back from their inevitable Mistakes.
Of course, it is easier said than done for players and coaches to live by this philosophy. We all want to point to positive results, but often they are slow to arrive. So how do we maintain the level of effort required - even in the face of poor results - until a player succeeds?
One key is to reward unsuccessful effort. That strikes many as counterintuitive. But it is essential to keeping the player persistent. What else would keep a lineman, for example, hurtling his body through physical pain and his mind through the emotional setbacks of failed efforts?
When you as a coach see a player trying hard, yet failing to make the play, you can reinforce the effort by noticing out loud how hard he was trying. That lineman will take heart, even as he picks himself up off the ground, when you say, "Danny, it still didn't end up the way we wanted, but I saw how intent you were on technique. Your feet were planted just right, and the rest is a matter of strength. I know that will come over time."
"Over time" is a key concept. Just as players require repetition to learn how to execute, coaches must consistently repeat positive reinforcement. That way, the player fully believes the coach values effort more than results and the player feels free to adopt the same values.
Along the way, it may help to establish intermediate goals so that player and coach sense some level of progress and success. For example, Danny the lineman might have a goal of planting his feet properly on every play, regardless of the outcome of the play itself. The next intermediate goal may be to stand ground for one second, and then two seconds, until eventually Danny can protect the quarterback.
An important notion in these intermediate goals is the "Just-Right Challenge" as covered in Deborah Stipek's book, Motivated Minds. A group of children was given a pre-test on their skill level with respect to 13 different puzzles. Left alone with the puzzles and asked to choose one, all the children picked a puzzle just one level higher than their capability. Applied to football, a series of "Just-Right Challenges" can help players put in place, step-by-step, the skills needed to achieve the desired results.
Another way to reinforce effort is through a targeted, symbolic reward. After a practice or game you can honor players for making the desired efforts. For example, you might give the "dirty shirt award" to the player showing the most hustle.
It's important that this award has no great value beyond symbolizing the player's effort. That keeps the player focused on the value of the effort itself, as opposed to the award's monetary value.
In the case of a specific player striving to achieve a certain result, you can individualize the targeted symbolic reward. For example, you can inspire Danny with stories of Vince Lombardi and the Fordham University line known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite," and then reward him with blocks of granite.
Even if Danny never achieves the result you and he pursued, he will have the lasting life lesson of the value of effort and a tangible reminder of the coach who imparted that life lesson.
==
This article isthe seventh in a series of articles created exclusively for USA Football as part of Responsible Sports (http://www.responsiblesports.com/). This national program brings together USA Football, Liberty Mutual and Positive Coaching Alliance (http://www.positivecoach.org/) in an effort to benefit millions of youth athletes, parents and coaches.
