First, it is necessary to understand where exactly cohesion or chemistry comes from. Scientifically speaking, people identify with groups based on the emotions they elicit. So the initial step in building chemistry is to make everyone feel comfortable. Then, once people relax they can open up and build relationships which is all cohesion is - a relationship with a purpose.

One of the best ways to relax everyone is to force everyone to identify each other on the team. By this I don’t mean memorizing names but acknowledging each person as a component of the group. This is done through nicknames. As long as the title revolves around a positive circumstance a powerful trigger has been created that instantly links in a person to a group and a good feeling. What more can you ask for?

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There are many ways to read a putt. You can pick a line, aim for a point, find the apex, etc. Each method works as long as you accurately see the contours of the putting surface. Unfortunately, for most amateurs they never get to see if their read was correct because they do not put a good stroke on the ball.

The hole is approximately four and a quarter inches wide. It is a little wider than the width of your hand. That is pretty wide. So here is the current problem in mindsets for just about everyone not getting paid to play. The hole is fairly wide but the fixation during putting is on a point or a line. Essentially, the golfer takes a small target and makes it smaller.

It all comes down to the visualization of the putt. How wide is the line or how big is the point you aim for before you commit to the swing. Chances are the putt you are about hit has been made more difficult due to the restriction placed on the desired path. Next time you putt, allow for a little more room for error. If you focus on a line to the hole, imagine the line is 4.25 inches wide. That is probably a nice big boulevard compared to the razor line you normally visualize. This will relax your stroke preventing pushes or shorts.

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The second season of the NBA is currently in full swing. Every playoff game means so much in a seven game series that coaches are willing to dig deep in their bag of tricks to get their players primed. The latest example of this practice is from the head coach of the Denver Nuggets, George Karl.

Already down 1-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers, Karl knew the team needed a little kick to up the intensity and aggressiveness for game two. Before the second game he showed his team video segments from mixed martial arts. Watching pure, unadulterated fury is not normally expected in preparation for a basketball game. It almost worked. For three quarters the Nuggets kept the game close until the the Lakers proved to be too much in the fourth quarter. And it never hurts to have Kobe Bryant drop 49 points.

The reasons for the loss are numerous: Bryant hit unbelievable shots, the game was played in Los Angeles, etc. However, Karl must be applauded for taking a chance in his communication with the team. The take-away message before the game was aggressiveness. The expected course of action would be just to say it. He, instead, violated expectations by showing a video. This brings up a major point of communication. If you want your message to be completely heard then you must violate the expectations of the audience.

Any time you depart from normal behavior you give your team unexpected actions. People pay more attention to new things than the usual. Karl did not have a history of showing fighting videos before games so the message was clearly communicated and all the players understood what was desired.

Unfortunately, the Nuggets lost game two and now face an almost impossible task in trying to win the series down two games to none. They can overcome and win but the mindset needs to be shifted. It will definitely help playing at home but they must win the third game.

The fighting video resonated with the players. The players knew what was expected of them and Karl showed he could send a message to his team. It is clear the team respected Karl for taking the chance and switching things up but the medium is always the message. Fighting is an individual sport and the Nuggets in game two played a largely individual game. The message of the video was individual aggressiveness and that is exactly what the Denver players showed.

If you want the team to be aggressive then you must plant the seed of a group dynamic being aggressive. Perhaps showing a battle scene from Braveheart would set the tone of unity and overcoming adversity. After all, in game two the Nuggets got 12 assists versus their season average of 24. The result of aggressiveness as individuals.

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Take for instance the free throw. Other than screaming fans waving whatever they can get their hands on, the shot is totally uncontested. The distance to the basket is always the same, height of the basket is always the same and size of the basket is always the same. Which brings up the conundrum.

One of the greatest active players is Kobe Bryant. Love him or hate him, his skill set is exceptional. He can control his body and the basketball with surgical precision but lets focus on his foul shooting. He has a career average of about 84%. By all accounts this is a great percentage. However, if repetition was the sole reason for improvement than one would expect year after year his free throw numbers to improve. Unfortunately, this is not the case. During the 1998-99 season he shot almost 84% but the following year he shot 82%. Clearly, factors beyond mechanical repetition are at work.

The key to improvement in a controlled situation like a free throw or 3-foot putt is to go beyond the mechanical requirements and simulate the situation. A free throw in an empty gym is no big deal just as a gimme putt on the practice green is automatic. However, what about a free throw with seconds left and your team is down by one. Or a short putt that will force a playoff in a major. Therefore, to maximize the repetition of practice an athlete must visualize the most stressful situation they will encounter. This is what creates perfect practice, the attention to details you will be subjected to during competition.

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The book elucidates two methods of thinking. On the negative side of the spectrum is the fixed mindset. This is an idea that today is as good as you will get. If you do not succeed it is because you are not good enough and you should take it personally.

On the positive side lies the growth mindset. This method of thinking accepts that any setbacks are due to a lack of mastery. An attempt creating undesired results is simply a learning opportunity you can grow from. Or stated another way, tomorrow you will be better than you are today.

The book delves into studies and examples that show exactly how powerful the mindset can be. It also adds to the reader’s vocabulary so they can identify the mindsets of people around them. This is a must read for coaches and parents as it will only help you make the experience of sport my enjoyable for your athletes. 

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For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. While this theory was designed around laws of motion it is also very applicable to mindsets in sports. A good play often precedes another good play just as a bad play will create another bad play. This momentum is due to mindsets and the perception of why things happen.

Casual attribution, simply, is the perception of why something happened. Was the result caused by your actions, the actions of someone around you or are you just plain unlucky are the questions casual attribution answer. It is important to know that in the heat of competition the correct answers to the previously listed questions are not nearly as important as the perception. The disgruntled coach may blame all of the team’s misfortunes on horrible officiating, a shallow superstar may take all responsibility for victory and the list goes on.

In most situations casual attribution takes on the form of ego protection. An athlete or coach can blame something else for a lack of success thereby still believing they could be victorious. One of the most famous examples in recent history was the saga of Steve Bartman. He reached for a foul ball, interfered with the player and prevented him from making the play. It would have been nice to get the out but if the ball flew two more feet to the left then it would have landed safely in the stands and the whole thing would have been a non-issue. The Chicago Cubs used this incident as a sign they were not supposed to win, even their fans against them. However, the reality of the situation was not quite as drastic and should not have decided that series or even the game.

When something happens in a game that is controversial or unfortunate the best course of action is to approach the situation keeping the ego away. Take an unbiased look at what happened and leave it there in the past. Too often, competitors take previous actions into the present and things only get worse. The goal, after all, is to do your best, not have the safest ego or best reason for not playing to your potential.

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Think physics. Any volumn void of air is considered to be a vacuum. In those environments no noise is made, feathers and bricks fall at the same speed - you lose the variables air provides and things become more uniform. Now apply the vacuum to emotions.

As we know by now, emotions create behaviors. In life if you lose all emotions then there is no reason to do anything. There would be no anxiety, excitement or happiness so there would be no reason to behave in such a manner as to acquire those feelings. However, sports are different.

In sports, the behavior is already spelled out. Everyday at practice participants repeat fundamentals and manuevers. They seek mastery in preparation for competition. When the competition rolls around each participant knows what is expected of them and how to do it.   

In competition the only emotions that really matter are those created by the final outcome. Every emotion preceding the culmination is a reaction based on the current situation in comparison to expectations. The best illustration for this is basketball due to the length of the game and multiple rolls of each player.

The most exciting stretch of basketball is when a team goes on a run. For several minutes it appears one team cannot miss while the other team cannot buy a bucket. One team executes effortlessly while the downtrodden opponent exerts great energy for no results. This is a direct impact of emotions. How it begins is different in each situation but there is always a common point.

One team feels the other pulling away. This creates anxiety, stress and other negative emotions as the immediate results depart from the losing team’s expectations. Each player’s behavior based on negative emotions only exacerbates the situation and a run is born. The thing to point out is that there is no reason teams should go five, ten or even 15 possessions without scoring a point. Statistically it does not make sense for a team averaging 40% from the field to be held scoreless for a prolonged period of time. However, emotions override statistics.

The perfect team plays in an emotional vacuum. They would not be concerned with what the other team does. If a team hit three shots in a row from beyond the arc then the perfect team would realize that the numbers will converge back to the averages and their opponents are due for a couple of misses. On the flip side, if the perfect team missed a couple shots then they would expect, again, the numbers to converge to the averages and they would be due for a couple of makes. The operating principle of the perfect team is confidence in their gameplan and teammates, immediate observed results do not change what they need to do so they will continue with what they prepared.

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If you have ever had food poisoning you know how thoroughly the body will purge the toxins in an effort to protect itself. Yet the mind seems to work in the exact opposite manner. Ask an athlete to recall an error or instance of choking and they will produce a recollection with amazing clarity. On the other hand, an instance of triumph seems to be a giant blur. There are several theories as to why the mind does this but the important thing to know is you can break the cycle.

Everyday we support habits that largely go unnoticed. From signing your name to putting on your right shoe first we engrain common tasks to the point where they are completely on autopilot. Just for fun try putting on your left shoe first or step into your pants with the opposite leg you normally do. It feels weird. That is the way the mind works. Neurons that fire together wire together. When you depart from that path you are in uncharted territory. It feels weird because it is unknown and the next step needs to be thought through, it’s no longer automatic.

You can apply this from tasks to your overall manner of thinking as well. Most people find it very easy to recall embarrassing moments. This is because most people have not taken the time to train their mind. They just cruise through on autopilot and moments that created the greatest negative emotional reactions plant themselves firmly in the memory. Fortunately, it does not have to be like that.

First, you need to be aware of the thoughts swirling through your head. Just like being aware of which shoe you put on first you need to know exactly what you are thinking. Then you need to identify the thoughts. Are the thoughts in your head helping you? From there you can begin to make changes.

Every Sunday on the PGA Tour you see athletes succumb to their own thoughts. A player will begin the round a few shots back and by the end of the day they have played themselves completely out of contention. They allow their thoughts to run on autopilot and paid the price.  Instead, use your mind to your advantage. Be aware of your thoughts and the resulting actions so you can develop positive thinking habits that will eventually run on autopilot.

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As it happens, you or your team takes the risk to gain an advantage. Departing from normal behavior immediately increases anxiety levels and stress but something must be done to turn the odds in your favor. Obviously, whatever task or series of maneuvers you attempt is possible to some degree. It all comes down to the flawless execution.

Execution of this risk comes down to the belief that what you are about to do will yield positive results. This belief is called self or collective efficacy depending on whether it is in the context of a team or individual sport. You build efficacy through one of three avenues: individual, vicarious, and collective.

In an individual sport, such as golf, you believe you can make the shot because you have either made the shot before or someone with an equal skill set has made the shot. The best situation is if you have already done something similar and it turned out positive. Therefore, you know you can do it because you have done it before. Now, if you have never attempted it before then you can rely on other people’s experiences to guide you. Lets say you have a teammate or friend with the same handicap (again, in the context of golf) and they just hit the shot. You know that their skill set is very similar to yours and if they can do it so can you. This is vicarious efficacy and should give you enough confidence to attempt the task and then you will have your own data to verify your belief.

For a team, individual and vicarious efficacies remain true but collective efficacy also comes into play. If you have never attempted a flea-flicker in a game but the people around did it last season then you rely on their confidence to increase your belief of success. Individuals in a team setting feed off of the confidence around them through verbal and non-verbal cues that are highly subconscious but very effective.

Knowing that efficacy is the greatest determinant in behavior gives the player and coach a foundation for their training. Achieving desired results stems from a practice plan built around increasing the individual efficacy through mastery as well as using more skilled players as examples to create vicarious efficacy. More important than building up physical conditioning or memorizing tactics is building up efficacy in each player so they believe they can accomplish their task in any situation.  

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Even seasoned professionals wear their mental state on their sleave so to speak. Often times lost with their snazzy outfits and space age equipment is their posture. The two biggest tells can be found in their head position and their shoulder height.

When faced with anxiety and stress the body automatically resorts to preprogrammed fight or flight responses. Due to social practices in golf, running away or fighting is not appropriate so other channels for release must be found. Socially acceptable channels most often revolve around tensing up and releasing the emotional stress throughout the body.

As your favorite players make their way around the final 36 holes pay special attention first to their chin. As the body tenses due to stress it is a natural reaction to conceal the jugular by lowering the chin. This response effects the spine angle and results in players blocking the ball sending it to the right for right-handed players. The second area of focus is the shoulders. Again, as the body tenses their is a natural reaction to flex the trapezoidal muscles and raise the shoulders. This keeps the arms from moving freely and allows the body to move faster than the hands sending the ball to the left for right-handed players.

So as you watch golf’s greatest, look for how they hold their pressure. And when you hit the links be aware of the tension in your body. If you relax and have fun then you will play better and have more fun.

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