By Jesse Haas & Eric Martin
(April 4, 2022)

Coaches and players alike have all witnessed incredible moments in sport. Examples include when Lebron James blocked Andre Igoudala in the last 3 minutes of the 2016 NBA Finals to win his first championship with the Cavaliers, when Roger Federer claimed his record-breaking 15th major in the finals of Wimbledon with world-renowned shot-making, and when Tom Brady came back in the second half of Super Bowl LI from a 28-3 deficit to win his 5th Super Bowl ring. How are these athletes able to perform at such a high level during these important moments? While the complete answer to this question is not a simple one, the ability of great athletes to achieve a higher level of performance during key stages of competition should push us to look closer at the psychological phenomenon that is flow. This post will center around understanding flow and then providing ideas for how you as a coach can implement strategies to help your athletes experience flow at any level.

Flow has two main components: focus and enjoyment. The father of flow, Mihalyi Csikzentmihalyi (1990) explained that during flow the athlete is completely engrossed in the activity. Interestingly, this high degree of focus is not achieved through sheer willpower. Rather, this focus is achieved through an enjoyable and challenging experience where the athlete is so infatuated with the task at hand, that there is no room for doubt or concern. During flow, sport feels easy and effortless, oftentimes resulting in exceptionally high performance.

Considering a flow experience is achieved during high levels of focus and enjoyment, how do we as coaches create an environment which fosters flow in our athletes?

• Frist, practices that are easy or opponents that are too weak will likely be an insufficient challenge to stimulate flow. This is not to say that success in these circumstances is entirely a bad thing – we all have experienced the effect convincing wins can have on an athlete’s confidence. However, in circumstances where the athlete is not challenged, flow is unlikely to occur. If your player or team faces an opponent that is not challenging, as a coach one strategy is to help remove your player’s focus from the easily obtainable competition result and instead refocus them on a specific challenging task. For example, a cross country star who will likely win a race by a great margin should not focus on winning the race as her opponents will not be an adequate challenge. Instead, this athlete’s coach should cue her into her own racing strategy and technical cues to allow her to remain challenged despite the lopsided race, thus giving her an opportunity for a flow experience.

• Second, considering that enjoyment is another key factor in achieving flow, activities that an athlete does not enjoy will also limit flow opportunities. By promoting enjoyment and engagement on a consistent basis, while still ensuring a challenging environment, you are giving your athlete’s the opportunity to practice the state of mind needed for a flow experience. This may look different for every team and athlete but one surefire way to move towards a more enjoyable environment is to help your athletes actively search for enjoyment. This may seem obvious, but in sports culture it can be so easy to save the celebration for only winning. In reality, there are hundreds of ‘enjoyment opportunities’ in every single practice; every correct route a receiver runs, every successful dig from a libero, and every snap in a catcher’s glove is a chance to have fun and enjoy the experience. It’s not always about creating new fancy drills in every practice, simply cueing your athletes into the little victories can make a world of difference in how they are experiencing enjoyment in their sport, which in turn impacts their ability to achieve flow.

By understanding the importance of focus and enjoyment in achieving flow, you will be more equipped to aid in providing flow opportunities to your athletes.

In addition to the two main components of flow, Csikzentmihalyi (1990) demonstrated there are 7 key elements in achieving flow which is organized into two behavioral categories: Automation and Assurance. It is important to note that regardless of how well you as a coach optimize your athlete’s environment to promote Assurance and Automation qualities if the task is not challenging enough to achieve a high level of focus or your athlete does not enjoy what they are doing, then all other efforts are likely to be futile.

Automation

The first key characteristic athletes may benefit from developing, is an ability to become ‘automatic.’ Automation is not a new concept to coaches, however, far too often coaches try to cue athletes into an automatic state through comments such as “stop thinking so much” or even more basic instructions like “that needs to be automatic.” If only it were as simple as speaking the conscious mind into submission. So instead of these sayings, here are some ways to help your athletes become more automatic while performing.

• Help the athlete avoid self-evaluation when optimal performance is the goal. An effective method to facilitate an automatic competition mindset is to remove the micro-evaluations that often occur throughout a competition. For example, consider removing evaluative words such as “good” and “bad” when discussing a previous play or any discussion of performance during competition. Instead, keep these intra-competition talks strategic, supportive, and motivational. By doing so, you help to keep the athlete focused on the task at hand.
• Another method to reduce self-evaluation during competition is to promote the athlete’s perception of control. Give athletes opportunities to call plays and help them create routines which can be relied on during pressure moments.
• Lastly, avoid introducing new strategies during competition. Familiarity is key to Automation, you want athletes to feel like they can ‘do this in their sleep.’ Trying something new without proper preparation is likely to limit your athlete’s automatic quality.

Assurance

The second key characteristic in achieving flow -assurance – can be defined as confidence in the athlete’s own ability and clarity in their objectives. A flow experience requires both confidence and clarity. Confidence without clarity will not allow for adequate engrossment and engagement in the activity. The same can be said for clarity without confidence, which may lead to a harsh critical voice and an over-analysis of the athlete’s own performance. As a coach, there are two simple actions you can take to build both confidence and clarity in your athletes.

• Start by reinforcing your belief in your players. Confidence comes from many sources, winning and ability being two of the most potent, however, one often overlooked source is the confidence a coach can build in their players. Whether you are aware of it or not, your players worry about your opinion. This reinforcement does not have to be 30-minute conversation about all the things you love about your players. Instilling confidence in your players can be as simple as a few words of encouragement during a practice, scrimmage, or competition. By reinforcing that you believe in your player’s ability, you will allow for less of the athlete’s mental focus to be directed towards concerns regarding your approval and more focus dedicated towards their own optimal performance.

• Create and rehearse your game plan. Regardless of the sport, there are fundamental patterns that are commonly experienced during competition. Give athletes the opportunity to develop clarity regarding situational elements they are likely to experience during a competition including planned responses to scoring situations, environmental obstacles, and tactical positions. The saying ‘Practice makes perfect’—is a good one to live by and allowing athletes opportunities to practice common aspects of competition, they will attain greater confidence and clarity which will allow for a higher-level of focus on the competition itself.

As a coach, helping your players achieve assurance across multiple aspects of the competition is a crucial ingredient in giving your athletes the opportunity to achieve flow.

You are now equipped with the tools to create an environment promoting flow. Regardless of the level, you are coaching at, flow can be achieved by your athletes, which in turn can have a major impact on their performance and sports satisfaction. In summary, remember that for flow to take place your athlete needs to enjoy what they are doing and be sufficiently challenged. Second, help your athlete avoid self-evaluation by removing evaluative words during competition. In addition, seek out ways to promote your athlete’s perception of control. Lastly, look for opportunities to create assurance in your athletes by reinforcing your belief in your players and giving ample opportunities for athletes to practice situational assurance.

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper and Row, New York.