As parents and coaches of youth athletes, we walk a fine line in our
communications with our emerging superstars about their abilities. What
may sound like a great pat on the back, (“that was amazing how you just
knew to make that pass – you’ve really got a knack for this sport”),
may actually limit their future development and motivation, according to
two development psychologists.
It all goes back to the fundamental debate in talent development of
any kind. Are we born with certain skills and expertise or do we
develop it with years of structured practice? Researchers have argued
along the entire spectrum of this question while practitioners have
settled somewhere in the middle. Even if kids start with some genetic
advantages, they still need plenty of practice time to achieve
greatness.
Committing to those years of training requires the right mindset and
belief that those hours on the field or court will actually help. The
best teachers have learned this in the classroom by convincing students
that they are in control of their development rather than being labeled
“smart” or “not smart.”
Jim Stigler, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan,
saw this first hand years ago when visiting classrooms in Japan. In a
recent
NPR Morning Edition segment,
he told the story of observing a fourth grade math class and one
student’s breakthrough. The teacher asked one student who had been
struggling to draw a three-dimensional cube to go to the chalkboard, in
front of the whole class, and give it a try.
After a few minutes of failure in front of his peers, Stigler waited
for the poor student to break down. ”I realized that I was sitting
there starting to perspire,” Stigler remembered, “because I was really
empathizing with this kid. I thought, ‘This kid is going to break into
tears!’ ”
However, with his classmates encouragement, he finally got it right
and was rewarded with applause and a real sense of accomplishment when
he returned to his seat.
Now, as a researcher in learning theory, Stigler draws comparisons
between this style of learning and what is seen in most American
classrooms. “I think that from very early ages we [in America] see
struggle as an indicator that you’re just not very smart,” Stigler said.
“It’s a sign of low ability — people who are smart don’t struggle, they
just naturally get it, that’s our folk theory. Whereas in Asian
cultures they tend to see struggle more as an opportunity.”
Our youth sports culture is similar to the classroom. Kids who are
divided into “A” or “B” teams at an early age are taught that their
development path is set; the skills they have now are the same skills
they will have in the future. It becomes a self-fulfilling cycle as the
“A” teams get better coaching, play in the better leagues against
better competition and the talent gap widens.
Often, parents can also, unknowingly, contribute to this cycle. As
in school, when a child is told that his or her success is due to his
brain not his effort, the perception begins that when they do eventually
struggle with a math test or a tougher opponent, there is little they
can do to improve.
Jin Li, a psychology professor at Brown University, has also been
studying cultural differences in learning and teaching. One of her
research projects recorded conversations between parents and children to
hear the language used. There were subtle differences between American
and Asian parents when complimenting their kids. While the Americans
praised with phrases like, “you’re so smart”, Asian parents focused on
the struggle, “you’ve worked so hard on learning that and now you did
it.”
“So the focus is on the process of persisting through it despite the
challenges, not giving up, and that’s what leads to success,” Li said in
the same NPR interview.
Every young athlete will face challenges as they move up the ladder
from youth clubs to high school to college. Instilling them with the
belief that they can improve through hard work will keep them motivated
to get to the other side of the wall. Their support team of parents and
coaches can help this process by rewarding the learning process.
“Think about that [kind of behavior] spread over a lifetime,” Stigler concluded. “That’s a big difference.”
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