FOCUS ON PROCESS

A technique to improve the quality of sports practices.

If you want to give your athletes the best chance to succeed, then you should place more emphasis on the process than the end result. If your athletes play well on a consistent basis, winning takes care of itself. You can’t control winning, you can only control how well you play the game. Winning is a byproduct of playing well.

A great way to emphasize the importance of the process is to give your athletes "Process Performance Cards" after a practice or competition. These cards get the athletes to think about how they played and what elements are within their control.

They also open the door for productive communication about performance between the coach and the athlete. If the athlete is being too hard or too easy on him or herself, it will show on the cards.

Below is an example of a Process Performance Card for a baseball pitcher. If a pitcher can grade himself highly on these questions, he is giving himself the best chance to pitch successfully.

Name:

Date:

Game:

Please grade yourself on a scale of 1 - 10. (1 = Worst, 10 = Best.)

How in control of your pitching were you today?

How would you grade your commitment to each pitch that you threw today?

How would you grade the clarity of your plan for each pitch?

How would you grade your awareness and recognition of when you were getting a little out of control (based on your ability to step off of the mound and go to your focal point)?

How would you rate the quality of your pitches today?

How would you rate the overall quality of your preparation today?

How would you rate your overall performance today?

Did you have a successful pitching performance today?