Day 19 : Mental Training

My 365 Blog Challenge:  Day 19/365

This summer I had the opportunity to coach a 7th/8th grade summer softball team.  During this time I was also training for a half-marathon and was very curious about mental training, both for myself as a runner and as a coach.  I started using it a little with my players this summer and it is something I want to incorporate more into my coaching.  My players thought I was crazy when we used imagery exercises, but we did see results. More importantly, it helped us focus on the process instead of the outcome. 

I follow experts in the field of Mental Training on Twitter and read blogs in order to learn how to implement these ideas into my life.  One tip that I often hear is to have players focus on one thing they want to work on during practice. After seeing this advice a few times I started wondering how I can implement this in my class room.  Why is school something forced on students and not something students are taught to strive towards each day? Now, I can easily see some of my students saying "nothing" when I ask them what they are going to focus on during class.  At the same time, I can also see some of my students thinking very hard about it.  Imagine the power if students were focused more on learning than just getting thru the day. 

This week I had a third grader refuse to play guitar (I play the chords and they strum) and his first question was would he get a zero. If I would have said yes, he would have agreed to play the guitar (I am working very hard not to use grades as a punishment, so I said he would miss a cool opportunity). It is heartbreaking to me that a student this young is already focused on the grade. All he is thinking about is the outcome. Now, in terms of behavior, this is what we want. We want our students to think about the possible outcomes of their choices. As a learner, we should be focused on the process of learning.  This may be why this is a hard skill for students and people in general. In one situation we ask them to think about the result (behavior) and in the other we ask them to focus on the process (learning). 

I want my students to be excited about learning and I want them to focus on the process, not the results. I know I cannot instill this philosophy in one day, but I can continually use the language of mental training to teach these new behaviors.  My students should be working hard and reflecting on their learning. Learning is an active process it is not something that happens to you.  As a teacher, it is also important to use the concepts of mental training.  I need to make sure I am focused on the process of teaching and do not get bogged down with just the results.  

Do you use mental training as a coach, teacher or person?  I would love to hear from you!