Research Shows Younger Children Unable to Understand Negative Feedback

Research published in the Journal of Neuroscience says that 8-9 year old children learn radically different from 11-13 year olds and adults.[1]  The difference relates to how children of different ages process negative and positive feedback.

According to researchers, 8-9 year old children respond disproportionally inaccurately to negative feedback whereas the opposite is true in 12 year olds.  As negative feedback generally signals a need to adjust current behavior, the younger children have a more difficult time interpreting it.  The ability to make the interpretive leap necessary to respond accurately to negative feedback appears to develop as children become closer to the age of 11.

This information can have significant consequences for volleyball coaches teaching children under twelve.

The research, Evaluating the Negative or Valuing the Positive?  Neural Mechanisms Supporting Feedback-Based Learning Across Development is available at the Journal of Neuroscience website here.

NOTES

[1]  von Duijvenvoorde, A., Zanolie, K., Rombouts, S., Raijmakers, M., Crone, E. (2008).  Evaluating the Negative or Valuing the Positive?  Neural Mechanisms Supporting Feedback-Based Learning Across Development.  The Journal of Neuroscience 28(38) : 9495-9503.  

Reading Revisited: The Challenge of Reading Left-Handers in Volleyball

Last year I wrote about teaching the skill of "reading" in volleyball and posited that we coaches need to spend a lot more practice time teaching this skill to our players by (a) creating practice environments that afford the players game-like reading opportunities; and (b) teaching players what cues to look for and what they mean by giving effective feedback.  Here's an update.

Reading Can Be Taught

Whether we call it the "premier skill" in the game (Hugh McCutcheon) or the "most important skill" (John Kessel), it is by now settled that the skill of reading is in fact trainable and not some mystical innate talent.[1]  When we see volleyball players who always seem to be in the right place, it is because they have advanced cognitive perceptual skills developed from proper training.  A player's ability to forecast the future of the game by seeing, interpreting and responding to the visual cues presented by it is borne of deliberate practice with effective feedback in a game-like training environment. 

So why are we re-visting this great subject of reading in volleyball?  Well, the last six months has produced some very interesting research on the subject that can improve our knowledge of the game and help all of us to coach better.

The Lefty Advantage in Sports

In the last decade and a half research has shown that left handed athletes present considerable difficulties for their opponents in interactive sports.[2]  Lefties are overrepresented in many sports (as compared to their presence in the general population) and their left handedness appears to give them an advantage over their opponents.[3]  The "advantage" seems to be their opponents' greater difficulty in predicting the left-hander's behavior.  For example, soccer goalkeepers have been shown to have a more difficult time predicting ball direction for left-footed opponents,[4] and tennis athletes (regardless of their own handedness) have shown themselves to be better at predicting the direction stroke of right handed as opposed to left-handed opponents.[5]  Researchers have supposed that one explanation for this phenomenon is that players have less experience with left-handed opponents and therefore lack familiarity with their techniques and strategies, leaving opponents to act (react) the same as when faced with a right-hander.[6]  The hypothesis is referred to as the "negative perceptual frequency effect."

Reading Left -Handers in Volleyball

So this takes us to the sport of volleyball.  In a game where the premier skill of the players is accurately predicting the action of opponents, do lefties still maintain an advantage by being less "readable" than their right-handed counterparts?  A study recently published in the journal of Attention, Perception & Psychophysics says "yes."[7] 

To test the negative perceptual frequency effect in the sport of volleyball, researchers invited 18 expert and 18 novice volleyball athletes to predict the shot direction of left- and right-handed attacks.  Participants predicted the outcome of attacks using a video-based occlusion model.  To control the amount of advance visual information (and identify its importance to reading) footage of the attacks was occluded at three different time points: (a) 4 frames prior to hand contact with the ball, (b) 2 frames prior to hand contact, and (c) moment of contact.  Consistent with earlier research, participants performed more poorly predicting the shot direction of left handers, i.e., the lefties were more difficult to read.  Moreover, "the left-right bias" was most distinct when participants were required to make reads based on pre-contact cues (before contact with the ball).  According to the authors, "[t]he study’s findings corroborate the assumption that skilled visual perception is attuned to more frequently encountered actions."

Neutralizing the Left-Hander's Volleyball Advantage

So what can we coaches do with this information?  We must train in reality.  As long as left handed volleyball players continue to play the game we must expose our athletes to more left handed attacks.  We must make familiar what is unfamiliar.  If you have lefties on the team, give them a few extra swings and play defense against their attack.  Let the left handed players hit even if they're not your "hitters."  The training will be good for your defensive players and every player on the team, particularly at the junior level, should have a basic proficiency in attacking anyway.

Coach eye sequencing for your defenders and design drills that allow you to coach them while they perform in a pass-set-hit environment.  Do your defenders use the same eye sequence for lefties and righties?  Watch and coach them.  Ask your players what they see when facing the left-handed attack.  Is it the same as for righties?  Engage your athletes in a dialogue and help guide their discovery; you might find that your players are not focusing on the right kinematic cues against the lefties.  It wouldn't be the first time.  An early study from 1983 that examined the visual search behavior of German volleyball players found that participants incorrectly focused on the right arm and shoulder of attackers even when they were left handed.[8]

The available evidence suggests that the key to neutralizing the "left-handers advantage" is to design practices that promote exposure to lefty tactics and techniques.  This makes intuitive sense and is supported by the most recent research on the subject.[9]  Researchers successfully reversed the negative perception frequency effect in a study published in February by exposing participants to a perceptual training program that improved their reading skills against left-handers.  Apparently anything can be learned with the right kind and amount of practice.

One of our many tasks as coaches is to identify and improve weaknesses in our players and teams.  As the skill of reading plays a critical role in achieving success in volleyball, we have a heightened responsibility to guide our players' development in this area.  Coaches who creatively help athletes become better readers against all attackers are being good for and good to their players and also helping to raise the level of the game in all gyms.

NOTES:

[1]  See Farrow, D. (2008). Reading the play in team sports: yes it’s trainable. Australian Institute of Sport Coaching Magazine; Abernethy, B., Wood, J.M., and Parks, S. (1999). Can the anticipatory skills of experts be learned by novices? Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 70, 313-318.

[2]  Grouis, G., Koidou, I., Tsorbatzoudis, H., and Alexandris, K., (2002).  Handedness in sport.  Journal of Human Movement Studies, 43, 347-361.

[3] Lefties Have Element of Surprise in Sport, Discovery News (Apr. 26, 2012) (available at http://news.discovery.com/adventure/left-handed-athletes-sports-120426.html) (last visited September 26, 2012).

[4] McMorris, T., & Colenso, S. (1996). Anticipation of professional soccer goalkeepers when facing right- and left-footed penalty kicks. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 82, 931–934.

[5] Hagemann, N. (2009).  The advantage of being left-handed in interactive sports. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 71, 1641–1648.

[6] See, e.g., Loffing, Hagemann, N., & Strauss, B. (2010).  Automated processes in tennis: Do left-handed players benefit from the tactical preferences of their opponents?  Journal of Sports Sciences, 28, 435-443.

[7] Loffing, F., Schorer, J., Hagemann, N., Baker, J., (2012).  On the advantage of being left-handed in volleyball: further evidence of the specificity of skilled visual perception.  Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 74, 446-453.

[8] Neumaier, A. (1983). Beobachtungsstrategien und Antizipation beider Abwehr von Volleyballangriffen. [Observational strategies and anticipation during the defence of attacks in volleyball.].  Leistungssport, 13, 5–10 (cited in Loffing, F., Schorer, J., Hagemann, N., Baker, J., (2012).  On the advantage of being left-handed in volleyball: further evidence of the specificity of skilled visual perception.  Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 74, 446-453).

[9] Loffing, F., Schorer, J., Hagemann, N., Baker, J., (2012).  Human handedness in interactive situations: Negative perceptual frequency effects can be reversed!  Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 74, 446-453 (participants underwent a perceptual training program to improve their reading skills against left-handers).

Lessons in Coaching From the Morning News - Train in Reality

As usual I spent my morning catching up on sports scores and watching player and coach press conferences. I like to watch press conferences because a lot can be learned from listening to coaches at the top of their profession - and when there isn't much to be learned, there's always the possibility of being entertained.

Win-Win.

As I read the sports pages this morning, it struck me how many great coaching lessons were presented in the stories and interviews covering yesterday's games. Here is just one lesson from this morning's coverage that can have an immediate impact on how we coach our volleyball teams and run our programs.

CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL

The Mind-set

As most readers know, the NFL locked out its regular professional officials amidst a labor dispute and hired replacement officials to work the games. Complaints about the replacement officials have grown each week since. The controversy seemed to have reached a crescendo yesterday in the third week of this "experiment." Last night, the New England Patriots lost a close game to the Baltimore Ravens in what many people think was an extremely poorly officiated game (I watched the game and I agree).

Questionable calls went against both teams, caused delays and some say disrupted the "flow" of the game as well.  So I thought it would be interesting to hear what the Patriots coaches and players had to say about losing the game. In the coverage I discovered some great lessons for players and coaches in dealing with adversity and controlling what you can control.

Devin McCourty: (on all of the flags thrown) “It’s a football game and we can’t control that. If a flag is thrown, that’s something that we can’t worry about. It’s a big game and we wanted to get this win. It’s simple, you have to go, and execute, and practice and get better.”

Tom Brady: (on the penalties affecting the game) “I don’t have any control over that, so I just try to do my job.”

Rob Gronkowski: (on all of the controversial calls) “It really doesn’t matter.”

[Source: http://www.patriots.com/news/article-1/Patriots-Postgame-Quotes---9232012/96ea746a-0af8-4892-91d7-664b63f5c07a]

As I read these comments I am again inspired to attain the level of coaching that produces players with this mind-set. Too often our (or our players') dialogue focuses on things outside of our control, i.e., "This or that call cost us the game." As coaches, our role requires us to develop a culture of responsibility that produces a dialogue focused on performance, not excuses. We can control only our own performance and that should be our focus. If we all perform just 2% better we will dramatically reduce the effects of "bad calls," "bad breaks" and randomness in the game.

As Deion Branch stated: (on the number of controversial calls) “It’s not the first time we’ve played in a game with a lot of controversial calls. It was happening on both sides of the ball. I’m sure they were upset about some of those calls too. But honestly, when we’re doing what we do best, we take the game out of the referees’ hands.”  

Training in Reality

For so long as football -- or volleyball -- is played there will be bad calls. So what can us coaches do about it? The answer is simple: we can't change the calls but we can limit their impact by training in reality.  Coaches should be training players to deal with bad calls in the practice gym.  Make some poor calls in your scrimmages.  Call balls out that are in, call balls in that are out. Intentionally miss touch calls and even screw up the score every now and then.  These practice experiences will give your players valuable opportunities to train in the reality of the game.  Sports scientists call this "state dependent learning." I prefer to call it training in reality.

Science of Patience in Beach Volleyball Defense

Frank Partnoy's new book, Wait: The Art and Science of Delay, is a good read for beach volleyball coaches - though it is not (necessarily) about coaching or volleyball.   

Exploring the role of delay in decision-making, Partnoy makes a case that despite our conventional thinking on the benefits of quick decisions, those who bide their time perform best.  Drawing on research in neuroscience, behavioral economics, psychology, finance, law and sports, Partnoy suggests that the best performers wait the longest to make their decisions, using the additional time to gather as much information as possible before acting.  He even uses examples from baseball and tennis to show how athletes in those sports take extra time to process the flight of the ball before responding to it.  The insight is that even when very little time is available, delay before responding is worth the information gained and will ultimately produce a better result.

For a volleyball coach like me, Partnoy's emphasis on information gathering as a key to good decision-making makes me think a lot about how we teach (and play) defense on the beach. 

With only two players per team, the game of beach volleyball places tremendous pressure on athletes to defend a large portion of the court.  This pressure creates a perceived need to be overly quick.  The pressure felt is even greater in younger athletes who have yet to learn that their defense must "give something up."  Thus inexperienced players often make the mistake of being too active on defense, i.e., they move too early and guess what shot will be made, resulting in a very less than optimal defensive position.  

In Partnoy's terms, these athletes could benefit from delayed decision-making while they learn to gather information about how to respond.  In coaching terms, they need to be better taught how to "read" from a stopped, balanced and patient position.  The good news is that these appear to be two sides of the same coin.  Our mission is to continue to teach our young beach volleyball players what to look at, what to look for and how to interpret those cues to predict what is about to happen in the game.

For this coach too it is comforting to know that what we teach from experience has a scientific basis as well. Follow @WayneDHolly

Maximize Practice Time By Eliminating Static Stretching

It's properly been observed for volleyball coaches that, "practice is the battle you must win."  (Hugh McCutcheon, U.S. National Women's Team Coach).  To win the practice battle, coaches must maximize the time they have with their players and follow sound principles of teaching through the practice session.  In this post, we'll talk about maximizing practice time by eliminating static stretching from your practice routines.

You’re ready to begin practice but the team needs to "warm-up."  So they walk out to the court, sit down in a circle and begin a series of static stretches ostensibly designed to get them ready to practice volleyball.  Right?  Wrong.  Waste of time.

Science of Static Stretching 
Current research demonstrates that static stretching prior to dynamic activities like playing volleyball decreases motor unit recruitment, motor unit synchronization and rate of force production.  In other words, stretching before practice inhibits performance and does not reduce injury.

In 2004, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study that reviewed 361 other research studies on stretching and concluded that there was no evidence that stretching before or after exercise prevents injury or muscle soreness [1].

In a more recent study conducted by kinesiology researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all [2].

In fact, there's evidence that static stretching actually decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent.
According to research conducted by the Tudor Bompa Institute, static stretching causes the muscle to lengthen, which interferes with its ability to recoil or contract forcefully.  The result of this stretching for volleyball players is that they experience a loss of power production. [3]  So please eliminate static stretching from costing you the first 10 minutes of every practice.

But even if you're not convinced by the stuffy scientific journals, at least be persuaded by the wisdom of what USA Volleyball's John Kessel calls the "recess rule," according to which "you sit 2 hours then go full bore for 15 min, no problem."

Have you ever seen kids stretch before they go to recess?  Of course not.  They don't want to waste recess time.  Exactly.  So, no more static stretching; it doesn't make the players safer and doesn't help their performance.  Get rid of the routine and extend your practice by 10 minutes.

Sources:
[1]  The results are published in the March 2004 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise.
[2]  Samuel, M., Holcolm, W., Acute Effects of Static and Ballistic Stretching on Measures of Strength and Power, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 22(5): 1422-1428 (Sept. 2008)).
[3]  Gary Rothbart, The Effects of Stretching on Power Output for Volleyball Players, December 2011 <www.optimumfit.ca/effects-of-stretching-volleyball.html>

[Originally published March 26, 2012] Follow @WayneDHolly

Five Elements of Drill Design to Improve Your Practices

For coaches everywhere trying to improve their practices here's a few elements of drill design excerpted from my coaching manual written for staff at the CT Velocity Volleyball Club.

To ensure game-like drills and increase transfer coaches should very frequently include the following structures in their drill designs for practice:

Hitters attacking against a block.  A hitter’s first responsibility is to beat the block.  Whether this is done by hitting off the block or hitting around it, players will learn this skill only in a practice environment that includes hitters and blockers.  The existence of the block is essential to providing hitters with the feedback they will need to develop game-like attacking skills.  Allowing hitters to hit on an open net does not prepare players to beat or utilize the block in a game.*

Setters setting live passes.   Setters should be setting live passes, rather than tosses, from varying angles on the court so they are prepared from their practice experience to do what they will need to

do in a game.  Be sure to have passes coming from zones 5, 6 and 1 (at least) so the setters can see in practice the angles they will see in games.

Initiate balls over the net.  Drills and games should be initiated with balls coming/going over the net.  Players need to develop in practice the visual motor skill of locating a moving volleyball in space, reading its path and determining where to meet it in space and time under conditions that resemble the game of volleyball.  This means that players need to read balls coming over the net at random angles, heights and speeds because this is what happens in a game.  Since the game does not require players to play balls tossed in from the sideline coaches should not train this skill.  Balls can be initiated over the net by serves, free-balls, down-balls, spikes and tips.

Players initiate rather than coaches.  Balls should be initiated over the net by players rather than coaches because this allows the players more contacts and affords the players reading opportunities more realistic to the games they play.  A coach-toss or entry here is acceptable to the player(s) who are going to initiate over the net.  For example, if Team B is to receive a free ball in your drill, bounce a ball to Team A, and require they free the ball over the net.  This adds a free ball contact to Team A’s practice experience and affords Team B a game-like opportunity to read that free-ball from a player who is likely more similar to an opponent than is the coach.

Servers play defense.  Servers should be running into a defensive position on the court after each practice serve because that is what they need to do in a game.  This practice makes serving more game-like, reinforces the need to get into the court quickly, creates opportunities to teach the base position and can be a conditioning exercise as well.

 *Hitting on an open net may be game-like for some novice levels of play.  In this case coaches should utilize a combination of blocking and non-blocking in their practice designs.  This will promote transfer by teaching hitters how to attack against the conditions they experience in the game (no block) while also giving opportunities to develop the skills that will prepare them for the next level of play (blocking)."

[Originally published February 11, 2012] Follow @WayneDHolly

Five Random Tips on Effective Coaching Communication

As we move closer to a new season of club volleyball, it seems like a good time to review some ways we all can coach better.  So here's some observations based on my own mistakes and those of others in the high school, club and college game.

Ask Questions

Sometimes coaches think they always have to be giving instruction - because they're the coach.  The truth is sometimes the best way to teach is to ask a question.   No I'm not talking about asking "gotcha" questions like you're grilling a law student with the Socratic method.  I'm talking about putting aside the instruction sometimes and simply asking a player, "How did you see that play?"

The ensuing discussion can be a great way to teach because players learn better when they have a role in arriving at solutions.  So go ahead and ask questions, guide the players where you want them to go and allow them to discover the answers themselves.

Praise Effort Not Talent or Intelligence

A growing body of research is building that there is no such thing as innate talent; that expertise is acquired through exhaustive, purposeful and deliberate attempts to get better - a process called "deliberate practice."  (For two excellent books on the subject, I recommend Daniel Coyle's, The Talent Code and Geoff Colvin's Talent is Overrated).

So, what does this have to do with giving some good 'ole fashioned praise in the gym?  Everything.
Apparently, what social scientists are learning is that when we constantly praise children (players) for their talent or intelligence, they begin to think that their success is due to innate ability and so underestimate the importance of effort.  According to ten years of research conducted by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, these children (players) also tend to give up quickly without sufficient effort to improve.  They think they're not naturally good at it, so why bother trying?  On the other hand, the correct kind of praise, which focuses on effort and performance can be a positive, motivating force that conditions children (players) to improve what they can control - their effort.  (The research is summarized in Po Bronson, How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise).

Ok, great.  So what does this mean for coaching communication?  It means we have to watch our words more closely when we're communicating with our athletes.  We need to praise the process not the result.  Instead of saying, "you're such a great player," try saying, "great effort in moving your feet to the ball."  Instead of "you're naturally good at defense," say "you've obviously worked hard at this."

The key is to focus specifically on the work or effort involved in the performance rather than on concepts such as greatness, talent or intelligence.  You'll be a better coach for it and your players will reap the rewards.

Encourage Positive Errors
While we're on the subject of handing out praise, let's start encouraging the "positive errors" in the game over the negative kind.  What is a positive error?  Serving the ball too long is a positive error.  Sure, the outcome is a point for the opponent but in terms of mistakes it's a good one because by NOT serving the ball into the net (a negative error), we've created an opportunity for the opponent to play it and for the official to rule it in.  The negative mistake of serving into the net rules out those possibilities and requires no judgment or performance from the opponent at all.

There are many other examples of positive errors in the game.  Hitters attacking over the net and out of bounds are making a positive error while hitters attacking into the net are making a negative error.  By attacking over the net, you might get a touch call off the block; you cause defensive players to make judgments about "in or out;" and sometimes the ball just hits someone from the other team while it's flying toward the back wall.  From a spikers perspective, those are all good things that might happen just because she hit the ball over - rather than into (the negative error) - the net.

Control Your Emotions

Outward displays of disappointment or frustration during a match do not help your team learn or perform better.  It's simple, your role as a coach deprives you of the right to outwardly express your frustrations during a match.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't feel disappointed or frustrated.  When you work all week preparing for a match and then don't perform well in a losing effort - that's extremely disappointing and you have every right to feel that way (guess what - the players feel that way too). But what you can't do is yell and scream, throw your clipboard, toss your arms in the air, slap the bench, roll your eyes and pace the sideline venting your feelings at your team.  That's not being a coach.  That's being a jerk.

One of the best and most productive sacrifices you will make for your team is controlling your emotions and instilling confidence in your players at times when they most need it.

Say Nothing

Silence in coaching is waaaayyyy underrated.  Remember, you're not being paid by the word and many situations just don't call for your instruction and correction.  Of course, the art of coaching is to recognize when you're in one of those situations and when you're not.

Many times, I have managed to not figure that out.  One time we managed to get it right was unforgettable.
Our middle blocker had just served a bullet down the sideline, which the opposing player passed back over the net and about 3 feet out of bounds.  Well, it would have landed out of bounds except our server dutifully followed it to the sideline, pursued it out of bounds and then caught the ball, obviously figuring that would get her back to the service line quicker than waiting for it to fall.

The inevitable lift call was made amidst a jubilant celebration by our opponent (and I'll add a ridiculous display of call-begging by the opposing coach whom by this time had lost all sense of decorum).  As our player sheepishly walked back to the bench, clearly embarrassed, there was nothing for me to add.  This was not a "teachable moment" where I needed to step in and explain not to catch the ball.  She knew that.  The best course of action was to keep my mouth shut and give her a high five.

[Originally published November 2, 2011]