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6 Ways Coaches Can Facilitate Peer Pressure for Good

  • September 1, 2020
  • Leadership
Coaches

Dr. Deborah Gilboa headshotContent Warning: This article contains mentions of bullying.

Peer pressure is often viewed automatically as a negative: It’s shown in TV shows, movies, and books as what the ‘bad kids’ do in order to convince ‘good kids’ to break the rules. But in the right contexts, peer pressure can be a leadership tool that’s used for positive outcomes.

Board-certified family physician and TrueSport Expert Deborah Gilboa, MD, specializes in youth development and knows that young athletes flourish when allowed to take on leadership roles, but she also points out that coaches still have a pivotal part to play in developing effective and positive leaders.

Below, Gilboa explains how to use your team’s social dynamics to improve and strengthen relationships and teamwork.

 

Peer Pressure is Inherently Neutral

“Peer pressure isn’t inherently positive or negative,” says Gilboa. “It’s leadership: Kindergarten teachers use peer pressure all the time. They say, ‘I like how Tommy is sitting on his square and waiting patiently with his hands in his lap, and then all of the other kids go sit quietly with their hands in their lap, thinking ‘Notice me next!’”

This is the same reason that parents prefer their children hang out with friends with good habits. “Every time we put our kids into a study group, onto a team, or into an extracurricular activity, it’s because we recognize the power of social bonding to influence kids’ behavior,” she adds.

 

Create Leadership Opportunities

6 Ways Coaches Can Facilitate Peer Pressure for GoodHarnessing that positive peer pressure as a coach means focusing on the current team dynamics and using ‘social mapping.’ Social mapping—figuring out which athletes have the most social credibility and power—can help a coach decide who to put in charge of warm-up drills, who to ask to do demonstrations, or who can lead the team during a game.

Look for athletes who have that social power and who exemplify the behavior and attitude you want to see from everyone on the team. Encourage those athletes to lead.

 

Differentiate Between Leaders and Bullies

Young white boy sitting on soccer field alone, view from behind.It can be challenging to keep social pressure trending positively, especially with a team that’s constantly acting out. Be aware of the warning signs of bullying, since peer pressure can turn negative. In fact, Gilboa notes that most peer pressure situations can be positive or negative simply depending on context, so you do have to pay close attention to the social cues and the intent behind leadership behaviors.

 

Use Your Own Social Cache

Whether you believe it or not, you’re the most powerful person at a team practice as the coach. “I tell mentors all the time that as a coach, as a counselor, as an adult, you actually have the most power. You’re the coolest kid in the room. The kids want your attention. They want your approval. They want your admiration,” Gilboa says.

That means you have the ability to use peer pressure the same way a kindergarten teacher would—just focus on the positives. “Point out to the group when an athlete is doing something right,” says Gilboa. “But when you’re correcting someone or pointing out a mistake, try to do so to the individual rather than the whole group.”

 

Teach Respect Over Popularity 

Male volleyball coach talking with a variety of teen girls.Social cache and popularity aren’t always one and the same, and that applies to your status as a coach. “We can’t focus on popularity. If we focus on popularity, then kids’ respect for us will actually decrease,” Gilboa explains.

Instead, focus on gaining their respect and your popularity will slowly over time go up, says Gilboa. “If you think about middle school teachers, the ones who were popular were really only popular with certain kids. The ones who are well-respected, even if they were tough, are generally respected by everyone.”

 

Purpose, Attitude, and Behavior

Utilizing positive peer pressure comes down to three tenants: purpose, attitude, and behavior. “Teach athletes that you can always control your purpose, your attitude, and your behavior,” Gilboa says. As a team, try to lay out a framework for your season’s goals with these three things in mind.

Gilboa adds, “Leadership is about figuring out what tactics you are going to use to get a whole group to do what you want, and if you control those three tenants, you’re much more likely to get the outcome that you want in most situations.”

____________________________

Takeaway

While it has negative connotations, peer pressure is a leadership tool that can be used to achieve positive outcomes for teams and players.

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Goal-Setting Lesson Video Transcript

Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.

So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

Body Image Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and true sport athlete. Today I want to talk to you about body image and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

So I changed my diet. I went along with what I was being told to do, even though I’d had great success at a slightly heavier weight and higher body fat percentage, and became much leaner than ever before. It seemed like a successful change at first, but I didn’t have nearly the results I’d had before. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the 2012 London games. The takeaway for me, and hopefully for you, is that it’s important to know what works for you and your body and to not compare yourself to others. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like. Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day.

I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.

A Good Sport Lesson Video Transcript

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I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I would overhear spectators and teammates asking, “Who’s the better athlete,” and “Who’s going to beat the other.” Instead of letting outside pressures create a negative experience for us, I chose to practice winning and losing with grace and respect. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance. My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.

I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.

What Kind of Coach Do You Want to Be? Video Transcript

Edwin Moses: You’re a coach. Maybe what you want is very simple, for everyone to just run in the right direction, score for their own team, to try and try again and again. Maybe you want your athletes to become all stars. You want them to earn trophies, medals, win titles. You want them to reach the highest height their sport allows. And wanting all of that, of course, that’s good. But as every great coach discovers, developing a great athlete means nurturing, nurturing the even greater person within. Truth is, you have even more influence than you know.

You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.

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THE SIMPLE TRUTH: DECODING THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.

When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.

Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them. Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. Just because a product is on a store shelf doesn’t mean it is safe. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous. Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career. Please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 for more information about dietary supplements.