Effect & Side-Effect

The Management of Player Habits

"Whatever you would make habitual, practise it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practise it, but habituate yourself to something else."

- Epictetus, c.100AD

A Short Outline of Things to Come

Habit as an Effect

Characteristics

In Sport

Physiology/Psychology

Habit as a Side-Effect

Unintended Habits

Steering Habits

Designing Practice

Habit as Effect

“ We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

- Aristotle

Or, how to do things without really

thinking about them

Habit

A habit is a routine of behaviour created

by and maintained by regular repetition.

Can occur consciously or

unconsciously.

Can have desirable or undesirable

effects, or both.

We should study our habits, because in

time, they have powerful impacts!

Habit Properties

Behaviour, through regular repetition, becomes

automatic

Habit-making is “easy”: anything we spend

time on and repeat builds habit!

Habit-changing is “hard”: requires conscious

repetition and avoidance of repetition

Types of Habit-Building in Sport

Physical

Strength

Stamina

Coordination

Mental

Focus/Stimulus Filtering

Decision-making

Trust

Mental

Physical

Communal

Habit as Conditioning

Habitual repetition is a standard tool in many sports

Scenarios, drills, forms and katas strive to

1. perfect component skills

2. pre-programme their unconscious use

In theory, the athlete recognizes the appropriate circumstance

and executes the appropriate skill.

It is the epitome of expertise.

The lay-up is a fundamental skill

component in basketball, and heavily

drilled.

Habit-Making Mechanisms: Physiology

Stamina:Endurance training induces

angiogenesis in muscles, and

neurotropic factors promote neuron

survivability.

Muscle-Memory:Repetition decreases

use of the cerebellum in

a task, and increases

use of basal ganglia.

Strength:Strength training increases

motor neuron excitability and

induces synaptogenesis in

muscles.

Habit-Making Mechanisms: Psychology

Cue: Triggers the behaviour

Behaviour: The action of the habit

Reward: The gratification that reinforces the behaviour

Cue Behaviour Reward

Even where multiple paths exist,

lightning self-reinforces where it has

already ionized gases.

Voice Command

Catch a Disc

See Deep Target

Change Marking Stance

Turn Upfield

Throw a Huck

Earn a Hand-Block

Throw Upfield

Score a Goal

66 DaysThe mean time required to achieve “automaticity” in a habit-building study

Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European

Journal of Social Psychology. October 2010. 40(6), 998–1009.

Habit as Side-Effect

“ . . . in combat, you do not rise to the occasion; you sink to the level of your training.”

- Anonymous, USMC

Or, how to do things you don’t really

want without really thinking

Who’s in Control?

Many unintentionally repeated habits accompany

intentional ones

Since repetition is the core mechanism, habits can

form unconsciously (and randomly)

Uncontrolled, undirected practice can still form

self-reinforcing habits!

What unintended habits have you bred in practice?

Ants exhibit stochastic pathfinding; even without

leadership, they make self-reinforced, habitual trails in a

perfectly symmetric environment, shown in white.

Habit as Side-Effect

Habit can form from procedures we unintentionally repeat and reinforce.

Lt. Col. David Grossman:

“[FBI] Officers were drilled on the firing range to draw, fire two shots,

and then reholster.

While it was considered good training, it was subsequently discovered

in real shootings that officers were firing two shots and reholstering --

even when the bad guy was still standing and presenting a deadly threat!”

Cue Behaviour Reward

Habitual Self-Examination

How do you initiate what you practice?Is cue always realistic? Is it the same cue every time?

Cue

How do you end what you practice?Do you consistently reward behaviours you want in-game?

What is unrealistic about what you practice?Does everyone act the way they should in-game? O & D?

Behaviour

Reward

Levels of Self-Examination

Mental

Physical

CommunalCommunal:Do you practice for what goes right?

Do you practice for what goes wrong?

Do you practice for styles other than your own?

Are you practicing for what your team needs?

Are you practicing for what you personally need?

Physical:Does your conditioning transfer to the game?

Do you practice movements that matter?

Mental: Do you visualize in-game scenarios?

Do you practice the way you should play?

Do you practice minimizing distraction?

Do you practice overcoming distraction?

Exercise: Self-Examination

What are some secondary habits you/your team might be forming?

What are some scenarios/strategies you have unintentionally ignored?

Steering Habits

Reinforce Desirables

Always know the purpose of your practice/drill

Minimize Undesirables

Know every behaviour your practice involves, and keep them realistic

Randomize Remaining Undesirables

Whatever you must keep, keep changing

The Millennium Bridge, London, UK

Exercise: Warm-Up Dump Drill

Static start; thrower looks to waiting

dumpCue

Behaviour

Reward

Dump-cutter starts from parallel; runs up-line for

pass

Dump-cutter gains disc up-line; jogs back

Exercise: Warm-Up Dump Drill

Static start; thrower looks to waiting

dumpCue

Behaviour

Reward

Dump-cutter starts from parallel; runs up-line for

pass

Dump-cutter gains disc up-line; jogs back

Good: initiated by static

thrower

Bad: cutter static & in same

spot

Good: practices up-line throw

Bad: cutter undefended

Good: practices catch

Bad: no discrimination

among good/bad spots, or

pivot.

Exercise: Design a Break-Throw Drill

Cue

Behaviour

Reward

Exercise: Design an Endzone Drill

Cue

Behaviour

Reward

Summary

Be aware of how you spend your time.

Thank you.