Working at the Margins Builds Confidence
I hosted a Speed Clinic last weekend in Dayton, Ohio with Auburn sprint coach, Ken Harnden. Ken has coached 24 Olympians, including 3 medalists; 25 NCAA Champions; and 8 NFL players, including Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns and Mecole Hardman of the Kansas City Chiefs. Ken has two online courses you can purchase that can help you learn great running mechanics for running/sprinting or for multi-directional sports. For a $10 discount, use the coupon code "coachrick" at check out.
So how is this relevant to mental skills performance? Ken mentioned that he works to build excellent running mechanics in small bits, first just over 10 meters in length. When that looks good and consistent for an athlete, he extends it to 20 meters. And over time (sometimes a long time for some athletes), he builds them up to their full potential - 100, 200, 400 meters, etc.
This concept has been referred to as Working at the Margins by mental skills coach, Dave Alred, in his book The Pressure Principle. A basketball player works on a layup and then a 2-3 foot jump shot, then a 4-5 foot jump shot, perfecting each distance before moving out a little bit farther.
This helps build the skill with correct mechanics AND also builds confidence in the individual that he or she can perform when in actual competition.
So get really good at the small stuff and then build gradually from there, getting excellent at each progression before moving on to the next margin of performance.