“You can't control what the other athlete is going to do; you can't control anything except for your competition and how you execute the race or how you execute the task.” – Michael Johnson
Attribution theory and application is one of my favorite things to cover with young athletes. It is such a subtle mental aspect but carries so much importance behind it. It deals with what people/athlete’s attribute success and failure to aka what they blame their wins and losses on (to oversimplify it). Have you ever finished a game and thought “wow those refs lost us the game” or “if only my teammate would have passed me the ball instead, then we would have won”? In sports, this theory pops up after every performance or even practice. Some people blame their coach for being mean or not liking them, they blame their teammates or opposing fans, or blame officials for blowing calls. It is vitally important that athletes understand attribution and make sure to avoid the “blame game” style. This can lead to team division and loss of necessary growth that leads to better future performances. The basis of attribution theory comes down to understanding what we can control and working on it vs. what we cannot control and learning to let it go. This not only leads to better performance, but it is the key ingredient in a good LEADER. Not to mention that this theory, if not taught, will rear is ugly head later in life in the workplace and in relationships. A basis of this mental tool is the idea that you need to worry about making yourself better and not focusing on judging others. Using some form of goal setting is a perfect way to internalize this focus of improvement. In fact, attribution should be directly linked to your goals, as performance goal analysis is the basis of assessing and fixing what you can fix. See my goal setting article for assistance: https://www.sportingbounce.com/member-article/aim-high-and-get-to-work . Your focus should be on you, and I do not mean this in a selfish way because there are selfless sacrifices in every sport that benefit the team (think of linemen, assists, sac bunts). Every member on a team must be responsible for their job because, after all, you are someone you can control, and your teammates are not. So work on working on you!
Let’s Practice!
Under the appropriate list, write as many things that you can control or not control regarding your sport (including both practices and games):
Controllable Uncontrollable
After each game and/or practice, it is important that you begin to focus on what you are attributing success and failure to. At the beginning, you may find yourself reverting to the negative attribution cycle and playing the “blame game”. In those moments, take a step back, detach, and analyze the true issues or successes of the game. Remember to think about what you CAN control and how to fix it VS. what you CANNOT control.
Look at your list of controllables. Write down some ways you can improve or maintain them (ex. I will show up to practice earlier than normal to work on my form):
What is something you can say or do to avoid the negative “blame game” cycle?
Athletes who refuse to accept their own shortcomings and work on them or be humble in their talents often turn into undesirable colleagues and/or romantic partners (I am guessing we can all think of someone like this currently or from our past). So, make it a point to work on your Attribution Head Game!!
