Pre-game
speeches: Are they always useful?
The motivational pre-game speeches are getting popular in coaches
who try to motivate their players to enhance their performance. We’ve got a lot
of examples in the sports world, like the video that Guardiola showed to his
players just 10 minutes before de Champions League Final (2009) in Rome. In that
video, there were showed images from all the players mixed up with the Gladiator movie
scenes. According to the players, the video was too emotive and surprisingly,
some players could not repress their feelings and cried after watching these
images. Curiously, the start of that game concurred with the worst minutes of
the final for Barcelona.
We can find other examples of pre game talks in the typical American
movies, where the coach releases a speech from his heart trying to get the best
from his players.
After watching one of the most famous motivational speeches in all
of film, it’s impossible to remain apathetic. Al Pacino talks with such passion
and the powerful message he transmits are key for a successful speech. Today
I’m going to talk about pre-game talks. There is some controversy about this
issue: Does it really enhance performance? Is it always efficient?
The common goal of these speeches, that coaches have prepared
thoroughly, is to excite and motivate players. Some scientific papers
(Vargas-Tonsing, 2008) confirm that after pre-game speeches, players feel more
confident and more emotionally ready to face the game. Nevertheless, they don’t
talk about if their performance was better with or without the speech.
Therefore, it seems that the epic speeches on a grand scale are not always
the perfect formula for success; there is a main psychological aspect that can cast
doubt on them: The energy management system
based on the arousal concept.
“Arousal” is a physiological and psychological state that ranges from
deep sleep to high excitement. This includes the activation of the autonomic
nervous system and the endocrine system. When we talk about the autonomic
system, we must remember that it's divided into two systems: the
parasympathetic system which regulates physiological processes during the
resting phases; such as decreasing the heart rate, decreasing the breathing
rate, and digestion. Secondly the sympathetic system, which controls the physiological
processes during exercise by increasing heart rate, preparing the muscles for
the movement...etc.
Everybody has different levels of excitement. When we are below the
optimal level we say that we are “under-aroused” (low energy, low motivation,
poor concentration). Contrary, when we are too excited, we say we are “over-aroused”
(muscles too tense, loss of energy, narrowed focused attention, Movements not
fluid, etc.)
Problems with the speeches:
When players are in the locker room, ten minutes before the start of
the match, they are not all at the same arousal level and, as we already know,
the speeches are given to increase arousal. A player who is “Under-aroused”, is
usually too relaxed for the upcoming game. After the talk, he will be in the optimal
zone, therefore, his performance will be higher. Conversely, the player in the
locker room who is already in the optimal zone, after listening to the coach
talk, his excitement level will increase, leading him to stay in the
“over-arousal” zone and the consequence of this is that his performance will be
lower. The solution to this problem is
that players need to learn to control their arousal levels. However, the energy
management is not easy and it requires years of experience and mental training.
In conclusion, when we have to do a pre-game speech, we must be
careful and be aware that all the players won’t react in the same way. Pep
Guardiola tried to motivate his players, however they didn’t react like he
would have expected. The video triggered that some players lost completely
their arousal control 10 minutes before to start one the most important matches
of their lives. Finally, Guardiola was "lucky" and Barcelona won the match being
highly superior to Manchester.
Speeches should be short, clear and they should not be very
motivational and/or emotive. Therefore, we will prevent any lost arousal
control from our players. In fact, what we want is the state of our players to
be as close as possible to the optimal zone when the match starts.
Here you can watch the video that Guardiola showed to his players in the Final:
References:
Vargas-Tonsing
(2008). An Exploratory Examination of the Effects of Coaches' Pre-Game Speeches
on Athletes' Perceptions of Self-Effícacy and Emotion. Jounral of sport behaviour, Vol 32, Num. 1
Burton,
Raedeke (2008). Sport Psychology for coaches. Chapter 9, 140-150
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Spanish
Discursos pre-partido: Resultan siempre útiles?
Los videos motivacionales de las charlas
pre-partido son cada vez más comunes entre los entrenadores que intentan
motivar de alguna manera a sus jugadores para intentar rendir más. Tenemos
muchísimos ejemplos en el mundo del deporte como el caso del vídeo que pasó
Guardiola a sus jugadores antes de la Final de la Champions en Roma en qué
aparecen todos los jugadores mezclados con las imágenes de Gladiator. Según los
jugadores, el video fue demasiado emotivo, ya que más de uno se echó a llorar
después de ver esas imágenes. Curiosamente, el inicio de ese partido coincidió
con los peores minutos de juego del Barcelona de toda la final.
Otros ejemplos de charlas pre-partido también
las encontramos en las típicas películas americanas, en las que el entrenador
saca un discurso des de el corazón para lograr que sus jugadores saquen el
máximo de sus capacidades.
Después de ver uno de los discursos más
típicos de la historia del cine, es imposible quedarse indiferente. La pasión
con la que se expresa el gran actor Al Pacino y el mensaje tan potente que
transmite es determinante para el éxito del discurso.
