Athlete cognition sets elite athletes apart from the rest. They see, decide, and execute faster and better than their competition. Training athlete cognition is the next frontier of mental performance. In Part 3 of the series, we break down athlete decision making and how to train it.

How Athletes Make Decisions

Athletes make hundreds (and in many cases thousands) of decisions in a single competition. Pass, dribble or shoot? Go left or right? Move in or stay back? Swing or not to swing? And these are some of the simpler decisions athletes make.

Athlete decision making relies heavily on their ability to process sensory information (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic). You may recall from Part 2 of the series that 80% of information athletes rely on to make decisions is visual. When athletes identify and process information well, that helps them anticipate better, which improves the quality of their decision making.

Decision making is defined as “the ability to plan, select, and execute an action based on the current situation and the knowledge possessed (Williams and Ford, 2013).” Research tells us that in order to make a decision, athletes process the raw data coming in at the present moment and synthesize it with their memory (past experiences) and prior knowledge (sport IQ and scouting reports).

A Model to Help Understand Athlete Decision Making

In practice it is important for athletes to learn how to make in-game decisions. By understanding how athletes make decisions under pressure you can create scenarios that teach your athletes how to make game changing decisions as the action unfolds.

Research psychologist Dr. Gary Klein has studied decision making in numerous high pressure environments. From his analysis of how high performers make decisions under pressure, he published the Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model. In the graphic below you can see how it flows.

Here is how athletes make decision according to the RPD model:

1. Athlete’s brain perceives the situation (primarily visual) separating what’s relevant from what isn’t.
2. Athlete recognizes patterns of movement unfolding in the situation. These detected patterns trigger memories of past experiences.
3. Athlete’s brain simulates the success rate (i.e., visualization) of the first option that comes to mind.
4. If the chances of success are good, the athletes commits to the decision and executes. Otherwise, another option is simulated until a suitable decision is found.

Herbert Simon highlighted, “this method helps prevent analysis paralysis in a fast-moving situation.” This model also aids both the speed and accuracy of athlete decision making.

As noted previously, a study of elite youth soccer players revealed that elite players’s first option was the best option 74% of the time (Raab & Johnson). When pressed for time, players considered fewer options and made even better decisions. Too often, athletes overthink decisions rather than trusting their instincts. This tendency turns instructive with the phrase, “take-the-first” as athlete’s first instinct is often the best decision.

4 Ways to Improve Athlete Decision Making

We can clearly see that athlete decision making is a competitive advantage. It is also complex. Here are 4 powerful ways to improve athlete decision making that you can implement immediately.

1. Sleep

Sleep is its own competitive edge. When it comes to decision making, sleep affects an athlete’s alertness, visual abilities, cognitive functioning, and decisiveness. Sleep affects an athlete’s ability to recognize cues and patterns in a game, anticipate, and then react quickly in the moment. A lack of sleep increases mental mistakes – essentially a break down in decisions. Getting more sleep is a decision athletes need to make. Check out this article to convince athletes to get more sleep.

2. Decision Debrief

As a coach, avoid an all-too-common mistake – micromanaging player decisions (in practice or competition). Instead, give athletes freedom to make decisions. Then debrief their decision making using the Recognition-Primed Decision Model (above). The purpose is less about right or wrong and more about the thought process that led the athlete to make that decision.

Ask questions such as:

• What did you see that led to that decision?
• What was your intent in making that decision?
• What was your intended outcome?

These and other questions help you both assess and coach the athlete through finding the best options for the situation and influencing their future decision making process.

3. Strobe Training

By taxing athletes’ visual systems you cause their brains to adapt to less visual information. This stimulates the brain to process information faster, anticipate, and focus on the information that will most influence their decisions. You can use strobe eyewear in simple eye-hand coordination drills involving decision making or during on-field, court, or course skill-focused drills that require quick decisions.

4. Occlusion Training

Occlusion training is a bit more sophisticated, but an excellent way to train athlete decision making. The concept is to show an athlete an unfolding competitive situation (i.e., a play, pitch, serve, or shot) up to the point when a decision needs to be made. For example, a point guard dribbling up the floor and picks up his dribble as teammates and defenders vie for position. Stop the video and have your athlete make the decision as if they were the point guard on the tape.

Teams often pose these scenarios in quick succession to improve processing and decision making without having to be on the field. Bonus: To make occlusion training even more effective, have the athlete act out the decision by making the pass, swinging the bat, or otherwise reacting to the scenario with actual movement.

Free Consultation

Do you you or your organization need help training athlete cognition and decision making? Schedule a free 30 minute call.

We can work together to build a custom program that will work for you. Schedule your call today, so you start leading the pack and don’t get left behind by the competition.

Elevate Athlete Decision Making to Give Them a Competitive Edge

Edward De Bono defined an expert as, “someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simply through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.” Athletes make thousands of decisions every game. Training athlete cognition enables athletes to trust their trained instincts, anticipate better, and make faster and more accurate decisions in the heat of competition. How are you training your athletes to see, decide, and execute faster than their competition?

Question: How are you training your athletes’ decision making under pressure? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter.

Links:

• Book: The Playmaker’s Advantage
• Book: The Playmaker’s Decisions
• Part 1 in Series: The Next Frontier in Mental Performance Training
• Part 2 in Series: Training Athlete Cognition: 3 Ways to Improve How Athletes See the Field
• Post: Do Your Athletes Know How to Make Visualization More Powerful?
• Post: How to Convince Your Athletes to Get More Sleep