What Should We Say to Players Pre-Match? (Includes audio example…)

I often get asked by coaches for advice regarding talking to players pre-match…The pre-match chat has obvious importance as it’s our chance to positively influence players’ chance of committing to actions that both develop their game and increase their chance of success.

While I’ve never had a formal structure to my pre-match chats with players, I decided to review some audio files and discovered that there are 5 elements that I generally include when doing so.

So I’ll briefly summarise these 5 elements and their importance for you in this article...

Then I’ll share with you an audio file of me talking with recent Virginia Tech graduate Andreas Bjerrehus before his 2015 match with Virginia’s Ryan Shane…

## I swear in this recording so please don’t listen if you’d find that offensive…

## A couple of terms that I used during this example will likely be foreign to you as they come from a story that I teach players which helps their understanding and application of mental toughness concepts, but this won’t prevent you from benefitting from listening…

1.) Ask about Process Attentions

I generally start by asking the player about the process attentions they want to commit to…

This is crucial as it communicates my perspective regarding the importance of the match being about the processes that increase the chance of success rather than the outcome itself.

2.) Reinforce or Shape the Players Process Attentions

Next, I reinforce the player’s perspective by agreeing and repeating their chosen focuses or I’ll add my own opinion of important processes to commit action to if I think it’s warranted…

The goal here is to try to discuss processes in a way that the player leaves the conversation with the belief that they’ve made the final decision regarding commitments where possible, because a sense of autonomy will increase their motivation to commit to decisions.

3.) Normalise ‘Difficult Internal Experiences’

Next, I’ll always discuss with the player the difficult internal experiences (such as nerves, frustration, and helplessness) that they’ll likely encounter during the match, and possible circumstances that will evoke these experiences...while also encouraging players to tolerate, rather than trying to reduce or control, these experiences…

When we approach mental experiences in this way it has many benefits.

But briefly, it helps normalise these experiences for players which is super helpful...

It also helps them, over time, to respond better to the inevitable nerves, frustrations and helplessness that are so frequently a competitive challenge.

4.) Review Complete Point-by-Point Routine

Next, I review the complete point-by-point routine that I believe the player should ‘practice’ applying throughout the match.

There are 2 basic steps to the routine that I recommend to players:

First, at the start of each new point the player should put their attention onto their chosen process and then commit their actions to that process during the point…

And second, as soon as the player realizes that they’re no longer committing action based on their chosen process, they should try to recognize what’s stopped them, and then recommit attention to their chosen process for the next point.

5.) The Goal of the Match

And finally, I usually remind players that the goal of the match is to see how many points that they can complete being able to say that they actually committed their actions to their chosen process (and encourage them to enjoy that challenge)…

So in this way the most important indicator of player development and success is what I call the ‘Competitor’s Score’ which is:

The number of points I committed action to my process/Total number of points played…

And the actual outcome score serves to simply supplement the ‘Competitor’s Score’ by giving insight into what was happening and when it was happening, which then guides post-match discussions.

Above is the example of my pre-match chat with Andreas…