Over the years, like you,  I have always noticed a decline in some of the players and their performance and skills. We always looked for something new or tried different motivational techniques to cultivate the chemistry and performance habits for them. After a while, we go back to the status quo, because things don’t work or it takes too much effort. 

 

So how do we go from having 2 of your best players all of a sudden taking steps backwards.  In fact, we just did some mental toughness training on peaks and valleys in our season, games, and shifts. After studying and reading through my doctoral program, I was introduced to something I don’t think most coaches use as a training tactic or a validated sports psychology assessment(s). More specifically, the ASCI-28 Assessment. The ASCI-28 assessment, better known as the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 assessment, opened my eyes to a whole world of things I never considered when it comes to helping players become the best version of themselves.

 

The ASCI-28 assessment is designed to differentiate a player’s psychological skills from their physical skills. This idea was a defining moment for me because it drove home the idea that these are two different skill types and they are relatively independent of each other. Sometimes we as coaches are so zoned in the performance piece to our players, that we fail to empathize and take notation of when a decline in performance may result from a bigger mental issue.

 

Assessments, while they may not always be welcomed, sure teach a lot about the truth of where the players on the team stand. Specific questions I found interesting in the ASCI-28 assessment were ones like: 

 

  • On a daily or weekly basis, I set very specific goals for myself that guise what I do
  • I get the most out of my talent and skills
  • I remain positive and enthusiastic during competitions, no matter how bad things are going
  • I worry quite a bit about what others think of my performance 
  • I feel confident that I will play well

When I read through some of  these questions and saw the way some of the team members answered and how they really felt about where they stood on these things, I must admit I was shocked. Though I was shocked, it brought about a sense of empathy I didn’t know my team needed from me. 

 

If you were like me and looking for new opportunities for performance excellence in your coaching then I want to encourage you to take some time to research assessments that can better shape and serve you and your team on AND off the ice. Perhaps the ASCI-28 might help.

 

This new method added to the team’s structure excites me on many levels and might help swiftly change the negative shift that once hovered over the team.

 

I think from a big picture perspective what this  assessment does for me and perhaps for you is  support performance excellence in our roles as sport and performance coaches. This helps me with empathy and understanding each athlete individually. Accounting for unknown considerations when administering measures and assessments allow me to be empathic but also mindful of the situation and circumstance of each player and their physical and psychological status.

 

For more on ASCI-28, take a look at this sports journal article.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nSlS_rb5nDH9i9wrX9sP5d87V_WExZa5/view?usp=sharing