Research and data suggest that coaches are terrible at talent identification—most selections are biased. Knowing this is the first step toward considering selecting your team if you're a coach. If you're a parent, knowing that choice is inherently flawed and your player doesn't make their hoped-for team should remind you of life lessons when all is not lost. And if you're a player, this should encourage you that while you have no control over selections, you have control over developing your love for the game, a passion for working hard, and ownership of your own experience. Because experience also shows that it is the one that plays the longest that usually comes out on top.
What's wrong with talent identification is the result of the human condition. We all have a conscious and unconscious biases. Two psychologists, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham created a framework that can help increase self-awareness and our understanding of others. They named the model by combining their first names. It is called the Johari Window.
By following this model, you can use it to build habits. You see, everyone has unconscious incompetence. Meaning I don't even know what I don't know. Then when you discover what you don't know, you can move to conscious incompetence. Meaning now I'm becoming aware of what I need to learn. And I'm starting to get motivated. And then this leads to conscious competence. Now I'm focused on the steps I need to take to become competent. It's beginning to work, and it's now happening. Then I get to unconscious competence. That's when I don't think about it. I do it.
I have identified 7 Next Level Habits for the player that is key to taking your game to the next level. I believe these habits are critical for players to take ownership of their development journey. They are:
Train on your own. Don't rely on team training sessions as the only time you train.
Communicate effectively. Communicating is to relationships like the air you breathe. You can't live without it.
Study the game. Being able to recognize the movements of opponents and to recognize the traits and habits of teammates requires attention.
Trust a coach. You are relying on your coach to do the right thing. Believing in their integrity and knowledge of the game is essential to your feeling safe to perform.
Be a good teammate. The best teams have players who work together and are willing to make sacrifices.
Generate energy. Being passionate (the act of suffering for something) and being enthusiastic about what you are doing are what great players do.
Demonstrate courage. It is not afraid to be honest, and openly seek feedback from those around you, which may not be easy to hear.
These are the 7 Next Level Habits that will stabilize your game, and a clear path to success will become evident.
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