A Culture of Mistake Avoidance

We've probably all heard, or said, the phrase: "Don't play to 'not make a mistake'. Play to win!"

We say that phrase because we know what happens when teams and players begin playing to not make mistakes... their minds become focused on mistakes, and then what happens??? They make mistakes.

But let's back up. How does a culture of mistake avoidance get developed? How does it begin? And what is the opposite of mistake avoidance?

Coaches and parents, let's take a little survey. Answer the following 5 questions YES or NO (these questions are baseball related but of course could be adapted to make relevant to any sport):

1. When your player makes a fielding error, are you quick to correct him (coach him up) immediately afterwards, while he is still on the field?

2. Have you ever said these (or similar) words to your pitcher, "Don't walk this batter?"

3. Do you react outwardly – with words, grunts, moans, or with other physical gestures – which outwardly communicate your displeasure whenever a big mistake or error is made?

4. Do you feel a need to give verbal coaching advice while your players are hitting in the batter's box (for example, after a swing and miss)?

5. Do many of your players react negatively whenever they make a mistake (head down, or perhaps even worse behavior such as slam or throw equipment)?

If you answered YES to 2 or more of those 5 questions, then you have likely created some level of mistake avoidance culture. If you answered YES to all 5, then there is no doubt that your team is functioning with a mistake avoidance mindset.

I'll admit, I was the epitome of all 5 of those questions for a long time during my coaching career. And I still slip up and allow one or two of them to be present on my team from time to time. It's a tough discipline for us to maintain a culture that is okay with players taking risks and making mistakes (as long as they know how to learn from those mistakes).

That's the key to embracing mistakes.... LEARNING. You see, the opposite of mistake avoidance culture is NOT to be happy about mistakes. We don't WANT to make mistakes. But we just have to help players realize that mistakes CANNOT be totally avoided. They are going to come, and sometimes they will come in big moments. When they come, how do we handle them?

One thing is for certain, you can't change the event that just took place... the mistake. There's no going back in time. So the most important thing NOW is your reaction, or your response, to the mistake. Your response is going to be the determining factor in the true outcome from the mistake.

Too many players, coaches and parents just allow the mistake that happened to consume them, without pausing to consider all the ways that mistake can be used for GOOD.

This past spring our high school baseball team lost just 4 games all season. After our second loss of the season, I stood with our team in the outfield and said that I refuse to look at the game in terms of "winning and losing," but rather, "winning and learning." So, what have we learned today? We went around and let the players answer the question, and it was a refreshing time of being able to embrace the loss and learn from it, rather than sulk and bemoan over it and not gain anything.

That's the key to mistakes. LEARN. And consider this... the more mistakes they make, the more opportunities to learn.

Now... let me also add, it is much better to make room for mistakes to be made in practice, that way they are minimized in games. Celebrate mistakes in practice, especially when the player made the mistake by taking a risk.

Let players try new things. For example, let them be their own base coach while running the bases. Mistake avoidance causes players to only do the things they know they CAN do, which means they will rarely ever challenge themselves to do something they CANNOT YET do. Think about that for a second. We want them to grow and reach new levels of skill in the game, but the only way they will be able to do that is if they try new things. And they won't try new things if they are afraid of making a mistake. And the result is they will not grow as an athlete.

I told my shortstop this season, "Joseph, you are at your best when you play aggressively. You're going to make mistakes (it's the nature of the game, and the SS position). But I want you to make those mistakes by being aggressive, rather than by being passive."

Tell your kids, it's okay to make mistakes when you're being aggressive. I would much rather have to rein in a kid for being too aggressive than to try to get a passive kid to start being aggressive. The former is much easier than the latter.

I have read about how in Japanese culture, especially in their schools, students at the end of the day are encouraged to look at what worked and what didn't work, and then see how those things could be corrected – thinking of everything as a process rather than looking at results alone.

That's the perspective we need to maintain... process > results. Mistakes are like the blackboards of a classroom. Use them to educate and build young risk-takers into great players. More importantly, you'll build mature young men and women who will, as a result, gain one of the great secrets to a lifetime of success.