The Super Mental Training Book (45 page)

In 1983 USA Today correspondent Susan Fornoff reported that "Dr. Francis Lodato, a teaching psychologist at New York's Manhattan College, uses 'progressive relaxation and visual imagery'—safer-sounding pseudonyms for hypnosis—to help coaches of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Concordes get their messages across."[52] Fornoff did not go into details about Dr. Lodato's work with the Concordes, nor describe the quality of the team's coaches and

players. What we do know from an examination of the records is that the Concordes finished last in the CFL's Eastern Division in 1983 with a 5-10-1 record, and in 1984 were 6-9-1. The one thing in Fornoff s story which stands out is where she correctly calls progressive relaxation and visual imagery "safer-sounding pseudonyms for hypnosis." Many sports psychologists, in order to attract as many customers as possible, drop all references to "hypnosis" when describing the techniques they teach athletes. By claiming to teach "visual imagery" and so on—instead of hypnosis—sports psychologists adopting this marketing approach are able to distinguish themselves from hypnotists, whose services are widely available and essentially the same, while also coming across as offering the latest in "safe and effective" mental training methods. I mentioned elsewhere this tendency on the part of sports psychologists to substitute other names for hypnosis (see related discussion in Recent Developments in Sports Psychology and Mental Training chapter), but only bring the subject up again to emphasize the caution you might be wise to exercise should you decide to seek the services of a sports psychologist. The sports psychologist who denies that he teaches hypnosis, while at the same time asserts that he teaches imagery, "self-talk," and the like, is perhaps not the best person to go to or hire. This is because either: 1) he is deliberately handing you a line, which is a poor start for one who supposedly is trying to establish rapport (trusting relationship) with you, or 2) he is really not that much of a mental training expert, and does not comprehend that there are few, if any, substantial differences between hypnosis and other mental rehearsal techniques.

Los Angeles Rams

For the 1985 season the Los Angeles Rams hired Saul Miller to act as a team psychologist. Much publicity was generated about this before the regular season began, but nothing about Saul Miller's work with the Rams appeared in the press from then on. After Los Angeles lost to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship I endeavored to determine more about this situation.

Already a matter of record was the way Miller planned to help the players. Orange County Register writer Michele Himmelberg related that "with various techniques—such as breathing, imagery and positive-attitude reinforcement—Miller said he can 'flush out... (a) negative feeling and tune in a new feeling.'"[53] The sports psychologist pointed out to Himmelberg one possible instance where the application of such techniques could prove beneficial:

Say a quarterback is pressing. In a crucial situation he may say to himself, "Oh no, don't throw another interception." With that comes an automatic tensing of the body. Then he may take longer to throw the ball, or he may lose some of his peripheral vision. [54]

Himmelberg also reported that Head Coach John Robinson practiced "relaxation and mental imagery... techniques suggested by the Rams' new sports psychologist, Saul Miller."[55] She went on to describe how the Rams' coach practices these techniques:

. . . John Robinson is resting in a well-stuffed chair. His office door is shut, his eyes are closed and his chest is rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

Robinson is not loafing on Los Angeles Rams' time. He's taking what truck drivers call a "power nap." With a few minutes of relaxation, Robinson can be rejuvenated for hours. [56]

In June, 1986 I asked Coach Robinson some questions about Saul Miller's contribution to the Rams' program. Robinson started with himself as an example, stating to me:

I have used positive imagery extensively to relax and to improve my concentration. What Saul Miller has done for me is help me control my brain. There are times when I can't stop my brain, can't shut it off, just so I can relax; I have to be able to stop what's

going on when I feel hassled.

As complicated and stressful as football is for players, a football coach must handle an even greater quantity of details, plus personnel problems (never fun to deal with); therefore, as Robinson's account illustrates, the coach's own needs for mental relaxation and ways to enhance concentration cannot be ignored.[57]

Although Saul Miller served as the Rams' team psychologist, and did so again for the 1986 season, a mental training program for the entire team was not implemented. No team visualization or hypnosis sessions were conducted; the players did not receive mental training books, though Miller did make a customized tape for one player. Said Robinson, "it was voluntary" anyone's wanting to see Miller and try out particular mental rehearsal techniques. The best estimate the Rams' coach came up with was that 12-15 players sought the services of the team psychologist. Saul Miller, he continued, was "treated as another employee, as another avenue for our players— not unlike the trainers." To Robinson having the psychologist around made sense because of the importance the mental component plays in football. He noted that "teaching (fundamentals) and the physical skills, the weight training and the diets, have all progressed in the last 20 years. But, the psychological aspect to performance has been the least developed phase." As for each player acting as his own psychologist, Robinson considered this advisable and definitely possible; it is simply a matter of "acquiring the knowledge like anything else and applying it on a daily basis."

Rams cornerback LeRoy Irvin was one of the 12-15 players who visited Miller, and kindly volunteered a testimonial about what the psychologist did for him. Informed Irvin:

My major problem throughout my career has been consistency. Saul got into my inner self. He developed the "wave" for me, got me watching (beach) waves (in my mind) time and again—you know, they're so constant and consistent. He even made a tape for me. He is very low-key and doesn't bother me a lot. I think more guys in the future will go to the psychologist because he does have the expertise to assist our minds.

LeRoy Irvin ended up being chosen All-Pro in 1985, an honor which comes about from playing high quality football consistently. The example he set of improving his mental game is one any athlete, let alone other members of the Rams, can easily follow.

One final matter, unrelated to Saul Miller's activities, I asked Coach Robinson about. Did the Rams, I inquired, conduct any simulations during practice, such as the one UCLA football coach Terry Donahue has his players undergo (trying to play while a crowd-noise tape blares). Robinson replied that he has his players practice one which is the opposite, though similar in intent, from the crowd-noise drill. What the Rams do is run plays in total silence. The quarterback will mouth or whisper the snap count. It can be seen that one's senses will be fine-tuned by practicing such a drill. Visual cues, normally not relied upon, become further developed; also, one's inner sense of when the snap will occur is heightened. All this helps whenever a noisy stadium situation is encountered, and it becomes impossible to hear the quarterback.

New England Patriots

In determining the degree to which pro football players use mental training strategies and the services of sports psychologists, perhaps the old saying—"there is more than meets the eye"— best portrays the current state of affairs. A case in point: after years of what he called "observing the strictest professional confidentiality," Dr. Armand Nicholi revealed in 1987 details about his work as team psychiatrist for the New England Patriots, something the public could not suspect was going on because they had not been provided any information about the activity. The remarkable, and lengthy, revelation appeared in the April 23, 1987 issue of The New England Journal of

Medicine (see "Psychiatric Consultation in Professional Football"). Dr. Nicholi noted that during the 1985 season, a season in which New England made it to the Super Bowl, the team came "under intense scrutiny from the media, and the news leaked out that the Patriots had a psychiatrist working with them."[58] Prior to the leak, Dr. Nicholi's work with the Patriots, which began in early 1982, had been under wraps. The secretiveness, according to the psychiatrist, enhanced his effectiveness in assisting the players, coaches, and management; or, in Dr. Nicholi's words, "the less known about my work, the better." But, with the cover blown, and given the trend of athletes in all sports being increasingly exposed to mental training, the psychiatrist no doubt figured that relating his experience might contain some enlightenment value.

Dr. Nicholi described the tasks he engaged in and, as of 1987, still performed for the Patriots:

(1) providing individual therapy for emotional problems that interfere with athletic functioning; (2) establishing a drug-use prevention program involving educational lectures, testing, and rehabilitation; (3) teaching techniques to program the mind to achieve peak athletic performance; (4) meeting with players in small groups to resolve difficulties that impair team performance; (5) working closely with the general manager, the coach, and the players to remove longstanding obstacles between them and to help them relate to one another more effectively; and (6) meeting with team members before a game to help prepare them psychologically for competition. [59]

Task #3, we observe, involved "teaching techniques to program the mind to achieve peak athletic performance." Specifically, Dr. Nicholi blended Dr. Suinn's visualization method (see Amateur Athletes chapter) with Herbert Benson's meditation-like "relaxation response" and self-developed psych-up methods of some of the players on the team. The resulting concoction, reported the psychiatrist, seemed to help several of the Patriots perform better. One reserve running back, identified by David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal as Robert Weathers, "says he heeded Dr. Nicholi's advice to imagine performing the perfect technique. Mr. Weathers," continued Wessel, "scored a touchdown."[60] The significance of Weathers' touchdown run is that it occurred in a pressure situation. It happened, informs Dr. Nicholi, "in the last game of the 1985-1986 season, against the Cincinnati Bengals—a game that had to be won to enter the playoffs—" (with) "the Patriots... hanging on to the lead with a score of 27-23 and less than two minutes to go in the game;" plus, it was "fourth down and inches to go on the Bengals' 42-yard line."[61] Clearly, it was a big play—perhaps a game and season decider. After the touchdown, the psychiatrist relates that Weathers came over to him and said, "Doc, you won't believe this, but just before I went into the game, I visualized myself running that very play over and over again. When I got into the game, I ran it step by step just as I visualized it." The essence of this unique testimonial is probably accurate because when contacted by Wessel, Weathers remarked, "I've paid a lot more attention to what Dr. Nicholi has had to say since then" (the touchdown).

The other five tasks the psychiatrist discusses at length certainly are important in raising team morale and generating maximum effort from all parties. But, significantly, Dr. Nicholi claims that his "work in helping them [the players] prepare mentally for competition may have been the most helpful" task. This outlook—that is, the recognition of the overriding importance of the athlete engaging in mental rehearsal activities prior to and/or during competition—has been seconded countless times throughout this book by other authorities. Hopefully, you will adopt this perspective in striving to achieve your own goals, be they in sports or life in general.

Another point worth repeating is that having a team psychiatrist on the payroll does not guarantee a winning record, let alone a championship. The Patriots did not win the 1986 Super Bowl; they were blown out by the Chicago Bears, 46-10. Still, being unable to win the championship does not mean you fire the psychiatrist. Such a person is no miracle worker. Instead, his contribution to the team must be judged in the same light as the services rendered by other staff members

(i.e., coaches and trainers). In the case of Dr. Nicholi, Michael Loftus, a Patriots spokesman, told Wessel, "I certainly wouldn't blame that (the Super Bowl loss) on him," and in line with this reasonable viewpoint, the psychiatrist's services were retained. The retention qualifies as an appropriate move by New England's management because negative factors, such as injuries or going up against an opponent possessing superior talent (situations no athlete can avoid forever), will sometimes overwhelm the beneficial impact of proper mental preparation and feelings of team unity; in fact, with so many interacting variables present one often is at a loss to explain a defeat. This complexity being the case, we are therefore compelled to keep in mind the old saying that began this section—"there is more than meets the eye"—in assessing the role mental training plays nowadays in the life of professional football players.

It is said that models are always more effective and valuable than mere rules. For this reason we highlighted in this chapter the experiences many football players have had with various mental training strategies. Most of these athletes practiced mental techniques on a regular basis, and in general saw their performances improve as a result. The performance benefits, however, did not come at the expense of inconvenience. As Jack Youngblood, who often engaged in visualization while driving, observed in The Winner's Edge, "You can practice what you want to do even when you can't go through it physically." So, tackle some mental discipline and stick to it; by so doing, you will not inconvenience yourself, but even more importantly, you just might experience a complete conversion for the better as an athlete.

FOOTNOTES

1. "Jim Marshall Retiring Already," Los Angeles Times, December 5, 1979, Part III, p. 4.

2. Herbert Benson, The Relaxation Response, (New York: Avon Books, 1975), p. 174.