Through cooperation with coaches, we often come to the topic of punishments and rewards. Is it better to punish or only to reward?
The carrot-and-stick principle
How to combine the two? What to apply in different situations? Why does neither sometimes work? For this reason, we decided to give you some guidelines and answer these questions.
How to encourage and how to eliminate
First, let us clarify what exactly falls under punishments and what falls under reinforcements. When we talk about reinforcement, most people first think of rewards, but they are just one type of reinforcer. First, let us explain the purpose of reinforcers: we use them to strengthen a certain behavior, that is, so that it continues to be repeated. We divide them into positive and negative. Rewards are what we call positive reinforcers; they are everything positive and pleasant that we give to our athlete when they do something well. This can be praise, a smile, attention, a monetary reward, a trophy, a medal, and much more. It is important to understand here that it is not only material things that reinforce behavior, but also non-material ones such as praise or highlighting good behavior.
Perhaps the term negative reinforcement sounds a bit strange to you, but it refers to removing something negative to create a sense of comfort or satisfaction for the athlete. For example, if a tennis player gave their all at practice and you are very satisfied with their effort, you can reward them at the end by not making them sweep the court. In this way, you create a sense of comfort by removing a task they would otherwise have to do, and you reinforce their effort, which you want to see again at future practices.
Punishments
– everything that reduces the probability of that behavior reoccurring in an athlete
When we speak of punishments, we also have positive and negative ones. Their purpose is to eliminate a behavior we do not want to be repeated. Positive punishment is when we present an unpleasant stimulus to the athlete; for example, if an athlete is slacking off during practice, we reprimand them, criticize their behavior, or give them additional tasks.
As for negative punishment, it means removing something positive. You might have certain games or parts of practice that the athletes especially like, and as a punishment, you can choose to withhold that part from them. Or, for example, when you are at a tournament, you take away their phones if they do something you forbade them to do.
There are various variations of punishments and reinforcements. But what you need to keep in mind when applying them is whether what you are doing is a punishment or a reinforcement—that is, do you want to strengthen a behavior or eliminate it?
The most common mistakes in punishing and reinforcing athletes
When talking about this topic, coaches sometimes unconsciously make mistakes they are not even aware of. Have you ever assigned extra laps, push-ups, or serves at the end of practice as a punishment? Do you believe this is correct, or will you allow us to change your mind?
To begin with, we think we can agree that nobody likes punishments. So why turn an activity that is an integral part of practice into a punishment? Not only is it an integral part, but there is also a possibility that the athlete otherwise enjoys that activity. If you present it to them as a punishment, over time that activity will truly become just that. Remember if your coaches also used certain exercises as punishment and you grew to hate them over time?
Try to use as many of these activities as possible as rewards. Associate running with something pleasant, present it as a way to make extra progress, and make your athletes look forward to the opportunity for additional training. Because if you think about it, when athletes enjoy themselves more even during difficult practices, they progress more as well!
Another unconscious mistake that often creeps in with athletes who frequently disrupt practice is the attention you give them for that behavior. In every team, especially in younger age groups, there is at least one joker who most often disrupts the implementation and discipline of the practice.
What coaches often do with such individuals is single them out, assign them punishments, and scold them in front of everyone. However, what they are actually doing is rewarding their bad behavior with attention. Giving attention is a strong motivator, but it also reinforces behavior—in this case, the behavior we want to reduce. By doing this, you will not eliminate the behavior, but rather strengthen it even further. Instead, for example, you can tell that player after practice that they are not allowed to come to the next session and that they should think about whether they will continue to behave that way.
Practice should be a reward and something that athletes earn, not an obligation!
Think a little bit about whether you do these things as well, and try it differently next time. To be as successful as possible, keep in mind what your main goal is: to increase or decrease the probability of that behavior?
