aHEAD IN THE GAME

I’ve watched Space Jam, (the 1996 version obviously), COUNTLESS times, for research purposes. The more I watch, the more I understand the MonSTARS strategy. Yes, they did attempt a violent overthrow of Tune World, but haven’t we all done things of which we aren’t proud? I think those little guys were more like us than we think. They looked to the giants of the game and attempted to emulate them, something any aspiring athlete can respect. It’s time to acknowledge the MonSTARS genius. Let’s please be 100% honest with ourselves. If you had the opportunity to take the talent from legendary athletes, wouldn’t you? I know I would, sorry not sorry. Although, even I must admit, my beloved little aliens’ plan was indeed half-baked. Only because they failed to consider the psychological qualities necessary for success. There are studies to suggest elite athletes share certain psychological characteristics that distinguish them from their less successful counterparts. Sport psychologists have begun to create profiles of those qualities deemed most important for athletic performance. Thereby, allowing athletes and coaches to identify and train these elements. Models such as The Wheel of Excellence, the Ottawa Mental Skills Assessment Tool (OMSAT), and The Gold Medal Profile for Sports Psychology (GMP-SP), have been crafted to put a name on those variables that separate the elite athletes from the rest.  

The “Wheel of Excellence” created by Orlick, introduces seven skills necessary for elite performance: focus, commitment, confidence, positive images, mental readiness, distraction control, and ongoing learning. All seven skills are important; however, at the “center” of the wheel is focus. Orlick states, “all elements of excellence grow from your focus, are directed by your focus, connect you and reconnect you with your positive mission and make personal excellence possible.” A 1993 study supports claims made by Orlick; interviews with 17 world champion athletes revealed those who had continued success were fully focused and connected to their performances. Furthermore, those athletes that experienced a period of reduced performance and those who never performed at the same high level again, mentioned focusing on external factors rather than the performance itself. Although all 7 skills in the Wheel of Excellence are important; focus remains the stand out. The Wheel of Excellence has inspired other models and psychological assessment devices including the ones talked about here.

Originally created in 1992, the OMSAT was developed after reviewing existing assessment devices and literature and combining like principles. Since its creation, the original assessment tool has been expanded. The OMSAT-3 names 12 critical mental skills which are further broken down into three categories: foundational, psychosomatic, and cognitive. The foundational skills include self-confidence, commitment, and goal setting. A 1993 study found that these three skills differentiated elite versus non-elite athletes; prior to these results, goal setting was not included as one of the foundational skills. These findings were supported by another study in 2001. In this investigation, athletes listed self-confidence as the most important skill, followed by goal setting and commitment. This further cemented their importance. The next category, psychosomatic, includes stress reactions, fear, relaxation and activation. These skills pertain to arousal regulation which involves being able to manage the psychological and physiological responses to competition. The final grouping, cognitive skills, includes imagery, mental practice, focusing, refocusing, and competition planning. These skills center around the specific thought processes that an athlete might use during training and competition. Overall, studies have supported the OMSAT-3’s effectiveness as a tool able to discriminate between elite and less competitive athletes. This supports the claim that higher level athletes also have more developed mental skills.

The Gold Medal Profile for Sports Psychology (GMP-SP) was designed to act as a framework by which mental performance consultants could create interventions. The GMP-SP focuses on specific competencies that underpin successful athletic performance. It also considers mental health as an overarching factor with a reciprocal relationship between the mental competencies and performance outcomes. Influenced by the OMSAT-3 and the Wheel of Excellence, the GMP-SP names eleven crucial mental skills. It features three categories of mental skills: fundamental, self-regulatory, and interpersonal. All the mental competencies in the model are important, as they all influence one another, but those marked as fundamental are mandatory for athletic performance and mental well-being; they also act as the groundwork for the other two categories. The fundamental competencies are motivation, confidence, and resilience. The next group of competencies are centered around creating productive thoughts and behaviors that help the athlete achieve their goals. These self-regulation skills are self-awareness, stress management, emotion and arousal regulation, and attentional control. The interpersonal category addresses the limitations of the Wheel of Excellence and OMSAT-3 by considering an athlete’s social environment. It includes athlete-coach relationship, leadership, teamwork, and communication. While the other models may imply the influence of interpersonal skills, the GMP overtly states their importance. In general, the GMP-SP is another example of a framework created to narrow down those skills necessary for success in athletics. According to this model, an athlete’s performance, mental health, and their degree mastery of mental competencies are interrelated.

According to the three models, the Wheel of Excellence, OMSAT-3, and the GMP-SP, there are certain mental skills that are crucial for athletic success. Despite only having one mental skill in common, these three models are more similar than different. The only mental skill that is overtly the same across models is self-confidence. Not only does can it directly affect performance, but it also influences other necessary mental skills such as resilience and motivation. For example, athletes who are more confident in their abilities are more likely to persist when facing adversity. While self-confidence is not the primary variable in the wheel of excellence, the OMSAT-3 and GMP-SP list it as one of their most necessary skills. Athletes also attest to the importance of self-confidence. A 1993 study showed that it was rated the most important mental skill required for success. I also rate self-confidence as the most important skill. Performance without self-confidence is impossible. Without it, you will be unable to showcase your talent, and persist through setbacks. You can be the most talented athlete in the world, but without belief in your abilities you might as well sit the bench.

All three models feature some type of emotional, arousal, or attentional management strategies. It’s important for athletes to be able to control their arousal responses. While a certain level of arousal is needed, exceeding an individual’s threshold can have adverse physiological effects such as muscle tension, increased heart rate, and increased stress. These physiological hinderances have cognitive and behavioral consequences. When athletes are unable to manage arousal levels, they become less able to concentrate their attention and filter important information. This results in altering their decision making and subsequent actions, and overall poor performance. Stress management is another concern addressed in the OMSAT-3 and GMP-SP. Stress occurs when athletes perceive tasks’ demands to exceed their own ability. Increased levels of stress are associated with poor performance and mental health. Although all 3 of the models don’t overtly share the same variables; upon further inspection, they do communicate a similar message. To be a successful athlete you must be confident, able to regulate arousal levels, and maintain focus. This is for sure an oversimplification of what it takes to be successful in sport, but I do believe that these are the keystones for building the most successful athletes. 

Back to the original point of the article. The MonSTARS were like 50% of the way there in their plan to take over Tune World. They zapped the talent out of basketball’s biggest names BUT they failed to consider psychological attributes. So, in appearance they were All-Stars, but mentally they were still those puny, insecure, unmotivated aliens. I think that’s the case for a lot of us, including me. Outwardly, we may look like the perfect athlete, like a literal Greek goddess in my case. But, mentally we need work. I think these models can guide us to matching our mental physique to our physical. It doesn’t matter to which model you ascribe. At the heart of all of them is the assumption that elite athletes can be differentiated from the rest through the ability to use mental skills, primarily, confidence, emotional and arousal regulation, and attentional focus. So on paper, yes, the Mon-Stars were completely robbed; but psychologically they were weak. Congrats to the Tune Squad and MJ yall won that round, but if theres ever a Space Jam 2 (I’m not counting that Lebron nonsense) sign me up as the MonSTARS mental performance consultant and we will bring Tune World to its knees.