Mindfulness is causing quite a stir lately.  What’s worth knowing? First, a common understanding of mindfulness is being present with attention and curiosity such that our biases and feelings don’t interfere. We can improve our mindfulness through practice, often known as meditation, focusing or grounding. So far, so good.  To be mindful calls for related skills.  A very important one is managing the thoughts and emotions in our heads.  In western cultures many of us were raised to interact politely and effectively with people and organizations that were part of our daily lives.  We weren’t trained to “put a lid on”  what went on in our heads as well as mindfulness calls for.

Thoughts and feelings can “…kind of hook us, and reel us in, … jerk us around, and …pull us all over the place.”(Harris, p. 11). Certainly, managing emotions is a very big part of performance in sports. So controlling emotions and their related cognitions is key. Grasping what we can and cannot control is a second related skill. A lot can fill our heads and lead to anxiety and stress. In much of life, especially sports, it helps to attend to what we can control and put aside, and preferably out of mind, what we can’t. We can put together a football game plan based on film and scouting reports.  But, come game day, we’re best off doing the basics well and staying with the plan, especially at the high school level. There are simply limits to how much we can control the opposition. This leads to the last and very central skill often associated with mindfulness. That skill  is working on the process and minimizing the disruptive influence of thinking about outcomes, especially the final score. Rob Polishook made the distinction quite well for tennis, at least for a brief overview:

Outcome goals focus on  …the end result, while process goals focus on the steps a player must take to have the best chance  to achieve … (an) outcome goal. For example, an outcome goal might be to win a tournament, while a process goal could be to improve serving accuracy, third shot drops, or staying calm … between points.(2025). Building the skill of working with  process goals calls for a workshop all by itself! It’s not an easy skill to acquire. However, the Process formed the cornerstone of the strategy of one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, Nick Saban who won 7 national championships, 6 at Alabama and one at L.S.U. .(Burke, 131-133).   A further component for Saban’s approach is  the educational principle of breaking the parts of a skill into manageable sub-skills for teaching and learning. So, there’s certainly more to mindfulness than first meets the eye.

References

• Burke, Monte.(2015). Saban, the making of a coach.
• Harris, Russ. (2019). ACT made simple, (2nd ed.)
• Polishook, Rob. Goal Setting: How to Plan Your Success? Long Island Tennis. May/June 2025. p. 15.

Hi, and Greetings! Tuesday November 7 is the date for the Suffolk Zone’s Mini Conference at Sachem East High School, 177 Granny Road in Farmingville, 11738. I’ll be doing two related back-to-back workshops. Both are in rooms B122.

Session 3: 10:00-10:55

Basics of Mental Well-Being for All from the World Health Organization (W.H.O).

 We’ll look at core skills, train in Grounding or Brief Meditation and look at applying them in the classroom, on teams, and to your favorite sport. These skills are from the W.H.O.’s group program, “Self-Help Plus,” and its parallel for individuals, “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress.”

Session 4: 11:30-12:25

The W.H.O.’s “Self-Help Plus” Program- a Deep Dive into Values Clarification.”

We’ll go into depth with practical applications of Values,  Values Clarification and Making Decisions. This will continue our exploration of the mental skills from the World Health Organization’s “Self-Help Plus” that is used around the world. I’m looking forward to seeing you there! Art Arthur L. Popp, Ph.D.
Licensed NYS Psychologist

Tuesday, November 8th

Our Suffolk Zone Conference of the NYS AHPERD  is on Tuesday, November 8^th at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket.  I’ll be doing two presentations in the school library that day.

• Session IV, 11:30-12:25 – Sports Psychology Applied to Teaching H.S. P.E. Students and Athletes
• Session V, 12:30-1:25 – Self Help Plus, the World Health Organization’s stress management program, applied to sports.

Also, meet me in the Vendor Area.  I’ll be there in the morning.

Friday, November 18th

On November 18^th I’ll be presenting at the NYS AHPERD STATE CONFERENCE at Turning Stone Convention Center near Syracuse.

• 7:30am/Birch Room – I’ll be leading a discussion on our personal values and their role in planning retirement.
• 12:05pm/Oak Room – My second talk is on how basic stress management skills can benefit any athlete or team.  We'll be talking about the Self Help Plus Program from the World Health Organization.

I’ve talked to lots of teachers over the past 2 years. As you well know, many have faced high stress during the pandemic and that’s been very hard on them and their students. I am confident that we can do a better job equipping ourselves with the skills and habits needed to face the challenges of adversities like the pandemic. The CDC has said that Covid may be back in a form that could have an impact this fall, especially when the weather turns colder. Hopefully, whatever variant appears will be nowhere as harmful as those we’ve already faced. And, many Americans are fully vaccinated.  Dr. Ann Eckardt Erlanger of Suffolk County Psychological Association (SCPA) looked into programs available for large groups on training in mental health.  It appears there are few quality programs out there. This could affect you and your school or district.  So I’d like to suggest a program that we’ve already paid for with our tax dollars.  The United Nations, through the World Health Organization, initially developed “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” for aid workers in war-torn countries, particularly Syria and Uganda. As a service created by the W.H.O., the research is substantial. It comes in many languages. The English version is about 40 pages. I found it easy to grasp and practice.  There are also five audio tapes that support the reading. You can download the manual and the audio tapes for no charge. Again, we’ve already paid for the program’s development. Very importantly, learning “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress (a Self-Help + program of the W.H.O.)” can be done on your own or in a relatively large group up to 30. The program teaches five skills. I’ve tweaked versions of the skills for use with the teams I’ve coached including boy’s football, girl’s flag football, and soccer. Here’s a video by the W.H.O. about “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress.” It’s just over two minutes long: The program does something very important: It emphasizes lots of practice so we’re ready to use the skills when needed. This addresses a weakness of many mental health and social-emotional learning programs - not including sufficient practice to build the skills. Check it out. Here’s the reference for an English version. This is the version I was referring to above. Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide. Adapted Version for the Caribbean. Washington, D.C. Pan American Health Organization.2021. License: C By-NC. SA 3.0 IGO. https://doi.org/10.37774/9789275123935. If you'd like help in implementing, email me or call.  A disclaimer- I receive no remuneration from the W.H.O. or the U.N.! Have a great summer!