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What is PERSONAL CONTROL?

Personal Control refers to an athlete’s beliefs about their personal control over the events that affect their lives. Athletes with strong personal control believe they can overcome setbacks or obstacles with a good plan and sufficient effort. They believe the setback is only temporary or the obstacle will interfere briefly. They believe that their success is due to their skills and hard work and failures and setbacks can be avoided by hard work

Take The MSA

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INTERPRETING THE PERSONAL CONTROL SCORE ON THE MSA

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Athletes with strong Personal Control believe that they have a great deal of control over the events affect their lives. When athletes with strong Personal Control experience a setback or obstacle they believe they can overcome it and they take action to do so. The setback or obstacle does not interfere with other plans or activities. They believe the setback is only temporary or the obstacle will interfere briefly. Athletes with a strong Personal Control believe that their success is due to their skills and hard work and failures and setbacks can be avoided by hard work.

 

WHAT CAN INFLUENCE THE Personal Control SCORE?

Personal Control is enhanced by Satisfaction and Task Confidence. Personal Control increases level of Effort, Leadership, Goal Setting, and Goal Implementation. Personal Control is diminished by low scores on Self-Worth and low Task Confidence.

TIPS FOR ATHLETES

Do you have a strong Personal Control? Is your Personal Control MSA score high or low? In what situations is the score high and in what situations is it low? What are your Personal Control BITEs (behaviors, images, thoughts, emotions)? Are they different in different situations?

  1. Make a list of your Personal Control BITEs especially those that occur in the face of frustrations, obstacles, and setbacks. Identify which ones are positive and helpful for building a sense of personal control over events and which are not helpful.

  2. Do you blame others, other players, coaches, equipment, weather or other external causes when you make a mistake or perform less well than you can? If you do your BITEs are about external control of your performance and your Personal Control is low.

TIPS FOR COACHES

What drives your athletes to succeed? Are they strongly affected by setbacks that affect performance? Do they blame themselves for setbacks? Are you a good role model for strong Personal Control?

  1. Note tendencies in your athlete to blame others for his or her mistakes, losses, frustrations, obstacles, or setbacks. Without making statements that diminish the athlete’s character, ability, or self-worth, redirect the conversation to ways in which the athlete can positively influence events.

  2. Help your athletes understand and come to believe that most mistakes, losses, frustrations, obstacles, or setbacks can be most effectively managed by focusing on positive actions (BITEs) the athlete can take that are under their control. Focus on what can be learned from the mistakes, losses, frustrations, obstacles, or setbacks. Consider setting or adjusting goals based on the mistakes, losses, frustrations, obstacles, or setbacks.

ATHLETES

When I set a goal, do I usually follow through and implement a plan to reach that goal?

Do I layout a specific plan to reach a goal?

COACHES

Do my athletes believe in and adapt the goals put forward by the team?

Do I recognize when I may need to suggest modifying an existing goal for an athlete?

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