Build Routines, Then Build Habits
Depending on your source, 50%—60% of our daily activities are performed out of habit. The mind loves habits because habits entail the expenditure of very little mental energy. I don’t think through the details of tying my shoes every morning or turning on a light when I walk into a room. I perform the task without expending energy thinking about the task details. Of course, performing tasks out of habit can be a double-edged sword. Undesirable behavior can also be initiated out of habit. Habits are automatic behaviors initiated with little thought. Good habits can serve a player well by facilitating a rapid response without using mental energy to analyze a situation methodically.
The rapid response is achieved through a “habit loop.” The habit loop has three components: the “cue,” which is the stimulus or trigger that initiates action; the “routine,” which is how the body responds to the cue; and the “reward,” which is the driver for habits by telling the brain that this particular action is worth performing again. When dealing with many on-court situations, as much as we can put the athlete on “autopilot” by using the habit loop, less mental energy is used, facilitating a faster reaction for the athlete. For example, the attacker shows a tip with the attacking hand (cue), the defender recognizes the cue and releases to defend the off-speed shot (response), and the ball is successfully played (reward). This “habit loop” is performed without a mental analysis due to the repetitions and feedback the athlete has received during their practice routines. The mental energy that is saved can be used in other ways. However, players have also developed bad habits. How can this happen? It’s easy. The same habit loop is implemented. For example, the left front defender plays a tip shot by the opponent. As soon as they play the ball, the next responsibility is transitioning to an attacker (cue); however, the bad habit is not incorporating good attack footwork (response); because of the poor footwork, they couldn’t kill the ball during the attack, but the process was less taxing physically (reward). In this situation, not all rewards serve the team positively, hence the term “bad habit.”
The stronger the connection between the cue and the response, the more ingrained the good or bad habit becomes. Using the same example as above, the player plays the tip (cue), then drops off the net to take a four-step approach (response) and kills the transition attack (reward). The connection between the cue and the response will strengthen through repetition, facilitating good and bad habits. This connection’s strength and impact underscore the importance of mindful repetitions during practice.
The Habit Loop and Coaches
To this point, the focus is on how players acquire habits. But what about our coaching habits? If you apply the Habit Loop to coaches, it works the same. Like player habits, that might be good or bad. Bad habit: On the first day of practice (cue), the coach dusts off the drill book from last year and runs the same drills (response), and the practice unfolds with minimal fuss (reward). Or, from a more positive perspective, the team has their first day of practice (cue), the coach implements a new warmup, going away from a stretching program by focusing on movement and ball control (response), and the players receive more repetitions of skill-specific movement and increased touches on the ball (reward).
Positive Routines are the Key to Developing Positive Habits
Most habits don’t start as habits; they start as routines. At first glance, these two terms seem interchangeable. However, the difference is quite stark. Both habits and routines are regular and repeated actions, but habits take place with little or no conscious thought. Meanwhile, routines require a higher degree of intention and effort that leads to positive results. If my routine is getting out of bed every morning at 5:30 am to work out, albeit difficult, it will increase my fitness level. I plan every workout to include cardio and strength training and monitor progress. It is the daily routine that brings about the desired result.
For volleyball coaches, a sample routine might be meeting with the team 15 minutes before practice to present the focus of the practice, keywords that will be used to emphasize a particular skill component, the drills we are running with the specific areas of emphasis, and the measurable objectives for the practice. The pre-practice information is taken further by focusing on specific footwork for attacking, moving efficiently to the ball in serve-receive, or attacking off the blockers’ hands. As practice unfolds, the focus of coaches and players will reflect the pre-practice whiteboard session. With daily repetition, routines can be the foundation for developing good habits, resulting in positive and visible results during competition.
Coaches can implement a routine into their personal development. The cue might be improving my coaching knowledge; the routine might be spending 30 minutes daily reading or watching instructional videos on skill development, communication skills, game management, or physical training. The reward is being better equipped to present the best learning environment for your team.
Establishing and maintaining a routine is difficult. To make progress, you must be specific about what you desire to accomplish and establish a consistent routine to achieve those results. How long does it take to show positive on-court results? Whether it’s been twenty, thirty, or three hundred days doesn’t matter. What matters is how many times you perform the behavior. The key is repetition. Identify the aspect of the game that you are focusing upon, then what the key components inside that aspect (think keys to the keys), and then develop a plan to relentlessly work with your players to be able to execute consistently.
For example, if you only work on blocking footwork once every three weeks, the expectation for improvement should be low. To increase the consistency of our blocking footwork, identify the key components (starting posture, shuffle step, 3-step crossover, 2-step crossover, 1-step crossover, etc.), break them into manageable parts, and grind them through daily repetition as part of your routine. The key components to a routine that produces positive results are 1) consistency of the routine, 2) there are specific objectives, and 3) the athlete is pushed to the edge of their abilities.
If you’ve read previous blogs of mine, you’ll notice that these three ingredients are very similar to the components of Cognitive Learning Theory and Deliberate Practice. (Past blogs.) A team culture that embraces the challenges of implementing a consistent and challenging routine makes the process more enjoyable.
Let’s be honest: Being a winning team is hard. If it weren’t hard, there would be more good teams. One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to establish a culture where (1) the desired behavior is the expected behavior, 2) the players understand the “why” behind the routine, and (3) your players possess a shared vision for the group and are willing to do the work. I recall swimmer Katie Ledecky being interviewed during an Olympic competition. The interviewer asked how she obtained a performance level that allowed her to win nine Olympic gold medals. The reporter was searching for some “secret sauce” that led to her success. Ledecky looked confused and responded, “I just do the work every day.” As I watched the interview, I recall how great a response that was to the question. There isn’t a secret sauce to improvement. Becoming great is a daily grind, accurately reflected in Ledecky’s response. Success is the result of a specific and challenging daily routine. What routines do you implement for your team at every practice session? What routine can you implement for your coaching development? Any routine can be repetitive and tedious. (See the 5:30 am workouts). That’s part of the challenge. Try to spice it up by varying the activity while being mindful of content consistency. Think long-term. The goal is not immediate results but establishing a lasting and positive connection in the Habit Loop.
