Number 8: Using the Sweet Spot to Create a Motivational Practice

Coach Michael MacKay affirms that during the learning process, learners need to wobble and have elements of failure. Along the learning spectrum, there is an area, which Brian McCormick refers to as the sweet spot. This is where the learner needs to be most of the time.

If the learner is experiencing success too much, then the activity is too easy, and the learner gets over confident, bored and loses focus.

If the activity is too difficult, the learner gets frustrated, may lose confidence and loses interest.

The middle ground is the Sweet Spot. As coaches, it is our job to assess where each learner is and how we can facilitate their learning by changing the environment, the variables and the constraints to suit their learning. As the learner progresses, their confidence changes, so too does the sweet spot on the spectrum.

That means a beginner may need to experience success a lot more frequently to keep them mentally engaged and interested than an advanced player who can have more failures, yet still be engaged and challenged.