Staying Positive Step 3

Staying Positive: The ability to use tactics and strategies to overcome setbacks and achieve goals.

Step 3: I keep trying and stay calm when something goes wrong

Outcomes

To achieve Step 3, learners should react to setbacks by staying calm and continuing to try hard at the task, if appropriate.

This step builds on the previous one by focusing on not just persisting but staying calm to allow for a measured response.

Learners need to be able to:

Introduction

Sometimes when something bad happens we might feel sad. However, sometimes we have a stronger negative emotional response of feeling angry or scared.
When we have one of these emotional responses, we might end up taking actions which end up making things much worse. For example, if we are angry, we might end up being aggressive to other people.

Skill Starter

Calm and Collected

In pairs, learners discuss where they might have had to stay calm. Ask:

After a short discussion, ask a few pairs to share with the group.

10 mins

Paired activity

Discussion

Teach & Apply

Calmness is a positive emotion which is when we are settled and content with a situation. It helps gives us space to think about a setback or a problem and think through what can be done instead.
There are a few steps to calm down if you feel angry:

It is important to make the choice to calm down. It will take thoughtful effort and energy.
Find some space. Try to take yourself out of that situation.
Think about something that calms you down, like people you love or something you are looking forward to.
Focus on breathing slowly, some people find counting in their heads helpful
Talk to someone who you trust and who is supportive. Talking about something can help you to feel less angry or upset by it
Physical activity can help, as can trying to relax your body – if we are tense it often causes us to tense our shoulders, for example.

Optional Activity

Uphill Challenge

Set a team what might seem like an impossible goal, e.g. start them 5 – 0 down, or not give one team the right equipment.

How do they stay calm and positive when a situation is against them?

Ask them to have a go at overcoming the challenge. At the end, reflect on which strategies they found helpful.

15 mins

Group activity

Active

Reflection & Assessment

Embed these strategies across your teaching and coaching to help learners apply what they’ve learnt.

Have a visual reminder of what an individual can do to stay calm in the face of setbacks which can be referred to if learners are scared or angry.

Use these ideas for ways of assessing this skill step to help you check learners’ understanding and confidence.

This step is best assessed through observing how learners respond to setbacks in training or matches, or when things going wrong – including how they interact with their coach, parents and peers outside of learning.
Ask these reflective questions:
- How do you feel when something goes wrong?
- How do you behave if you are angry or upset?
- How can you stay calm when something goes wrong?