Performance slumps are one of the most common, yet mysterious, phenomena in sports. Typically viewed as unexplained drops in performances, slumps are a source of concern for athletes and coaches. Despite its visible place in the collective psyche of the athletic community, little is known about the causes or cures for performance slumps. As a consequence, this article will look at how athletes and coaches may prevent, identify, and overcome slumps.
What is a Slump?
Slumps are used to describe a wide variety of performance declines. As a result, there has been no clear definition of what a slump really is. For example, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 1974) defines a slump as “a period of poor or losing play by a team or individual” (p. 1095). However, this definition lacks precision. Several factors must be considered in defining slumps. First, ability is important. That is, if the team is always lousy, their poor play would not be a slump. As such, current performance must always be compared to a previous level of play. Second, the length of the decline is relevant. For example, a baseball hitter who goes 0 for 4 may not be in a slump, but if he goes 0 for 25, he probably is. Third, a common aspect of a slump is that there seems to be no apparent explanation for the decline. If there is an obvious reason for the drop in performance, such as an injury, then it would not be a slump. Finally, a slump is subjective, i.e., a slump for one person may not be a slump for another.
In defining a slump, these factors must be taken into consideration. As a result, a slump is presently defined as: An unexplained drop in performance that extends longer than would be expected from normal ups and downs of competition (Taylor, 1988).
Identifying a Slump
An inherent part of sports participation is that performance will vary naturally during the course of a season. In other words, it is rare for athletes to maintain a consistently high level of performance. As a result, most performance declines are simply a typical part of the ups and downs of competition. So, the question is whether a decline is a slump or just a natural drop in the performance cycle?
The first step in determining whether a decline is a slump is to evaluate an athlete’s average level of performance. That is, how does the athlete usually perform? For statistically-oriented sports like baseball and basketball, this can be measured by plotting performance to date on a graph. Then, normal variation can be determined by seeing the ups and downs that commonly occur during the season. Next, recent performance can be compared to the normal variation. If the current decrease is unusually low, it may be a slump. Finally, a superficial look at the causes of the decline should be done. If there is no obvious cause of the drop in performance, it is safe to say that the athlete is in a slump.
Causes of Slumps
The causes of performance slumps can be grouped into four general categories. First, perhaps the most common cause of slumps is a physical problem. These difficulties include fatigue, minor injuries, and lingering illness. Second, slumps may be due to subtle changes in technique that occur during the course of a season. These changes may be in the execution of the skill or in the timing of the movement. Third, slumps may begin with changes in an athlete’s equipment, e.g., loosening of string tension on a tennis racquet or a different weight of a new baseball bat. Particularly in those sports that require elaborate equipment, there is a precise balance between equipment and technique. As a result, a slight change in equipment may alter technique, thereby hurting performance. Fourth, slumps can be caused by psychological factors. Furthermore, the mental contributors may be related to or independent of the athletic involvement. For example, a particularly poor performance may reduce confidence and increase anxiety, which could lead to a prolonged drop in performance. In contract, issues away from competition such as family difficulties, financial problems, and school struggles may distract concentration, increase stress, and decrease motivation, thus resulting in a performance decline.
Recommendations for Preventing Slumps
The best way to deal with slumps is to prevent them from happening. Slumps can be prevented by paying careful attention to the causes of slumps and taking steps to avoid those causes.
Physical.
As discussed above, many slumps begin with physical difficulties. More specifically, slumps are often caused by the normal physical wear-and-tear of the competitive season. As a result, performance slumps may be prevented by paying attention to various factors that influence an athlete’s physical state.
One important area that can be addressed is physical condition. Quite simply, athletes who are well-conditioned will be less susceptible to fatigue, injury, and illness. Consequently, a rigorous off-season physical training program and a competitive season physical maintenance program will help minimize slumps due to physical breakdown. Second, a significant part of slump prevention is rest. In other words, physical deterioration can be lessened by actively incorporating rest into athletes’ training and competitive regimens. Adequate rest can be assured in several ways. Days off can be built into the weekly training schedule. For example, in sports with weekend competitions, having mandatory Mondays off is a good way to ensure that athletes are able to recover from the prior week’s training and the stresses of the previous days’ competition.
Third, athletes can reduce the quantity and increase the quality of training as the season progresses. This approach will allow athletes to maintain a high level of health and energy right through the end of the season. This is especially important in sports that have lengthy season such as baseball, tennis, and golf.
Fourth, planning a responsible competition schedule can also prevent slumps. Perhaps the most demanding aspect of sports involvement is the actual competition. Competing in too many events is both physically and mentally draining and may be counterproductive for the athlete. As a result, athletes and coaches need to select the competitions that are most important for the athletes and to avoid scheduling events that serve no specified purpose in the athlete’s seasonal competitive plan.
Fifth, scheduling time off about three weeks before an important competition, particularly when it is towards the end of the season, can help to ensure a high level of performance. This strategy allows athletes to recover from previous competitions, overcome nagging injuries and illness, focus attention on the upcoming competition, and prepare for the final push toward that competition.
Most fundamentally, the best way to reduce the likelihood of a slump due to physical causes is for athletes to listen to their bodies. They need to acknowledge fatigue, injury, and illness and when any are evident, they should be dealt with immediately. Simply put, athletes must learn to work hard and rest hard.
Technical.
Slumps that are caused by technical changes can also be prevented by taking steps to maintain sound technique which results in strong performance. First, technique is best developed during the off-season when the primary focus is on technical improvement and there is adequate time to fully acquire the skills. As a result, technically-induced performance slumps may be prevented by minimizing technical work done during the competitive season. Working on technique may not only disturb the technique that is producing good performance, it may also hurt performance by reducing confidence and distracting concentration. In addition, maintaining a video library of good technique and performances can be used by athletes and coaches to remind them of proper technique and to compare current with past technique.
Technological.
The best way to prevent technologically-related performance slumps is to maintain equipment at its high performance level. For example, tennis racquets should be restrung before their tension changes or if a favorite baseball bat is broken, it should be replaced by another of identical weight and balance.
Psychological.
Performance slumps that are caused by psychological factors can be addressed at two levels. First, for those difficulties that arise directly from competition, it is important to have athletes engaged in a regular mental training program. This approach will develop athletes’ mental skills in areas such as self-confidence, anxiety, concentration, and motivation, thereby making them more resilient to the negative psychological effects of periodic poor performance. In addition, following poor performance, it is necessary for athletes to actively combat these negative psychological effects by employing these mental skills. This will prevent them from getting caught in a self-perpetuating vicious cycle of low self-confidence and poor performance.
Second, for those difficulties that occur away from the sport, it is necessary for athletes to work them out quickly and effectively. In addition, the previously-learned mental skills can used to leave these difficulties off the field, so that, at least during competition, athletes are able to maintain their proper focus and intensity, thus preventing a drop in performance.
SlumpBusting Plan
It is essential that slumps be addressed in an organized and systematic way. Athletes and coaches must look at each cause and determine to best way to alleviate it. In addition, the attitude that athletes and coaches have about getting out of the slump will also be a factor. Typically, athletes and coaches believe that athletes can just jump out of their slump. However, the fact is that it takes time to get into a slump and it takes time to get out of one. As a result, athletes and coaches must be prepared to put in the necessary time and effort for the athletes to return to their previous level of performance.
Time-Out.
The first thing that athletes need to do in the SlumpBusting process is take some time away from training and competition that provides a change of scenery and people. This time-out offers several benefits. First, slumps produce strong negative thinking and emotions in athletes, which helps to maintain the slump. The time-out enables athletes to let go of the negative attitudes and feelings and regain a positive attitude for upcoming preparation and competition. In other words, the time-out acts like an emotional vacation and provides them with much-needed perspective with which to look ahead toward better performances.
Second, slumps can be draining physically and emotionally. Consequently, time-out allows athletes to recover and to “recharge their batteries.” This restoration will further assist in the return to competitive form.
Third, the time-out gives athletes the opportunity to devise an organized plan to overcome the slump. The time away from the sport will enhance athletes’ ability to view their slump objectively. They can then use this information to alleviate the slump in the shortest possible time.
Goal-Setting.
A critical part of the SlumpBusting Plan is to develop an organized program aimed at alleviating the slump. This program is based on setting a series of specified goals. As with all goals that are set, these should be specific, realistic, and measurable.
Return-to-form goal.
This goal defines the ultimate purpose of the SlumpBusting program. In particular, the return-to-form goal indicates the level of performance to which the athlete wants to return. For example, a baseball hitter in a slump might set his return-to-form goal at his pre-slump batting average.
Causal goals.
These goals focus on the level of performance associated with the particular causes of the slump. If there is more than one cause of a slump, it important that a goal be set for each cause. For example, if a slump is caused by an injury and maintained by a loss of self-confidence, then separate goals should be set for rehabilitating the injury and for rebuilding self-confidence.
Daily training goals.
Once the causal goals have been established, daily goals must be set in order to achieve the causal goals. The daily training goals specify what athletes must do in their regular training to relieve the causes, thereby alleviating the slump. It is important in determining these goals to understand what is required to overcome the causes of the slump. For example, if a cause involves a technical problem, it is up to the athlete and coach to decide the best way to resolve the technical flaw and, more specifically, what to do in training to work toward the causal goal. Additionally, these goals should ensure that the athletes progress toward their causal and return-to-form goals in an incremental and constructive way.
Daily performance goals.
Frequently, athletes are unable to take time off to work on their slump due to their competitive schedule. As a result, it is often necessary to keep performing while trying to relieve the slump. This situation is difficult because it forces athletes to keep performing at a sub-par level. Daily performance goals provide a level of performance to work toward that, though below the return-to-form level, is above the current slump level. These goals act to motivate the athlete and reinforce rather than discourage effort by furnishing realistic levels toward which to aim. They also provide a positive orientation that will help the athlete in resolving the slump.
Counseling
It is also recommended that, along with the SlumpBusting plan, athletes in severe slumps have individual and group counseling available to them. As mentioned earlier, a significant component of a performance slump is the negative emotional chain that develops. Individual counseling enables athletes to air their thoughts and feelings to an objective observer and allows the counselor to provide effective coping skills that will help the athlete better deal with the anxiety and concerns of being in a slump. Group counseling enables athletes to share their experiences about slumps. These sessions have several functions. First, they provide a structured system of social support for the slumping athletes, thereby relieving the feelings of loneliness and isolation that are often present. Second, these sessions show athletes that their feelings are not unique and are, in fact, natural and expected. Third, they allow athletes to share their ideas about how to get out of a slump.
Conclusion
By following these recommendations, it will be possible for athletes to minimize the number of slumps they fall into during the competitive season. In addition, for those slumps that do arise, coaches and athletes will have the knowledge and skills to get out them in the shortest, most effective way.
