Beyond First Impressions: Tackling Confirmation Bias in Youth Sports Coaching
“What human beings are best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.” — Warren Buffett
In the world of youth sports coaching, first impressions can often paint an enduring picture of an athlete.
Whether it’s a player’s first drill at tryouts or their initial interaction during a team meeting, these early snippets of performance can set a lasting tone.
This is where confirmation bias sneaks into the coaching playbook, subtly steering your judgments and decisions without you even realising.
Understanding Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is the mental shortcut that leads you to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms your pre-existing beliefs.
In his book, Born a Crime, Trevor Noah shares a funny, yet sad story that illustrates this example:
Every Sunday, he and his family would go to Church. His mother, a devout Christian woman, ensured that going to church wasn’t a debate. After breakfast, on this particular Sunday, the family strapped themselves into their car, only to find that the car wouldn’t start.
The day’s nine-hour journey was bad enough, and the idea of using public transport wasn’t what Trevor had in mind. He hoped and prayed that his mom would see things that same way and that they wouldn’t go to Church that day, since the car was broken down.
His mom on the other hand, had other ideas. They were going to get the bus.
Trevor’s mom believed that the car breaking down was the Devil’s way of tempting them.
Trevor argued that perhaps it was God giving them a sign. The back and forth didn’t last long as anyone who grew up in an African household would attest to.
At 09:00 pm that evening, after making all the rounds to various churches, the family found themselves at the bus stop waiting for the last bus back.
Under apartheid, the government provided no public transport for black people. The only possible buses were privatised buses, run by different groups. An informal organised criminal network of sorts. You wouldn’t want to be out that late waiting for the bus.
Eventually, they found themselves on a bus, run by a group belonging to the Zulu tribe. Being Xhosa didn’t help the situation and an argument broke out. The situation was bleak and Trevor feared for his mother, a stubborn woman, who wouldn’t back down.
The dangerous situation resulted in the family jumping out of the speeding bus fearing for the safety of their lives.
Finally getting to safety, Trevor’s mother exclaimed, “Thank God, we are safe!”
Ahh, our old friend confirmation bias and the nine-year-old Trevor who retorted angrily:
“This was not thanks to God! You should have listened to God when he told us to stay at home when the car wouldn’t start because clearly, the devil tricked us into coming out tonight!”
Confronted by the exact same sequence of events, the family interpreted the information in a way that confirmed their pre-existing beliefs.
This is the essence of confirmation bias.
Confirmation Bias in Youth Sports
The subconscious process of confirmation bias leaves coaches and their players as victims too.
During a recent game, my team and I reacted to the referee’s call interestingly. If the call favoured us, we naturally thought that it was a good call.
Of course, the same call being made for the other team was met with disappointment and jeers from our team. In this case, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that the referee is bad or biased.
The ramifications of confirmation bias don’t just stop with refereeing decisions. They are multifaceted:
Selection and Playtime: A coach might overlook a player's progress, focusing instead on initial shortcomings that reinforce their first impression. When this plays out, coaches will only see evidence of those shortcomings and tend to miss the moments of brilliance or improvement that the player shows.
Development: Players perceived under a negative light might receive less constructive feedback or fewer growth opportunities, stunting their development. This self-fulfilling prophecy is a well-documented phenomenon with over 80 years of research evidence, and is more commonly known as the Rosenthal Effect.
Strategies to Overcome Confirmation Bias
1. Widening the Lens: To counter confirmation bias, coaches should consciously widen their observational lens. Like a photographer adjusting the focus to capture a broader scene, coaches need to gather a more diverse set of observations about each player, rather than zeroing in on behaviours that confirm their initial judgments.
2. Structured Reflection: Implement a routine of structured reflection. After games and practices, take notes not just on what confirmed your expectations, but specifically on instances that contradicted them. This practice can be like reviewing game footage, where the goal is to see what you might have missed in the heat of the moment.
3. Seeking Second Opinions: Just as a writer benefits from an editor’s fresh eyes, a coach can gain new perspectives by discussing players’ progress with other coaches or even the athletes themselves. This dialogue can help unearth biases and challenge entrenched beliefs.
4. Fostering a Growth Mindset: Develop a coaching philosophy that values growth and potential over static assessments. Encourage a team culture where every player is seen not just as they are, but for what they could become. This approach can help coaches stay open to changes in players' performances and attitudes.
The Metaphor of the Iceberg
Think of each athlete as an iceberg.
What you see during initial evaluations is just the tip, emerging above the water. Beneath the surface, there's a massive structure of skills, potential, and traits that might go unnoticed if you fixate solely on the top.
Diving deeper and exploring these hidden depths can reveal the true expanse of an athlete’s capabilities.
The Rosental Experiment
In youth sports, every coach wields the power to shape not just athletes but future individuals.
In one of Rosenthal’s experiments, he went to a school and informed the teachers that through a test, he could predict which students would be high achievers. After performing the test, he shared the results with the teachers and came back a year later to evaluate.
Those who were identified as high achievers more than doubled on their test results. Those labelled as low achievers had performed worse.
The teachers amazed by his prediction wanted to know what was on the test.
He informed them that the test was irrelevant. He had split the group into perceived high achievers randomly. The teachers believed that some of their students were high achievers, hence found evidence of this. The teachers believed that some of their students were low achievers, hence found evidence of this.
It was the teacher’s belief that impacted the student’s development. It was their bias that created this self-fulfilling prophecy.
By acknowledging and addressing confirmation bias, coaches can ensure they’re truly nurturing every player’s potential, not just coaching based on first impressions.
As we peel away the layers of bias, we enable a more inclusive, fair, and constructive sports environment that champions growth and true assessment over mere perceptions.