Errors and Schmerrors

ERROR -  Mistakes on the court that arise out of old habit/skill patterns, mindlessly repeated without conscious awareness.

SCHMERROR - Mistakes that emerge out of undertaking risk, crossing beyond the threshold of our adopted limits and beliefs. 

One of the most damaging things a coach can do to an athlete is create an expectation of performance that generates a reluctance or fear of making mistakes (be they errors of skill, judgement or interpretation). In doing so, you kill the soul of the athlete, and eliminate curiosity and creativity, which are key elements of learning.

The fear of mistakes grows because of the consequences they are perceived to bring: criticism, failure, embarrassment, ridicule, loss of face, physical penalty. So they subconsciously devise a way to minimise errors all together. 

How do you stop making mistakes? By NOT TAKING RISKS! Don’t do anything you’re not absolutely sure about. Play it safe, take the path of least resistance, stay in the comfort zone.

To assist players in making the distinction, we have given them distinguishing names. The former we label just what they are: ERRORS. Making errors is an indicator of not being in the moment and that your mind has effectively been rendered unavailable for learning. 

The second category we have named “SCHMERRORS”. These are errors of thinking, execution or decision making that the individual has never made before. Each one comes as a result of challenging a limit and risking a “failure”. But there is no failure with Schmerrors. A player might try something different and not quite have the skill to pull it off, but they gain invaluable experiential knowledge and self-belief. They may risk “losing” in order to access new frontiers of performance, but in so doing, discover that winning has nothing to do with making them better. 

Encourage athletes to make as many schmerrors as they can. Indeed, the greatest champions will be those who have discovered more ways and created more opportunities to make schmerrors than anyone else. Every “new” and “original” schmerror provides learning potential. Every old and repeated error only binds one’s limits tighter. In extending skills and striving to reach one’s true potential, only a commitment to risk and the inevitable schmerrors it will produce, can succeed.

(Text adapted from unpublished book by Alexis Lebedew and Indra Reinpuu.)