Cognitive Parenting Through Youth Sports

Tom Baker, Director

Heartscope Learning, Kansas City

www.greatbraincoach.org

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The greatest lifetime danger inherent in youth sports today is NOT physical injury …

(caveat: we reserve the right to amend this forecast as more longitudinal data is gathered related to the lifetime risk of subacute acquired brain injury)

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…rather, the greatest risk is social-emotional.

When kids are raised in a culture where ‘winning is everything’…

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… then when (eventually) a child fails at winning,

they quit sports altogether.

(with associated lifetime health and self-esteem consequences)

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Brain Science 101

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Remarkable Strides in Research

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Muscle MetaphorCognitive “Strength” vs Curriculum “Knowledge”

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About Us

Heartscope Learning, Overland Park, KS

Thomas Baker, Founder

Nonprofit since 2011

Offices at College & Antioch

Cognitive training since 2007Dyslexia (auditory processing)

Working memory

Executive Function

About Our New Program

“Cognizone”

Outgrowth of MBHE initiative at Harvard

Web tools available to parents at no charge to early adoptersWith referral from Primary Care Provider

About You

Primary Care Provider

Aligned with a ‘whole child’ definition of long term health and wellness

You Are Concerned (with the implications of)

Overemphasis in youth sports on adults’ ego needs

High burnout/dropout rate in youth sports

Conditional affection

Kids’ self-image too deeply tied to sports’ prowess

Solution

Meet parents where they are

Use sports context to inform broader cognitive coaching principlesAutonomy

Self-regulation

Resilience

Web tools provided at low/no costTo be implemented by families at home

Realistic Expectations

Bell-curve of parent/coach/team mindsets

Unknowns: level of future requirements to be competition at the

highest level (physical & mental)

level of emotional torture some % of sports’ parents willing to inflict on their children to fulfill parents’ unmet ambitions

Most student-athletes will never ‘turn pro’. Thus the lifetime value of decision speed training comes from growth in academic confidence

life-skills, especially autonomy and resilience

Research Basics

Bungelabs: Cal-Berkeley

SRL – Self Regulated Learning

SDT – Self Determination Theory

Expertise Development – Florida State

Our ‘Hidden’ Agenda Train parents to be effective brain

coaches

Lifetime value of adversity training

Reduce sports burnout

Optimal child/teen growth and wellness extends far beyond fleeting sports trophies

Much of lifetime parent/child relationship unfolds in sports context

Healthy bodies = Healthy brains

Program Modules

Distinction training vs coaching

Preseason: Cognizone: mental skills training

Early Season: SCOPES coaching for goals and tactics

Late Season: TBD (mindfulness, visualization)

Program Delivery Options

Premise: parents as brain coachesWorkouts held at home

Multiple benefits to ‘hands-on’ cognitive coaching

Consulting (upgrade) options In-person for Kansas City families

Skype for others

Software upgrade options

Decision Speed Training RequiresFor home ‘workouts’

Playing cards, 3-4 brain games (amazon.com)

iPad or DS, 3-5 apps (.99 to $19.99)

30 student minutes per day

20 parent minutes per day

A cognizone ‘recipe’ book

SCOPES Coaching Requires

Setup

10 minute parent profile (online)

20 minute student (online)

1-3 hour initial coach/student debrief

Ongoing

1 hour weekly coach/student followup

Primary Care Provider Role

Make information availableAsk us for parents’ website link and

coupon code

Use the form below, or email tom@kcbrain.org

Address family objections

Encourage parents and coaches adopt a long-term wellness perspective

Common Family Objections

Not enough timeA: invest time to save time

Students have different prioritiesA: At some point, athletes’ decision speed and SRL will become limiting factors. An ounce of prevention…

Limited guarantee methods ‘work’A: Underlying neurocognitive processes well researched

A: Clear dosage effect in all brain training: sports, academic, life.

Common Family Objections

Don’t know how / Don’t understandA: Value for student to see parent initially struggle

… then master

PCP Note: Sometimes, ‘don’t know’ is parent-code for ‘fear of hurting child’ and/or ‘fear of being judgedinadequate as a parent.’

Next Steps for Physicians

Now

PCP feedback to us is vital

Register via email for coupon code

Request hard/soft copy of parent info

Then

Provide Cognizone flyers to parents of student-athletes.

Cognitive Parenting Benefits

Summary

Lifetime benefit of teens not quitting sports

versus current culture = win at all costs

Many parents open to change, … given right tools

… and a face-saving vehicle for change

Decision speed and SRL benefits extend beyond season trophies

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Thank You!(optional) Upcoming Slides = Research Highlights

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Life = Brain Training

Taxi Drivershippocampal gray matter volume

corresponds with the level of driving experience (Maguire et al., 2000, 2006)

ChessGrabner, R. H., Neubauer, A. C., & Stern, E.

(2006). Superior performance and neural efficiency: The impact of intelligence and expertise. Brain Research Bulletin, 69(4), 422-439.

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Life = Brain Training

MusicLevitin, D. J. (2006). This is your brain on

music: The science of a human obsession. Dutton Adult.

Elbert et al., 1995; Gaser and Schlaug, 2003 )

Meditation .. altered brain activation in limbic and/or

frontoparietal regions for long-term meditation practitioners (Brefczynski-Lewis et al., 2007; Lutz et al., 2008)

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Life = Brain Training

Stroke … as recovery occurs, patients undergo

structural changes within the brain that enable functional compensation for damaged neural areas (Stuss et al., 1999).

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Life = Brain Training

Growth vs Fixed “Mindset”

Differential activation

Comparing fixed vs growth

Top image = negative feedback

Bottom = praise

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Brain Training in Children

Children can improve their performance on cognitive control tasks as a result of training.

demonstrated in healthy children (e.g., Karbach and Kray, 2009; Thorell et al., 2009; St. Clair-Thompson et al., 2010; Bergman Nutley et al., 2011; Loosli et al., 2011), and

children with cognitive or attentional impairments

(e.g., Klingberg et al., 2005; Shalev et al., 2007; Bangirana et al., 2009; Holmes et al., 2009a; Mezzacappa and Buckner, 2010; Rabiner et al., 2010; Van der Molen et al., 2010).

in: Jolles, D. D., & Crone, E. A. (2012). Training the developing brain: a neurocognitive perspective. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 6.

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Brain Training in Children

Cognitive training changes task performance and brain activation in children diagnosed with ADHD Hoekzema et al., 2010

training-related activation changes were found in syndrome-associated brain regions in frontal lobe and cerebellum, which are also target of psychostimulant medication.

in: Jolles, D. D., & Crone, E. A. (2012). Training the developing brain: a neurocognitive perspective. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 6.

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Brain Training in Children

Neural activation changes observed in children with language disorders: reading disability,

dyslexia, and

specific language impairment Meyler et al. (2008). Modifying the brain activation of poor

readers during sentence comprehension with extended remedial instruction: A longitudinal study of neuroplasticity. Neuropsychologia, 46(10), 2580-2592.

(Simos et al., 2002; Aylward et al., 2003; Temple et al., 2003; Shaywitz et al., 2004; Stevens et al., 2008).

33 [based on Denney ; see also Hertzog et al. (2009)].

Nurture Options in Nature

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Bungelabs

2011

Non-academic activities

Grad student as ‘brain coach’

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Bungelabs

TONI growth +9.9 SS

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Not Claimed

Cure for ADHD

and/or comorbid behavioral issues

Impacts all individuals equally

5-20% see no training effects

Reverses or cures organic brain disease

Better grades in school

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Cogniprep Brain Training

In-clinic

Cognitive Competition product of intensity and complexity

activity-dependent processes (Changeux and Danchin, 1976; Greenough et al., 1987; Huttenlocher, 2002; Uylings, 2006).

Real-time error detection/correction Anders Ericsson, K., & Towne, T. J. (2010). Expertise. Wiley

Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1(3), 404-416.

Minimal narrative

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Brain Training Principles

One-on-One Emotional safety (relatedness)

Non-judgmental (competence)

Proximal Challenge (Vygotsky, Csikszentmihalyi, Losada)

Adaptive Structural changes take place when if mismatch between the

environmental demands and the possibilities of the current structural system (Lövdén et al. 2010; Bangasser & Shors, 2010).

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So, Which Team Dominates The 4th Quarter?