Tom Bates: Understanding the Mental Aspect of Sport
I recently got the chance to speak with renowned performance coach Tom Bates. An expert in sports and performance psychology, Tom has worked for teams in the Premier League and Olympic athletes in Great Britain. During the summer Olympic games of 2012, he was selected to work with Great Britain athletes to maximize performance under pressure, engaging and applying peak performance principles based on the science of psychology. I’ve learned quite a bit from him, and I’m sure you will also have some great takeaways from this interview. Enjoy!
Tom Bates, author and performance psychologist
SFW: I think your area of expertise, performance psychology, is still quite an anomaly with casual sports fans and business persons alike. How do you define performance psychology?
TB: As functioning human beings, we are driven by the thoughts we have which makes us feel how we feel. Is it possible to improve mental muscles like concentration, mental toughness and focus? What defines performance? A lot of that is psychological. So is it possible to improve those traits? The answer is definitely yes.
SFW: A few years ago you were a guest on the Way of Champions podcast with John O'Sullivan. I listened to you describe your background a bit and how you took a course during your undergraduate degree called Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences and how you fell in love with this idea that you can go beyond the Xs & Os, you can go beyond strategy, and you can delve into the human psyche. From that moment, when your intrigue turned to passion let's say, what has your path been like to where you are today?
TB: Dr. Wayne Dyer said, "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." I started off doing performance coaching for free because no one really knew what it was. I was paid as a soccer coach, and essentially volunteered as a performance coach. Back then, I was a bit of a pioneer because I was doing something that no one else was really doing. I saw a need for it, so I took action. You hear all the time "when you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." I really believe that. And when you find that passion, that curiosity, that calling, you are connected to your purpose. I think intrinsically we all know that.
My journey has been a long and winding one. It's been filled with struggle and criticism. But I feel proud and honored to do what I do. Some of the best learning experiences I've had were when I made a mistake. The "best mistake" I call it. Learning never stops; it is a lifelong experience. I was constantly out of my comfort zone. I was attending conferences and clinics and felt like I didn't always belong. But I realized I didn't know everything, but what I did know was worth listening to.
SFW: Many people who are familiar with your name know you from your time with Aston Villa. What does a typical day look like for the Head of Performance Psychology & Culture at a place like Villa?
TB: There isn't one (laughs). I was constantly faced with new experiences and situations. But to give you an overview, when I was hired, I was hired by someone who saw what the role could be. Fortunately we had senior leadership and buy-in from the top down that made it a viable position. I had "invisible influence" because a lot of the work I did was private and behind-the-scenes. I worked with the Senior Executive Board in an advisory role. I also helped to structure the Academy and their coaching programs.
It was a very hands-on role where I worked with everyone in the entire organization. Not just players/coaches. We hosted the first ever seminar with everyone in the organization from ticket-sellers, merchandise, food vendors, and everybody else. We asked everyone to consider and think about what Aston Villa really means.
It was two different roles: the performance psychology role (improving on-field performance) and the culture role (take the intangibles and make it tangible). Each day was a bit different from the one before.
SFW: You have a book out called The Future Coach, which discusses, among other things, the mindset, and that those who enter the competitive arena best prepared mentally and emotionally are typically the winners. Can you explain a little more about your book and what one might learn from it?
TB: It's a culmination really of everything we're talking about here. It gives simple, actionable strategies. It gives a behind-the-scenes look at my experience in the Premier League and international experiences. Changing a culture, turning a losing team to a winning one, mental resiliency.
It's actually been more successful in America, ironically. It's been turned into a course on my website now, of which the principles are taken from the book.
SFW: You've talked before about the ability for players to play with intensity but not be tense. To be intense, but not tense. What does that look like? And how do you get there?
TB: I think one of the best stories I can think of was when England and Brazil were squaring off a few years back. Before the game, when the players were in the tunnel about to run onto the pitch, England's players were extremely tense and in that warrior-like state of mind. No smiling, no laughing. It was like war was about to take place.
Conversely, Brazil had just run onto the pitch and they had a guy out in front playing some instrument. The Brazilians were dancing and having a good time prior to the match. But the difference was evident; England had intensity but they were tense, while the Brazilians were loose but played with intensity. That's one of the keys of high performance: to play with intensity, but not be tense.
SFW: I often ask people what books they're reading. Do you have a top 3 books list? Or something off the top of your head you'd recommend or something that impacted you in a major way?
TB: Ahh man. I would say one that comes to mind first is Inside Out Coaching by Joe Ehrman. It discusses transactional coaching vs. transformational coaching. Why do I coach? Why do I coach the way that I coach? What would it feel like to be coached by me? Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle is a good one. The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton - it's a wonderful bridge between biology and psychology. But the book that changed my life is The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.
SFW: I've been given a lot of advice from you, indirectly of course, through answers you've given on podcasts and things you've shared in speeches. What's one piece of advice you would give to someone looking to get into the sports psychology field? Or really anyone looking to grow in their current field?
TB: A few things. Continue to be pulled by your curiosity. Pursue it with everything you have. Be courageous enough to not just follow your path, but create your own. Most importantly, there has to be a constant back-and-forth of theory and applied practice. Get really good at being inside your applied environment. Learn as much as you can, constantly check yourself, and apply what you've learned. And gauge your theories put into practice.
That's what has made my career quite unique. I don't just have theories, but I apply practices and reflect on them. Test things out constantly.