Infinite vs Finite Mindset of Coaching

This original article was by penned by John Stigman, a teacher/head softball coach in Minnesota.

The Infinite Mindset: A Plea

Imagine a team that is on the cusp of winning a state title. The members of this team have spent countless hours training for this moment. They have put in the extra time out of season: in the weight room, with a personal coach, with specialized elite teams playing the independent tournament circuit and showcase event to play the 'best of the best'. Their parents have spent tens of thousands of dollars to give them these opportunities, traveling all of the state and country to make sure that their child had the edge they needed to win. All of that money, time, and work bring two teams together in a game that will label only one of them a champion. Those who win, will feel a feeling that few can understand. It will be, for the moment, one of the greatest moments of their lives. The other team will feel only disappointment. They will have come so far and gotten so close, but not far or close enough. They understand that all that they have accomplished to get where they are, but it won't be enough. They had to win and they didn't. Within a few weeks they will move onto something else. Some will start their next season, others will move on to the next stage of their lives. And some will go back to the off-season routine of private instruction, travel sports and showcases. That singular moment means so much, yet means so little, depending on the outcome.

This is not an unfamiliar story. In fact, it is becoming increasingly THE story when it comes to sports. What is not told in that story is what is happening because of it. In many circumstances, there are other sports that rely on these athletes that are left with a void because of the need to win a singular moment. While they are succeeding at one sport, they may be walking away from others, leaving teams weaker and team cohesiveness with holes in it. While for the moment, one sports program may be experiencing the pinnacle of success, the other that it has gutted may go through lengthy rebuilds, or worse, be forced to shut down because of lack of interest or players. While players may have gotten a chance to play for something that only two teams get to (a championship game), that singular moment, the likelihood that it will happen again is not common. We have done everything for the one moment, and what happens when that moment is over?

There are different ways to look at what athletics does for us and means to us. On a personal level, being an athlete can bring out the best in who we are, and teach us about ourselves and where we are going in life. At other times, it brings out the worst in us. It can create a sense of selfishness, cockiness, overconfidence, and entitlement. It is all on how we approach it and what we want out of it that matters. The mindset we bring to it has an impact on everyone and everything affected by it. Are we bringing a finite mindset or an infinite mindset? Both are very different in their focus and in their impact on the sport, the team, and the athlete.

Finite Mindset

Probably the easiest way to describe a finite mindset is this: 'win the battle, lose the war'. We build everything up for one season, one game with the winner taking all the glory. The finite mindset may produce the desired result once or twice, but in the end, it is not self-sustaining. It weakens a team and a program. When you place the majority of your emphasis on one thing, it creates problems all over everything else. As a coach, I have often heard other coaches use the phrase, 'this is our year'. What are the chances of the end result coming to your favor if you have said that this year is the one that matters? What pressure did you just put on your team and your program if it is just about this year? Typically those teams who use that phrase fall well short of their desired outcome. That is because they have limited themselves and their success to such a narrow outcome. It has to be that outcome because that is how we have defined success. And if it doesn't happen, who is to blame? The players? The coach? The officials? Finite thinking is limiting. And it is selfish. It does not take into account the future, or the past, those who will come next and those who paved the way to the current success.

Infinite Thinking

Infinite mindsets look at the bigger picture. It is looking past the outcome of the experience and what the experience has created for future groups and teams. In the end, what do we want to be credited for, something that happened once in a while or something that continually happened over and over again? Sustained success and longevity of success is a sign of greater overall strength and experience. It is winning the war. The focus in an infinite mindset is not singular, it is repetition. It is not for a moment but for many moments to experience again and again. As a coach, my view of success is not a title, it is repeated affirmation from those we compete against that we are continually a formidable opponent. Titles are nice visuals, but respect and admiration are much more long-lasting.

The impact on the athlete is also important with an infinite mindset. Finite successes and titles do not create a high performing culture. It does not create a positive culture at all. In fact, in most cases, it perpetuates a weak culture, one that may have extreme ups briefly, but eventually turns to a gutting of talent, leading to time periods of non-success. Play for one big year, don't worry about next year until it comes.

Infinite thinking is better long term, not just for the athlete but for athletes. A large part of team culture comes from expectations. Expectations are created by long-standing behaviors learned through repeated successes. Success, like failure, is a teacher of behavior and a teacher of what it takes to be successful. The greatest lesson success should teach is the infinite lesson: what can I take from this that will help me in life. You only learn that with infinite thinking.

Our program has always striven for infinite thinking. We have always striven to create and maintain continued success and respect of that success from other teams. We may never have to worry about the outcome of that one finite game where everything is on the line, but we strive continually to put our best version on the field each year. If we get to that game that has only one winner, that championship team, it will not have been because we played for that year, but because we have continually striven year in and year out for the best version of who we are and our repeated success has allowed us the luxury to be there. And, because it is about each year, not just this year, it makes it more likely, not less that future teams will get to experience it as well. The culture and the big picture matter more than that one moment were everything was on the line. And the experience the player gets will be much more enjoyable and memorable.