Playing with Fire Podcast

You Can’t Hand Me a Slump

Arsenal’s slump extends to four straight losses in the English Premier League… Bill Hall is hitting .194 and trapped in a 1-for-20 slump… Jason Giambi was sinking in a 5-for-35 batting slump. What is this mysterious thing called a slump?

Dr. Jim Taylor has written, ‘Slumps are used to describe a wide variety of performance declines. As a result, there has been no clear definition of what a slump really is. For example, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 1974) defines a slump as “a period of poor or losing play by a team or individual” (p. 1095). However, this definition lacks precision. Several factors must be considered in defining slumps. First, ability is important. That is, if the team were always lousy, their poor play would not be a slump. As such, current performance must always be compared to a previous level of play. Second, the length of the decline is relevant. For example, a baseball hitter who goes 0 for 4 may not be in a slump, but if he goes 0 for 25, he probably is. Third, a common aspect of a slump is that there seems to be no apparent explanation for the decline. If there were an obvious reason for the drop in performance, such as an injury, then it would not be a slump. Finally, a slump is subjective, i.e., a slump for one person may not be a slump for another.

In defining a slump, these factors must be taken into consideration. As a result, a slump is presently defined as: An unexplained drop in performance that extends longer than would be expected from normal ups and downs of competition (Taylor, 1988).’

The primary reason for a slump is a lack of physical and / or mental awareness during training and competition. Improving performance is relatively easy if you know in detail what you have done, your actual performance, and know in detail what you would like to do, your ideal performance. If you know the actual and the ideal, improvement is inevitable.

Then why are there so many slumps? Because most athletes, when learning to master their sport skills, never fully develop the mental and kinesthetic awareness needed to end the unexplained drops in performance. As a result, they are left hoping that the slump will end and their performance will magically return if they wear a new pair of “lucky” socks or try a new bat or… you get the point.

My advice is to stop believing the idea that you are the victim of some external, mysterious cloud, which has enveloped you and has indefinitely taken over your mind and body. Increasing your awareness by staying focused on the task-at-hand will end slumps and steadily improve your skills. It’s better than buying a lot of new stuff you don’t need, right?