Navigating the Yips

In the late 1980s, a trio of UCLA researchers set out to examine a phenomenon they felt they were observing on the golf course.

Players seemed to be inexplicably missing short puts due to sudden jerks, tremors and spasms in their arms.

So, the researchers put together a 69-item questionnaire to more than 1,000 golfers to see if there was anything to what they felt they were observing.

What they discovered was that about 28 percent reported suffering from the “yips” at one point or another — and that in 24 percent of those they surveyed, activities other than golf were also impacted.

On Monday night, Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher was lampooned on the internet after he missed an NFL record four extra points in his team’s playoff win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Can you cut a guy at halftime of a playoff game?”, Peyton Manning joked on his broadcast.

But while it may be convenient to label Maher a choke artist or say he should be cut, there’s a pretty important lesson in his failures and mental duress.

The yips that he experienced likely weren’t about a lack of focus, concentration or not having his head in the game.

After all, he made 50 out of 53 extra points during the regular season and 29 of 32 field-goal attempts.

They were likely about overthinking, anxiety and putting far too much pressure on himself, leading to an extreme lack of confidence.

So how does someone get through the yips? What are some actionable strategies to apply if we suddenly lose our self-belief?

The reality is that there’s no magical formula and remedies will differ from person to person, but performance coach Steve Magness tweeted that typically three things really need to occur to make the mental shift and get back to our reliable selves:

1. Create security: A basic level of comfort that calms our nerves. This is essentially a safety blanket that allows us to come to grips with the task at hand.

2. Turn down the threat: Acknowledging the reality of the situation and recognizing the consequences aren’t as dire as we might believe.

3. Dislodge and disrupt the pattern: Essentially, eliminate the internal and external triggers that have put us into this mental rut.

Maher has likely spent extensive time over the past couple of days with psychologists and coaches and has probably received more advance that he could imagine on what to do moving forward.

Whether we ourselves are dealing with the yips or are tasked with leading someone who is, it’s crucial for us not to scold the person or mock him/her for the present struggle.

The key to turning it around is rarely a rah-rah talk or something that turns up the temperature on the fire.

It might just be an arm on the shoulder and some genuine words of encouragement.