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Flushing And Parking: The Short And Long Of Mistake Rituals

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In this deep exploration of mistakes, PCA Trainer Roch King, an Assistant Professor of Athletic Coaching Education at West Virginia University, classifies mistakes into four types. Those types are tied to the athlete's level of understanding what the coach is asking, decision-making and mental and physical capabilities.

Once the nature of the mistake is understood in that context, coaches and athletes can best determine how to address the mistake. In some cases that means "flushing" the mistake (immediately ridding one's mind of the mistake so that focus can move to the next needed action), and in others, it is best to "park" the mistake (leave it for later consideration so it does not go unaddressed).

King's article goes on to advise coaches and athletes on how to discern which mistakes to flush and which to park, plus some ideas on how to address those mistakes when the time is right.

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