What do you focus on in prac? Skill dev, effort, energy, learning from mistakes.
What do you focus on in officials? We must win, pressure, only praise good performance.
This makes your players learn to focus only on good performance which elevates fear & anxiety.
This makes them focus less on the moment-to-moment of the game, missing shots, timing, etc.
They focus on what WE expect, instead of executing their skills & bringing their all.
When you're coaching your team in officials - practice not showing frustration & disappointment after mistakes or losses (with your voice, energy, tone, words, hands on your head, etc.)
--> Instead, meet them with good vibes, a BALANCE of being proud for them trying, having a courage to go for it attitude & harness their confidence to go and try again full-force with mental resiliency. Praise effort whilst keeping them accountable to give it their all.
This is how you can create a performance culture of progress, for longevity - to play officials just like practice, execute our skills & playing our game with low pressure.