Treat body language like any other skill: define it, teach it, practice it, and hold athletes accountable for it. Bruce Brown's approach starts with a clear definition — body language allows everyone to read you, and it can say confidence, poise, and toughness, or frustration, discouragement, and I give up. Most athletes have never been taught which messages they send. So teach it directly: weak body language does two things — it discourages your teammates and it encourages your opponent. Then rehearse the correct response in practice, the way Bruce's Walk Away Drill rehearses composure under provocation, and correct individuals privately using his four-step conversation, starting with "Is that who you want to be?"
Why does body language matter so much in sports?
Bruce Brown teaches that body language is a language everyone reads. Roughly eighty percent of communication is body language. Weak body language — palms up, shoulders down, eye rolls — discourages your teammates and signals an "attack alarm" to opponents. Negative body language usually follows bad performance and precedes more of it.
How do I talk to a player about their body language?
Use Bruce's four-step plan from Teach Attitude First. Away from the crowd and the emotion, help the athlete see the behavior as teammates see it. Ask, "Is that who you want to be?" Then ask, "Can I help you make this change?" When it changes, tell them, "Look who you have become."
Can you practice good body language like a physical skill?
Yes. That is the point of Bruce's Walk Away Drill. He staged provocation in practice — a shove, trash talk — then had the whole team rehearse the correct response: hands up, walk away. One memorable rehearsal, plus accountability, ended behavior-related personal fouls for years. Test your athletes in practice before competition tests them.
What if the whole team has bad body language?
Start with yourself. Bruce is blunt with coaches: if you expect athletes to be mentally tough, check your own body language when they struggle. Then define the standard for the team. Attitude is a choice — once it is clearly defined, taught, expected, and assessed, players at any age can be held accountable for it.
That is the what — for the how, watch Bruce run the Walk Away Drill and get the full teaching library with a membership — $180/year, free for the first 7 days.
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