Risk vs Reward: Michael Jeh runs life skills programs for elite sporting codes and has a passion for engaging parents and coaches to find ways to communicate effectively with talented adolescent athletes. Michael will discuss why healthy risk-taking is so important for high performance and the crucial role that a sport’s culture plays in the lives of young athletes. He’ll provide an insight into the ways we can create an environment that allows talented junior athletes to push their boundaries, while understanding the pressures and temptations that confront adolescents, regardless of sporting ability Key points to be covered include: Making sense of teenage brain development. The different pressures and expectations on elite athletes. Early warning signs for burn-out, depression and unhealthy risk-taking. Walking the fine line between being special and still being normal. Dealing with drugs, alcohol, social media and other teenage risk factors. Understanding the importance of instinct and why it’s potentially dangerous.

1. Take a risk – it’s the safest thing
you’ll do
Michael Jeh
www.michaeljeh.com

2. Some of my recent clients
• Australian Rugby Union
• Cricket Australia
• Qld Cricket
• Gold Coast Academy of Sport
• Qld Academy of Sport
• Western Force Rugby
• ACT Brumbies
• Qld Govt Dept of Sport
• Baseball Australia
• NSW Waratahs
• Surfing Australia
• SA Cricket
• ACT Cricket
• Cricket Tasmania
• Swimming Australia
• Netball Australia
• Surf Lifesaving Australia
• The King’s School Sydney
• Corinda High School
• Sunshine Coast Grammar School
• The Rugby Academy
• Ignatius Park College

3. The ‘race plan’ for today
• Society’s perception of sport and why that is a concern
• What’s happening to young athletes in a physiological
and neurological sense (body and mind)
• Why risk-taking behaviour is so normal, so inevitable
AND so healthy
• When risk-taking behaviour becomes dangerous; what
are the warning signs for coaches/managers and parents
(drugs and alcohol)?
• Sport and social media - friend or enemy?
• Sleep – possibly the most important gift you can give
your young athlete
• Instinct in teenagers – lifesaver or ‘killer’?

4. A recent survey by a PR/Ad Agency in 2013
(parents, sponsors, media, fans) identified the
following factors as being the major reasons why
professional sportsmen are perceived as being
poor role-models
• Excessive drug & alcohol abuse
• Lack of respect for women
• Poor (or limited) leadership values
• Aggressive attitude; prone to violence
• Cruel/unkind attitudes towards minorities
(gays, foreigners, opponents)

10. Interesting Statistics
• Male student-
athletes
comprise 3.3%
of college
population BUT
– 19% of sexual
assault
allegations
– 35% of
domestic
violence
allegations
• 1 in 3 college
alleged sexual
assaults by
athletes
• Only 36.8% of athletes were charged
Only 38% actually convicted
Compared to 80% general pop
(Benedict/Crosset Study in National Coalition
against Violent Athletes

16. ALTITUDE
HEAT
COLD
FOCUS
CONFIDENCE
COMMITMENT
OPEN
CLOSED
COMPLEX
OFFENSIVE
DEFENSIVE
SPECIAL
PASSION
SELF
CONTROL
ENERGIZED
INTEGRITY
RESPECT
CARING
HEALTH
NUTRITION
FITNESS
SKILL
PSYCHOLOGY
PHYSIOLOGY
STRATEGIES
EMOTION
CHARACTER
ENVIRONMENT
TRAINING &
PERFORMANCE

18. Let’s think about what’s happening to
our athletes around adolescence
• Changes to limbic systems.
• ‘Distancing’ effect with parents coinciding with
massive emphasis on peers/friends
• Inevitable exposure to alcohol and drugs
• And now….social media!
• Why ‘meltdowns’ can be a “glass half-full
moment” if we can stay calm
• Psychological AND physiological need for risk-
taking

19. Some background info on adolescents
• Young men esp have a physical need for an adrenaline
fix. If they can’t find it, they will go looking for it.
• Boys are significantly less resilient than girls. More
naive, overly dependent on peers to define behaviour, do
not want to plan ahead. Potent cocktail during
adolescence!!!
• Adolescents often communicate in silence. Don’t
mistake that for not communicating.
• Resilience needs to be a self-taught skill. Should we
always rescue them from minor disasters?

20. • Boys place great value on firm boundaries. It will be tested
to see if they really exist.
• Loyalty is one of the most important values of “manhood” in
their eyes. Loyalty and Trust are two different things
though!
• Can we then turn loyalty into a positive thing? How can we
use ‘peer pressure’ as a catalyst for positive good?
• The key here is to model the right behaviours and then it
becomes an equally powerful force for good. This is
particularly true in teams/squads (esp on tour!)

21. A Few Good Men
Can you handle the truth?
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

22. Rules, consequences and hypocrisy
• Consequences are important. They will be
tested to see if it’s bullshit or not.
• Hypocrisy around consequences is one of the
reasons why errant behaviour keeps being
repeated. Zero tolerance policies only work if
they are enforced, regardless of the
perpetrator.

23. Some facts about risk-taking
• We tend to take more risks when we’re younger
• The younger the person, the less likely they are to accurately
assess risk. Right?
• Amazingly, research shows no real age differences in risk-
assessment per se
• BUT…
• The emotional impact of risk is a major difference as you get
older
• Reputation is a big deal to leaders. Social reward is a massive
incentive to take risks.
• Dopamine buzz – that’s the reward!

25. The risk-taker’s advantage
• More likely to trust their own judgement
• Have learned to respect the capacity of others and
themselves
• Know their limits
• Understand consequences of their actions
• Readily ask for help
• Confidently assert their independence
• Instinctively know when to stop pushing the boundaries

26. Research from the University of Sheffield in
the UK showed that “children of risk-averse
parents have lower test scores and are
slightly less likely to attend college than
offspring of parents with more tolerant
attitudes toward risk.” Parental risk aversion
can directly influence their child’s future.
RISK AVERSION IN PARENTS WE RISK TOO LITTLE, RESCUE TOO QUICKLY, RAVE TOO EASILY
The Pennsylvania State University
http://sites.psu.edu/psych256fa14/2014/12/09/risk-aversion-in-parents/

27. Gold Coast Risk & Reckless Behaviours (2)
(Boag et al., 2003)
Sample: 779 Gold Coast Year 10, 11 and 12 students from 8 schools.
Behaviour % participating
(in past year) monthly > weekly
Got drunk 40.7 26.1
Did something dangerous just for the thrill of it 35.2 7.9
Did extreme sports 33.5 23.7
Skipped school 31.9 9.1
Smoked marijuana 19.1 10.5
Shoplifted 16.8 7.0
Drove or rode over the speed limit 13.2 17.6
Did graffiti 11.5 5.1
Had unprotected sex 10.1 10.2
Used other drugs or chemicals 6.3 4.6
Stole a motor vehicle 4.5 4.3

28. WHY DO ADOLESCENTS TAKE RISKS?
“I think they do it because they aren’t supposed to. I have friends
that are allowed to drink so they don’t do it that often but people
who aren’t allowed to do it all the time.” (Female, 15 years)
“To show that they have guts, that they’re not wimps or cowards
and to escape from reality.” (Male, 16 years)
“Because we’re young, full of energy and curious. Parents stand
there and tell us ‘no, no, no’ just because they have been there and
done that. We feel invincible.” (Female, 17 years)
“Because they are unsure of their role and position in society.
Adolescents feel that sometimes they must shock to be noticed.”
(Female, 17 years)
“Immature, irresponsible, peer pressure, unable to see
consequences ahead of them.” (Male, 17 years)

29. WHY DO ADOLESCENTS TAKE RISKS?
“Because we are growing up, and to live in this world we are ‘gonna’
have to make our own decisions risky or not.” (Female, 13 years)
“It ‘boosts’ their egos, but really only makes them look stupid. Also
peer pressure plays a very large part of it.” (Female, 13 years)
“They want freedom and don’t like doing what their parents tell them
to do.” (Female, 13 years)
“They are pressured by their friends or they think its cool and
everybody else does it.” (Male, 13 years)
“To get thrills.” (Male, 13 years)
“To be accepted into a group or gang.” (Female, 14 years)
“To be popular.” (Male, 14 years)
“To escape from reality and problems.” (Male, 14 years)

30. Warning signs
• Being a risk-taker is not an excuse. It’s not compulsory!
• Statistically, alcohol and drugs represent the biggest threat
to risk-takers
• Dangerous risk-taking behaviour rarely occurs in private
(until it’s too late) – the whole point is to be acknowledged
and noticed. Team sports are more at risk
• Significant male/female differences during adolescence

31. • Brains develop differently in teenage boys and girls
• In girls, the language area of the brain develops earlier
than the areas used for spatial relations and geometry.
Vice versa for boys
• Brains are also wired differently. In girls, emotions are
processed in the same area of the brain that processes
language. Most teenage girls will readily talk about their
emotions.
• In boys, the brain region involved in ‘talking’ is different
from the regions involved with ‘feelings’. The hardest
question for a teenage boy to answer is probably “tell me
how you feel?” or “how did that feel?”

32. • Nearly 33% of 14 year olds drink up to 6 drinks per
week
• When alcohol hits the frontal lobe, Reason goes out
the back door
• Teens can drink more before they feel sleepy therefore
physical symptoms are not a good warning sign
• Blackouts are more likely because they don’t feel sleepy
• Research has proven that the “bbq drink with
dad/uncle/coach theory” does not work
• PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE IS THE ONLY
GUARANTEED OUTCOME

35. Can you taste the difference???
Soft drink? Sports drink? alcohol?

36. Milkshake or Mayhem?
0.00%
Alcohol
4.00%
Alcohol

37. Lolly water or rocket fuel?
0.00%
Alcohol
5.00%
Alcohol

38. Energy drink or wipeout juice?
0.00%
Alcohol
7.00%
Alcohol

39. The Good, The Bad & the Ugly
-Social Media-

44. According to Intel Security’s 2014 Tweens,
Teens, and Technology report, over 67% of
tweens and teens have social media
accounts. 20% of our children have talked
online with a stranger, and 6% have
actually met that stranger in person. Other
research indicates that about 28% of teens
admit to sexting, while close to 50% of teens
have been cyber-bullied.

45. A new study out this week from Catalonia points to a
significant negative relationship between time on devices
and high-school student grades. That is, as time online goes
up, grades go down. Researchers observed a linear increase
in school failure in relation to an increase in the hours spent
on the computer.
School failure was at 17 per cent for those who use it one to
two hours; 20 per cent, two to three hours, and 29 per cent
if they use the computer for more than three hours a day.
Interestingly, as computer time increased, so too did the
likelihood of alcohol consumption and marijuana usage.
Lastly – research is suggesting that screen time in the
bedroom is particularly problematic: kids who have devices
in their rooms are sleeping less, sleeping more disturbed,
and suffering as a result!

48. Sleep is SO important to a young person’s future
They typically need 9-10 hours per night
Melatonin is the ‘magic’ that is happening to your
young athlete right now!

51. The transition from adolescent athlete
to adult athlete
Adolescent
• I am ruled by my emotions
• I take no responsibility for my
actions
• Other athletes are ‘competition’
• I am the centre of the universe
and need constant
acknowledgement and
reinforcement
• My sport defines my self-worth
• Sport and life exist in isolation.
Mutually exclusive in my brain
Adult
• I acknowledge my emotions
• I take full responsibility for my
actions
• Other athletes/competition are
essential to my development
• I am an important part of the
universe but not exclusively so
• My sport is but one part of my life
journey (although it may be all-
consuming during this phase of
my life!)
• Sport is life but there will be life
after sport

52. Two things control
men’s nature. Instinct
and experience.
Blaise Pascal