THE PSYCHOLOGICAL GAME: Safety, Identity and Belonging (3:6)
By Coach Barry Jones IIHF Level 3 High Performance | USA Hockey Level 3 Performance | Head Coach Perth Inferno AWIHL
Safety, Identity and Belonging
Every team wants confidence. Every coach wants consistency. Every player wants to feel free enough to compete at their best.
Confidence is not built from technique. Consistency is not built from repetition. Freedom is not built from last-minute motivational speeches.
They are built on safety, identity and belonging. These shape the way an athlete reads the game, interprets pressure, and selects actions.
When safety is present, perception widens. When safety is absent, perception collapses.
Safety Is Not Comfort; It Is Clarity
Safety does not mean protection from challenge or avoiding hard conversations. Safety means clarity.
Psychological safety is the athlete knowing where they stand and what the environment expects. Early in the season, clarity is the strongest stabiliser because athletes are still interpreting expectations, roles and standards.
Identity: The Competitive Advantage
Identity tells athletes who we are, how we behave and how we respond under pressure.
When an athlete knows their role value influences responsibilities and place in the ecosystem, their confidence becomes anchored rather than fragile.
When identity is unclear, every situation feels like a test. When identity is clear, every situation feels like an opportunity.
Belonging: The Emotional Anchor
Belonging is not just getting along. Belonging is feeling connected to something bigger.
Belonging is formed through trust, consistency, shared language, shared struggle and aligned expectations.
Belonging widens the perceptual field, allowing players to regulate emotions faster and coordinate with teammates more effectively.
The Power of CoDesign Within a Framework
Co-design is not give players control. It requires a framework; otherwise, it creates noise and confusion.
Early in the season, I used co-design poorly. I asked for input without structure. It was not empowerment, it was disorientation.
Failure taught me a lesson. The framework is the bus. Co-design lets players help choose the route. The coach still drives.
This balance gives players a voice while keeping the environment stable.
Belonging As a Performance Tool
Belonging directly shapes perception. Athletes who feel they belong see more information, trust decisions, and coordinate more effectively.
Belonging turns a group into a collective perceptual system that does not fracture under stress but compresses around identity.
Creating a Team That Does Not Check Out
Checking out is a psychological problem caused by low clarity, low connection or low belonging.
You fix checking out with design: clearer cues, better communication, stronger role clarity, emotional consistency and alignment between words and actions.
This is ecological psychology in action.
Why This Part Matters
Safety, identity and belonging are perceptual stabilisers.
When they are strong, perception widens, decisions improve, emotions settle, and athletes stay engaged under pressure.
Part 4 will explore the collective mind, emotional contagion, alignment vs agreement and how coaches shape the psychological architecture of a team.
Author Bio: Barry Jones is an IIHF Level 3 High Performance Coach and USA Hockey Level 3 Performance Coach. He currently serves as Head Coach of the Perth Inferno (AWIHL) and leads the Blaze Development Program. His work blends ecological dynamics, nonlinear design, and athlete-centred leadership to build adaptive teams that thrive in uncertainty.
