This weekend I enjoyed being a kid again. I went to the Mall of America near Minneapolis which has an amusement park in the middle of the mall! A friend’s 8 year old nephew, Alex, and I got to run amuck through the park. Last year, when he visited the mall, he was not tall enough to ride the “big kid” rides. This year, he was 3 inches above the required height of 48 inches, a major right of passage.
He was like “a kid in an amusement park” trying to decide which ride to go on first while we purchased tickets. “The Spongebob Roller Coaster, or the Avatar Skateboard, or the Log Ride!” he’d yell out while dancing around the ticket counter. As we entered the park, what ride did he choose? The first ride he saw, the Spongebob Roller Coaster. It was his first “big kid” rollercoaster he’d ever ridden and I must admit, he chose the scariest of them all first. This ride literally has a vertical drop and a couple loops. He admitted he was nervous, but he was so excited, he danced through the entire line. The picture taken of us while on the ride showed the pure little boy joy in his face. I’d say it was a priceless picture, but $15 for the picture is ridiculous 
After the roller coaster, it was the bumper cars, as that was the first ride he saw after exiting the roller coaster. Then it was the Pepsi roller coaster which was adjacent the bumper cars. Next was the Avatar Skateboard, a short walk from the Pepsi roller coaster. His ride decisions were completely impulsive. The next ride that caught his attention, made his decision.
As we stood in line for a few rides, I would ask other kids their choice for best ride in the park. One said Ghostblaster (an “It’s a Small World” type ride, just with a light gun to shoot at ghosts), another said the log ride. Alex said would say to me, “Let’s ride Ghostblaster after we get off this ride” of which he would completely forget about after we got off the ride, as a different ride would catch his attention. This happened a few times.
It wasn’t until the end of the day, when we had only enough tickets left to ride two more rides, did he actually, start thinking about his choices. The extra sensory noise of rides certainly caught his attention, but you could see him weighing the options in his mind. “If I ride that ride, I’m not going to be able to ride the log ride.” Alex decided the last ride of the day was to be the Spongebob Roller Coaster, but after walking up to it and remembering how scary it was, he decided the Pepsi Roller Coaster was the right choice (although he wouldn’t admit to me that Spongebob was too scary, he told me he liked them both equally).
After reading the book How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer (a John Kessel recommendation), the amusement park became a great cognitive adventure to me into the mind of an 8 year old. It made me wonder how impulsive volleyball decisions are made while playing. Do hitters swing at the first impulsive option? Do setters decide to set a player that is the noisiest or the first one they hear? When a coach provides the best option for a player during a timeout, do they completely forget that option once the player starts playing and that situation then arises (such as the best choice ride recommended when standing in line versus the choice made after the ride is complete)? How do players decide?
At the early development stage, players choose the most instinctual option. As the player plays, they learn through their mistakes and start to adjust. Coaches are there as reminders for the players, to continually remind players their options. It is through constant reminders and patience (lots of patience) will these players finally learn the best choice. Advanced players are then able to analyze the game through scouting and apply coaching strategies to situations. It is the best players that can visualize situations that they may have never encountered and make the correct decision before it happens. It is the best coaches that can create this visualization for the players, to provide a comfort level and confidence through knowledge, to make the best decisions when unfamiliar situations arise.
Predicting future events on the court and knowing the right option. All this through an 8 year old’s day at the amusement park.
