Coaching Mental Toughness

Articles in this category will help coaches coach themselves and others to give their best effort one step at a time.

Powerful, Free, and Always Available: Imagery

The Power of Imagery

It is the athlete's challenge to get his (or her) body to act the way he wants it to act. Communicating mind to muscles can be extremely challenging. Sometimes simply telling yourself what to do works, but sometimes it doesn't. You must care, but trying too hard is debilitating. You must be aggressive, but it is easy to lose balance and control. You must be strategic, but also keep it simple so you can maintain an effective focus on what's important now. You must be mechanically sound without thinking about mechanics while performing, even after a mistake. So is there a magic wand? Is there a way to commit the mind to a plan of attack, then consistently get the body/muscles to act or react appropriately? With practice, there is. From Hank Aaron and Greg Maddux to Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam to Michael Phelps and Michael Johnson, imagery is the elite athlete's magic wand for producing outstanding results.

Details: Category: Coaching Mental Toughness Coaching Mental Toughness; Published: 20 April 2015 20 April 2015; Hits: 5583 5583

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A Healthy Perspective

Mental Toughness Stems from a Healthy Perspective

“Baseball is what I do, not who I am.”

“I might get beat, but I’ll never be defeated!”

“Baseball is not war. I compete fiercely, but it is just a game.”

“I love this game.”

Note: This article references baseball, but it is applicable to any sport.

Why does one person break down under pressure while another breaks through?
How can an athlete perform so well in practice, then struggle so mightily in the game?
Why do many fine athletes work hard and have talent, but play so inconsistently?

Many coachable, hard-working athletes perform far below their potential because they are unaware of their deficient mental skills. With awareness, all mental skills can be trained, including focus, self-control, imagery, and confidence. All are parts of the answers to the questions above, but none address a foundational problem found in most inconsistent athletes’ mental game: a flawed perspective.

Details: Category: Coaching Mental Toughness Coaching Mental Toughness; Published: 23 March 2015 23 March 2015; Hits: 8663 8663

Self-Control: Hyped to the Max

Hyped to the Max

Self-Control is Required for a Best Effort Performance

Self-control is a big deal. Peak performances occur when you perform with adrenaline and intensity, but without rushing or trying to do too much or worrying. You want to find the ideal balance of aggressiveness with self-control. Your hype level affects your body physically, including posture, breathing, adrenaline, heart rate, muscle tension, perspiration, vision, and more. It also affects your mental skills, including focus, perception of time, confidence, attitude, and rhythm. Together, these affect mechanical efficiency and coordination. Imagine that hype level can be measured on a scale of 0-10 with zero being asleep and ten being a wild, raging maniac (think Tasmanian Devil). Everyone has an ideal level for each task. Get too high and balance is lost, rushing is likely, and aggressiveness is excessive. Get too low and there is not enough focused intensity or energy to produce a best effort performance.

Details: Category: Coaching Mental Toughness Coaching Mental Toughness; Published: 09 March 2015 09 March 2015; Hits: 5198 5198

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Resilience: Bouncing Forward

Choose Forward

There are only two ways you can go. Forward or backwards. If you try the apathetic option of neither, others will be passing you. Apathy also gives you plenty of time and some momentum for building a downward spiral of negative thinking. Therefore, still is backwards. Choose forward instead. It’s a simple concept and completely within your (unlimited) power, but sometimes it’s tough to do…

Details: Category: Coaching Mental Toughness Coaching Mental Toughness; Published: 09 February 2015 09 February 2015; Hits: 3950 3950

Humility

Humility Breeds Consistency

I look for role models. I've met or studied many high achievers who appear to have earned the right to be satisfied with what they already know. However, the highest achievers are consistently the people who are the most eager to learn more. For example, Michael Johnson didn't stop improving when he became a World Champion sprinter. It was his continuous drive to be the best he could be that allowed him to set World Records and stay on top for his entire professional career (all 19 of his medals in the Goodwill Games, World Championships, or Olympics are Gold Medals). It's an ironic fact of life that the people who need the most humility usually have the least, while the people who seem to need it the least usually have the most.

Details: Category: Coaching Mental Toughness Coaching Mental Toughness; Published: 28 January 2015 28 January 2015; Hits: 4459 4459

Tears, Perspective, and What a Best Effort Actually Requires

Success is in the Effort

My heart goes out to young athletes who cry tears of inadequacy after a rough performance. Those tears, even if just on the inside, indicate a flawed perspective. Athletes who think they are bad teammates or bad people just because they had a rough game are, to be blunt, ignorant about how sports really work. Like so many others, they have been led astray by a sports culture that focuses too much on the simplicity of the scoreboard.

Struggling is a necessary part of the process of success. When a team issues a uniform, it accepts weaknesses along with strengths. Everyone has both. What a championship team really asks of its members is effort. Effort to learn, effort to perform, and effort to help teammates do the same. That is all. Your best effort is always good enough.

What does it take to give your best effort? That is a big question! It is certainly more than simply trying hard. It is certainly not measurable by any single variable. However, it is defineable. Because of the importance of this question, I consider this diagram to be one of my most significant professional achievements. Ultimately, earning the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you did your best comes down to doing everything you know to do at this point in your life to create an ideal state, commit to a plan, and focus.

Details: Category: Coaching Mental Toughness Coaching Mental Toughness; Published: 18 December 2014 18 December 2014; Hits: 8960 8960

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Powerful, Free, and Always Available: Imagery

A Healthy Perspective

Self-Control: Hyped to the Max

Resilience: Bouncing Forward

Humility

Tears, Perspective, and What a Best Effort Actually Requires

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