Mental Toughness

Teach them to work... intelligently.

Teach them to compete.

Teach them to win.

Sometimes that last step is the most difficult to achieve. No two situations are alike and there are so many different factors in play in the process. If I were to lump many of these factors together I would call the collective mental toughness. Factors that might be included in this group include the following:

Attitude: The quality of decisions we make directly reflects the quality of our play. In the case of attitude each player has a choice to make between having a positive attitude or a negative attitude. Whatever decision an athlete makes will directly impact his teammates as well.  Both positivity and negativity are contagious.

Concentration: Teams that can bring focus to bear on relevant game related factors have a much improved chance of performing well.  The details of the process are factors we can control because they involve decisions we must make.  These range from executing with proper technique to knowing, accepting and adhering to individual roles on the team. In short, taking care of our individual business so we may be trusted by our teammates.  Are we responsible in our technique, tactics, physical fitness and mental approach to both preparation for and playing of the game?

Preparation: I strongly recommend athletes develop a daily in-season routine with a focus on proper nutrition, proper sleep, proper physical preparation, proper mental preparation to play. Failing to prepare properly is preparing to fail. This is a basic truth, but one many athletes do not give full due consideration to.  Goal setting is also a part of preparation. This means constant monitoring of goals, possibly adjusting goals in-season. And constant discussion of the process to achieve our goals is necessary.

Resiliency:  The best teams I have been a part of have been resilient.  As I have considered this trait it occurred to me that in club soccer while at tournaments I was often times unsure of our opponents playing level. I would research teams on the Internet or by word of mouth through coaching colleagues.  I tell the cub teams we might be in over our heads even while encouraging them to play every minute of the game to the best of their ability and we'll see where we are at the final whistle.  In taking this approach I have allowed the team to think of the possibility they will encounter adversity but also that we will continue playing through it.  Visualization.  Encounter adversity and plan for it. What will be our response?  Develop a clear and strong concept of what we can control and focus on these areas while blocking out all things beyond our control.

Belief: It all comes down to believing in your abilities as well as those of teammates. Being trustworthy and being able to trust your teammates is the backbone of believing, Maintaining your role and positional responsibilities is essential in the face of adversity,  Resisting the temptation to play outside your abilities, role and responsibilities is being resilient, Panicking and attempting to do more than you are capable of is the enemy of resiliency , Being accountable to yourself, your role, your positional responsibilities and your team is key to earning trust.  Trusting each teammate to perform their responsibilities and helping them to put things right in the face of adversity instead of attempting to play hero ball by stepping outside of your own abilities and role is key. Instilling confidence and belief in one another is much preferred over trying to do someone else's job at the expense of your own responsibilities.

I believe each of these factors have a common trait - decision making.  When we make good decisions about factors within our control, good things will happen including learning to win through being resilient and overcoming adversity.