Post by coachbrek on Jul 27, 2010 10:21:06 GMT -6
I believe that mental toughness is 90% of the game of football, the rest is, preparation, precision, and execution.
At the youth level it can be very difficult to maintain mental toughness, for several reasons,
no support or worse at home,
too much praise, babying, and lack of discipline at home,
poor coaching, failing to realize a kids ceiling in what he can achieve.
too much success early in the season
not enough success early in the season
The list goes on and on.
Many times teams and individuals are superstars against inferior talent but when it comes time to strap it on against tough opponents of equal or better talent these same teams and individuals crumple in the face of adversity.
We can not mistake talent for mental toughness. I misjudged my own teams mental toughness last year after a 3-0 start, we played a game against our first tough opponent, I found tears, fear, and complacency, the kids quit, they were not mentally tough, there was no way to turn it around during the course of the game and we lost.
I vowed to never let that happen again, we lost to a better team later in the season but never lost our mental toughness in that game, and we won a game late in the year coming from behind,
our mental toughness in that game won it for us.
It's too easy to put your team in cruise control after some success, do your best to maintain mental toughness throughout the season.
What are some ways you coaches create and maintain mental toughness on your teams?
At the youth level it can be very difficult to maintain mental toughness, for several reasons,
no support or worse at home,
too much praise, babying, and lack of discipline at home,
poor coaching, failing to realize a kids ceiling in what he can achieve.
too much success early in the season
not enough success early in the season
The list goes on and on.
Many times teams and individuals are superstars against inferior talent but when it comes time to strap it on against tough opponents of equal or better talent these same teams and individuals crumple in the face of adversity.
We can not mistake talent for mental toughness. I misjudged my own teams mental toughness last year after a 3-0 start, we played a game against our first tough opponent, I found tears, fear, and complacency, the kids quit, they were not mentally tough, there was no way to turn it around during the course of the game and we lost.
I vowed to never let that happen again, we lost to a better team later in the season but never lost our mental toughness in that game, and we won a game late in the year coming from behind,
our mental toughness in that game won it for us.
It's too easy to put your team in cruise control after some success, do your best to maintain mental toughness throughout the season.
What are some ways you coaches create and maintain mental toughness on your teams?
