"Toughness" Training--Mental and Physical

I saw a post similar to this a while back. One thing we did was get in touch with the local Army (or Navy, Marine, Air Force, etc.) recruiting station in the area because they usually have programs where people come out and put them through a series of challenges where they have to work together in order to figure them out and succeed. Some are pretty intense and it shows kids they are capable of more than they realize. It's taking that one day and making sure that lesson carries over into the weight room, film, practice field etc. But for a young team, I think it's a pretty good way to show them toughness.

There are 3 phases of the program - agilities, mat drills, & weights (in shifts of 25 in each).  We feel that our out-of-season "MAT DRILLS" are part of the answer to developing physical AND mental toughness.  It is way too much to try to describe ALL THAT here.  We used a "watered down" version of the famous Alabama mat drills suitable for High School athletes (OURS weren't QUITE this "rigorus", but you can get the general idea).  Our kids loved these (& rose to the challenge):

I.  Written by one of Bama's former players (Gaylon McCullough, M.D.):

WRESTLING CLASS:

During the “off season” we stayed in shape through an intensive physical fitness program. “Wrestling Class” as it was then called, was held three days each week in a small, gloomy gymnasium above the old coaches' and athletic offices on University Boulevard. Sometimes tings got pretty testy during these work-outs. There was a tiny door which led out to the roof for those whose got upset causing them to throw up, Wrestling partners were usually assigned by position, i.e., quarterbacks wrestled quarterbacks, tackles wrestled tackles, and centers wrestled centers. My wrestling partner was none other than the consensus All-American and later All-Pro with the Dallas Cowboys) Lee Roy Jordan. That was not by choice.

I could never quite decide if the coaching staff was trying to get me to quit or teaming me up with Lee Roy to keep him from getting hurt. Fortunately both of us survived, escaping without injury. During these sessions, I learned what the word “tough” really means. I believe the toughness learned during the off-season programs allowed us to win a couple of games at the wire during the championship season.


II.  ANOTHER write up on this:

From the book "Turnaround": by Tom Stoddard (Amazon.com):

ALABAMA MAT DRILLS:

The means by which the coaches began player assessments was a “voluntary” conditioning program that began in January. The sessions were voluntary, but everyone knew that players who did not volunteer would find themselves looking for food and lodging elsewhere and lose their scholarships.

Bama players underwent 3 phases of the program - agilities, mat drills, & weights (in shifts of 25 in each).

Pat James was the coach in charge of the mat drills conducted on a regulation Wrestling Mat. The clear intent was to use the wrestling to test football players’ strength, endurance, and will to win. Wrestling under James was not like wrestling anywhere else. Players were put through the mat drills in shifts of 25. “You wrestled for your life” said one of the players. Some found themselves unable to do anything but crawl away from the mat. At the end of the session as the players stumbled out of the mat room, they were covered with sweat, many of them bleeding and smelling of vomit.

It was fairly easy to find out who had ability, that was easy enough. But it took a lot more to find out who was going to stick in, who was tough enough to win when it was hard. “We challenged them - we checked them and checked them again” said Pat James.

We weren’t going to have a team that couldn’t take it! The players found the drills a forum in which they could display the kind of aggressiveness that impressed the coaches and earned them the right to play. The players realized that what it “took” was 200 percent. Those who stayed built themselves into the best condition of their lives, and thrived on the intensity.

It was survival, that’s all it was. It was the mental thing – reaching down so hard and so deep into what you had – that you either had to get on the wagon or get out! Those who stuck with it were shedding their losing attitudes and beginning to believe in themselves. After enduring this – a player mentally changed, he felt like you could --- could handle anything that showed up.  You had gone through so much hell!


PS:  I would be glad to DISCUSS this with anyone who feels it is important enough to invest a phone call in (PM me for phone number).  There is WAY TOO MUCH to type on here.

Good handout (on the OP) we received from Bama's S & C Coach:


PUSHING THROUGH THE MENTAL BARRIERS

Often times, there exists only a very fine line between a winning and losing effort in an athletic contest. More often than not, this is due to the degree of mental concentration utilized by the athlete. This concentration cannot be developed in the span of a few days or hours before the contest. It must be worked on weeks and months during the training season to develop sound habits.

Athletes must be prepared to compete in a variety of situations. Namely: (1) heat, (2) cold, (3) wind, (4) fatigue, (5) falling behind, (6) hurt, (7) angry, etc. All these situations require that they show a little more class and concentration than the opponent. How do we prepare for maximum concentration? Let’s start with the basics.

First, have a goal. Second, have a plan to achieve that goal. Third, begin plan and follow through.

Every good athlete is and should be ready to mentally follow his plan. Every time you give in to not doing your workout correctly, you lose some of your ability to achieve! When a situation arises in an athletic contest that is tough, you must know that you are capable of NOT giving up because you have faced tough situations in a workout session.

Here are some guidelines:

1. Be mentally alert to begin workout. Don’t wait until halfway through to “wake-up”.

2. Concentrate even on the smallest detail. Do everything exactly as taught by the coaches.

3. Take pride in everything you do --- Be a leader!

4. Mentally visualize all day long doing things correctly.

5. Don’t hold back. Push yourself beyond your mental limits. Often the mind hold back what the body can do. You can do it! A good example is weight training. Get strong! Challenge yourself on how much you can handle. Mental concentration can make a 10-15% difference with what you can move. This could be the winning edge.

6. On conditioning work, learn to push yourself through the pain barrier. Pain is a part of athletics; you must often compete when tired. If you have not faced and conquered pain in practice, you will not be able to in a contest!

7. Don’t associate with people who don’t want to work, and pay a price. Associate with winners who ALWAYS want to improve. Losers try to find people who they can loaf with --- Be a winner!

ANYONE CAN LOSE. ONLY SPECIAL PEOPLE CAN WIN.

Hes a damn tough kid, doing something over and over that he does not want to do. Thats tough.  Hes not physical though, theyre different things.

Confidence, resiliency and determination  can be developed, and those make up toughness. Weightroom work, pushup contests, distance running, 1 on 1 sumo type drills(we do "king of the ring" where the winner stays in against different opponents until he is defeated - he will eventually get beat by a kid that shouldnt beat him because hes exhausted and the other kid is fresh, they both learn something about effort), etc. All of those things help kids develop confidence. Set goals, achieve them, set new goals, achieve them, etc.  Look back after a couple of months and kids are way ahead of what they only imagined they could do before, that builds their confidence and they come to believe that they can do anything. Tackle that stud RB , beat that giant OT, block that monster DT, it can all be done if youre confident, determined to succeed and resilient.  

Many of our players DO wrestle (James Farrior was one who did).    This is a little different.  The clear intent was to use the wrestling to test football players’ strength, endurance, and will to win. It was was not like wrestling anywhere else (short, intense bursts).

You just can't resist being a smart a** with personal remarks!  There were a WHOLE LOT MORE.  You must not have had any!