Post by Coach JR on Dec 23, 2008 10:32:22 GMT -6
I see this in the NFL a lot...teams start off hot, then go flat, or start bad then improve dramatically. Or they peak too early or just at the right time (ie the Pats/Giants last year). I've seen teams that were playing great that got a first round bye come out flat and lay an egg because they lost their momentum during the off week.
I've heard some college coaches say you can only get a team mentally ready to perform at their highest level 4 maybe 5 times a year. The rest of the time you have to get them mentally ready enough to survive and find a way to win.
I've been really thinking about this due largely to the performance of the TN Titans. They were playing great for a long time, then hit a 2 game skid, but came back against the Steelers, in a game EVERYBODY picked them to lose, and they played a great game. It seems to me that mentally, they had their "off time" and got back to business at just the right time...but they will have a bye. I think they have a great team and can make a run, but am concerned that the bye week could hurt them mentally.
How do you coaches deal with these issues of the "mental/emotional roller coaster ride" of a long season. How do you feel about off weeks? Do your feelings and practice time differ if your on a hot streak or cold streak during an off week? Do you always stay the course no matter who you're playing and when? Coach Pat Dye has said he worked his teams the hardest physically the weeks they had a game against a lesser team, and worked them more mentally on weeks they had tough opponents.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I've heard some college coaches say you can only get a team mentally ready to perform at their highest level 4 maybe 5 times a year. The rest of the time you have to get them mentally ready enough to survive and find a way to win.
I've been really thinking about this due largely to the performance of the TN Titans. They were playing great for a long time, then hit a 2 game skid, but came back against the Steelers, in a game EVERYBODY picked them to lose, and they played a great game. It seems to me that mentally, they had their "off time" and got back to business at just the right time...but they will have a bye. I think they have a great team and can make a run, but am concerned that the bye week could hurt them mentally.
How do you coaches deal with these issues of the "mental/emotional roller coaster ride" of a long season. How do you feel about off weeks? Do your feelings and practice time differ if your on a hot streak or cold streak during an off week? Do you always stay the course no matter who you're playing and when? Coach Pat Dye has said he worked his teams the hardest physically the weeks they had a game against a lesser team, and worked them more mentally on weeks they had tough opponents.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
