Why coaches and parents talk about the game being 90% mental yet fail to support ways to improve the mindset of their student athlete? Because they just don’t understand!
As I mentioned a few weeks ago a coach of an elite travel team said he does the mental stuff for his team. The reason the coach would say this is because he doesn’t understand mindset and how the mental part of the game works. That’s like asking a right-handed batter to switch sides and become a slapper and become proficient at it, but only at practice. This skill set, (Mindset) needs individual attention, an expert and a commitment of the players time.
In previous post I said “We take our kids to experts, because they… are… EXPERTS.” So what about for improving Mindset?
At my Peak Performance workshop, I shared with those who were in attendance, the 7 Peak Performance attributes, the power of affirmations and how when used effectively can get a student athlete to go from good to great. They also learned how to deal with their beliefs and fears, how their attitude can be a powerful asset to their performance and why writing a new vision for themselves can improve their overall self-image.
I don’t have the time to share the expertise that I have learned over the years hear, but what I will share, is what I know for sure and that is by improving the mindset athletes improve their overall success.
Michael Jordan said “the mental toughness and the heart are a lot stronger than some of the physical advantages you might have. I’ve always said that and I’ve always believed that.”
In the workshop, I also had the participants improve their Mindset by teaching them about affirmations and how to use them for improving their play on the field and in their life off the field. Affirmations can be used to build confidence with a positive goal in mind.
These are just a few things that can be done to help improve the mental parts of the game because when the going gets tough (school, recruiting, mistake in a big game), most players must rely on whatever predisposed skill they have. Just as some were made to run faster, jump hire, have more power some have a stronger mindset. But just like the kid who needs private lessons, more swings or a pitching coach to gain the skillset needed, so do most student athletes when it comes to improving that 90% of the game that most people take for granted.