Athletes face a lot of pressure in sports today. They feel pressure to play at a high level and to earn playing time and scholarships. They feel pressure to recoup the investment their parents have made in travel ball and specialized coaching. Unfortunately, many athletes don’t recognize where the pressure is coming from or how to handle it.
Athletes can have a short fuse. When the game doesn’t go their way they get frustrated. Unfortunately, this frustration gets taken out on opponents, teammates, fans, officials, and equipment in aggressive ways. Depending on the team, this may be okay. What isn’t acceptable is letting frustration degrade performance. Help your athletes keep their emotions in check to perform their best.
Confidence can be a double edged sword. Like the tale of Goldilocks, an athlete’s dose must be just right; otherwise it erodes his or her performance. More importantly, an athlete’s confidence impacts attitude, work ethic, and so much more.
Coaches and athletes look for every legal edge over their competition. However, you may be putting too much emphasis on new innovations. Sleep is a foundation of human performance. It has the potential to fuel or wreck an athlete’s performance. It may not be flashy, but your athletes may not be getting the sleep they need to have an edge on and off the field.
Coaches love the go-getters, the players who work their tails off to make themselves and their teammates better. What if you could convert more of your roster into these type of athletes? What if you could multiply your greatest asset?
Thoughts matter. Thoughts drive performance. An athlete’s thoughts direct her emotions, physical state, and behavior. Unfortunately, many athletes battle with counterproductive, discouraging thoughts – worries, doubts, and fears. Coaches can help athletes take control of their thoughts. Start by encouraging athletes to never say “don’t.”
Superteams load their rosters with high-dollar free agents in an attempt to win a single championship. They poach talent from their competition to tip the scales in their favor. However, the notion that you have to be a Superteam to win is a myth. In fact, most Superteams flop. A closer look at two recent victors reveals four secrets to their success.
Transitions are hard. Moving from the known to the unknown is scary. Yet the stats show that only 6% of high school athletes will play in college. Fewer than 0.5% of high school athletes will become professional athletes. Even if they do go pro, every athlete has to transition to life after sports one day. In working with Wounded Warriors over the years, I’ve learned that athletes can learn a lot from these resilient individuals.
Athletes today are bombarded by lies about talent. They are told to trust the process yet commentators repeatedly praise top performers for being natural talents. How important is talent to success, really?
In sports, everyone wants to win. Demands are high. Pressure is real. Egos abound. When athletes believe a teammate’s mistakes or poor play are damaging the team, they can get heated. Even the pros get caught on camera lashing out on the sidelines. Being overly critical can have damaging effects on your team. As the coach, it’s your responsibility to help your athletes be encouragers instead of criticizers.
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