Mental Toughness in Sports

While I have touched on the topic before, I feel that it is very important to mention as the new year begins. CONFIDENCE.

Confidence plays a huge role in success during athletic competition. It is almost on the same level as skill and natural ability. Think about yourself, when you believe something is possible and obtainable, and you believe in yourself, a lot of the time you are about to get it done. Now of course the goals you set must be realistic and be very personal. Sometimes you can not overcome environmental factors. However, all in all, confidence is mucho importante.

Confidence is one of those things that comes naturally to some. You know the person, the one with that swagger in their walk, the one who believes anything is possible. Some of us just don't have that natural confidence.  Don't despair, confidence can be built.

Positivity breeds confidence!

Any psychology book you read will mention POSITIVE SELF TALK. Taking the word CAN'T out of your vocabulary. This is a huge aspect of being confident and successful. If you start saying that things are possible, you will begin to believe that those same things are possible. Start with obtainable goals, then build on them once they are accomplished. The smallest boost resinates everywhere, into all aspects of life.

Remember, confidence extends past the playing field into life. Doctors, Salesmen, Lawyers, Coaches, Personal Trainers, Teachers, etc all believe in themselves, so others follow suit. Kind of a big part in being a leader, no?

I leave you with this final thought:
If you do not think you can, who will?

Wrestling

No one, I repeat, no one, will EVER convince me that their sport is the hardest going. I will not put down another sport and say that they don't work hard, but nothing compares to Wrestling.  I am not talking about the World Wrestling Federation (as I am a child of the 90s I can't call it the WWE). I am referring to real life, Folkstyle/Freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling. 

Wrestling is the original sport, dating back to the Ancient Greeks. It has been around for thousands of years, evolving throughout the ages. It is not for the faint of heart. Ask anyone who has wrestled, it is not for everyone. While with most sports anyone can, more or less, participate in on some level, wrestling is different. A Wrestling Match pits two people against each other, mano a mano. 

You learn a lot about someone's character watching them compete in a wrestling match. 

• External Pressures - With all eyes gazing on you, watching your every move, analyzing and critiquing all that you do, will you crack? When you make a mistake, when you win, or when you lose, everyone knows, are you able to deal with the consequences? 
• Survival Instincts - Can you go the distance in a match, if necessary? Will you fight off of your back or just quit, giving up on yourself? Can you finish a move despite the pain or can you defend a move despite pain?
• Internal Battle - Do you have the will power to make weight? Do you have the self control to maintain your weight and watch what you put in your body? Are you willing to sacrifice the night out or your favorite foods?
• Forget the Past - Can you shut off the voices in your head? Can you focus on the here and now?
• Attitude/Toughness - Do you believe in yourself? Do you expect greatness? Are you able to settle and deal with being defeated? Are you willing to grind it out for months?

These questions are something that anyone who has wrestled is able to answer in a second. Like I said before, either you've got it or you don't. 

The Coaches You Meet

It can be very difficult working with athletes. What makes things even more difficult is working with athletes who have different coaches (HS Athletes). No matter how in sync you may think you and the coach are, your ideals are going to be different. 

Differing ideas make sense. When personally training an athlete, or rehabbing an athlete, you have one goal, make that individual better than they were before you hooked up. Working with an individual gives you the chance to do so, however a coach doesn't have that ability.  A coach must work with the team, and in doing so, must work with a variety of skill levels and abilities.

When it comes to designing a training regimen, a coach is going to generalize their attack. More often then not, they are going to create a work out for the AVERAGE athlete on their specific team. The better the coach, the more sport specific the work outs of course.

There are a few different types of coaches that you will deal with as either an Athlete, Strength Coach, Athletic Trainer, or even parent.

Seasonal Coach - The seasonal coach goes out their from day 1 of pre-season to the last game of the play-offs (hopefully not though, because he/she can't get paid extra).  This type of coach is in it for the money, granted he/she usually has an interest and take enjoyment in the sport. He/she doesn't care if his/her athlete gets outside help, it means he/she can do less as a coach. Generally, not a great coach.

Overbearing Coach - This coach, on paper, is a great coach. He/she is 100% committed to his/her teams, to a fault. He/she will eat, live, and breathe the sport. Only problem with this coach is that everything must be done his/her way. If your ideas differ from his/her philosophies you are considered a cancer. If anything you do or say that is different, he/she will tell everyone that you do not know what you are talking about. Apparently being a professional in a specified area isn't enough for this coach.

Hungry Coach - This coach wants to get results. He/she is extremely eager to learn about every aspect of his/her specific sport. He/she is open to anything and anyone, as he/she hasn't really established himself/herself in the sport. As one professional to another, this is by far the best coach to work with, as this coach respects the ideas of outside help, especially when he/she truly does not know what he/she is talking about.

Burnt Out Coach - This coach has been doing things one way for years. Sure, he/she had results back in the 70s, but times sure have changed. He/she doesn't adapt to anything, and try to get everything to adapt to his/her ways. This coach has the love and desire, but is very stubborn. He/she has been around and if they had any success, it was in the beginning of their tenure.

There are plenty of other coaches, many that are combinations of the above. Coaches are a fickle bunch, no way around it. However, if you find yourself involved with any of the coaches, remember, keep doing things your way, as long as you continue to see results.

The Working World

So lately I have been unable to update my blog due to the immense amount of time that work has taken up in my life.  This is my first full-fledged Fall Sports Season with a High School. So adjusting to everything has become a bit of a task.

First off, I'm still technically the new kid in town. So coaches and players alike are not used to the way I run the Athletic Training Program. I have had some who are welcome to change and some who have been fully against it. Changes that I have made:

Pitcher's Helmet... Really????

Easton-Bell Sports Unveils Pitcher's Helmet

What can I really say about this that most people aren't already thinking. Actually, let me rephrase that, What can I really say about this that most athletes/jocks aren't already thinking.

This right here is another example of how soft we have become as a society. We are all about protection, we are all about avoiding injury, which is fine and dandy. However, a movement to make Little League pitchers wear a helmet? Isn't it bad enough we have them wearing masks on the helmets when they bat?

Athletics - We ain't talking moneyball

I find it rather easy to become disinterested in your workouts. For the most part, people tend to work out alone. This is fine, however sometimes this can turn a boring activity into an intolerable one. Personally, I find it difficult to always "get up" for the gym.

There are many a time that I haven't gone to work out solely because I wasn't in the mood. I am willing to bet that most people have shared this feeling at one time or another. However, for many, the gym is their sole source of physical activity. Now I could sit here and go into all the different ways to get exercise, but instead I'm going to focus on one thing - ATHLETICS.

When I say athletics I am referring to a team sport. Any of sport of your choosing will do. Personally, I find it important to take part in a group/team activity and for me nothin is better than sports. I am involved in two softball leagues during the spring. And fill in whenever needed for another two more during the summer. I find this to be the perfect mix of competitiveness, male bonding, fun, exercise, and relaxation.

Any former athlete still  has that urge to compete. What's better than to compete somewhere that, in reality, winning and losing doesn't matter[s] (Winning > Losing). Seriously though, at a point it just feels good to compete for something. Sports/athletics give you something physical to do, get you outside, and can be a great substitute for a workout that day.

So find a bunch of guys (or girls) and get your ass doing something that takes athleticism, you'll enjoy yourself.

Gym Class Dodgeball - Bring It Back!!!

After reading a recent post, and taking a survey, I decided to post a modified version of my response to one of the questions listed in the survey:

In reference to dodgeball being banned in Schools: 

Personally, I do not believe dodgeball should be banned in our schools. Reason being, dodgeball requires eye hand coordination, agility, speed, and strength. These are things, that in the athletic realm, we try to improve in our athletes. 

• The lateral, and sometimes vertical, movement used in order to avoid a projectile will improve not only agility, but both an athlete's speed and proprioception. 
• The act of catching and throwing the ball improve both eye hand coordination and muscular strength. As well as, again, improving an individuals proprioception.
• Dodgeball can also be viewed as a strategic game. How does the team reach their goal of eliminating the other team's players? Do you take out the bigger/stronger player, the leader, or slowly take out the weak (see Darwin and natural selection).

The less scientific reason that dodgeball should be allowed is that kids today are becoming "soft". They have a lesser ability to handle physical feats, and mental problems. This is a direct result of how today's America Society acts and preaches. Apparently, we are more concerned with how children feel emotionally, then their physical health. Dodgeball, in essence, will force a sort of mental/physical toughness upon our youth. Getting hit with a dodgeball, 99.9% of the time, is not going to kill you. Most of the time it isn't even going to cause any real injury to a student/child. 

Bottom line, we need to stop worrying so much about the POSSIBILITY of a student getting injured. Kids do things all the time that cause them to get hurt. Most of the time, they just brush it off and move on. Should we remove all stairs because a student may fall down them? Honestly, where does it end? And let's be 100% honest, kids are going to go play dodgeball on their own even if it becomes banned from all schools.

The Locker Room

The locker room is a place where you shower, change, and store your street clothes and other paraphernalia while exercising. At least, that is what it is to the average person. However to the small fraternity of athletes, and former athletes, it is much more. It has become a source of pride, security, and bonding. 

It is often said, What goes on in the locker room, stays in the locker room (or some variation thereof). This is the Number 1 rule of any locker room. In a locker room, any number of things may be said. Often, these words are those of passion, thus lack any bit of conscious thought prior to being said. Many times an individual will speak first, think later, when in a locker room. Subjects include, women, work, other men, sports, politics, bowel movements, jokes, and other off-color comments. Aside from the fun, some of the greatest sports speeches of all time have come out of the locker room. Whether they are from a movie or real life, think Hoosiers or Any Given Sunday, these speeches are full of passion. They are not necessarily thought out, think Vince Lombardi, but just expressed in the heat of the moment and from the heart.

The Participants...

Back when I was in college we discussed a lot the psyche of athletes. In regard to such topic, one of my advisors used to preach the idea that there are Athletes and then there are Participants, in sports.

• Athletes are the individuals with the desire, drive, to compete and succeed.
• Participant is the individual who is happy to just be part of the team, success in the athletic realm does not matter.

The role of an Athletic Trainer is to prevent, assess, treat, and rehabilitate injuries and illnesses of the active population. So regardless of the personal feelings towards the topic, I will always do my job to the best of my ability, but this current blog is from my viewpoint as a coach and former athlete.

Bottom line, I love athletes. I used to be one so I have 100% respect for anyone who performs to their utmost ability leaving nothing but blood, sweat, and tears on the playing field. It is the participant that I cannot wrap my head around. I can't relate to the notion of content with being a part of a team. Now in recreational, youth, or JV High School athletics I can see where someone may just want to participate. Sports are fun; why else would anyone play them? So in these low level, somewhat non-competitive leagues a participant is acceptable. The reason they are on the team does not matter because these are the skill level leagues. Children are supposed to be learning the basic skills and rules of the individual sports. However, once you get to Varsity High School and beyond, the idea of a participant bewilders me.

Now I am not discouraging kids from participating in sports, far from it actually. I believe our society is not active enough, as a whole. However, why do something you don't really want to be doing? If you do not want to practice, why are you on a team? The participant should enter a less competitive league, recreational, or just become involved in a "pick-up" type setting. It will be better for them and for the true athletes who are working towards a goal with which the participant just cannot relate.

Second Place

Ok, so it has been a while since my last post, but with good reason. My sister had a baby, so I've been busy running back and forth to the hospital, buying baby stuff, and doing things for my family.

So my post today is focused one something specific, Winning. Now I understand that integrity is very important and that people should always "try their best." However this is my problem with that, why JUST try your best? Why not try to succeed, try to win? There is nothing wrong with that type of thinking, I believe sports psychologists call it positive visualization; before you do something, you visualize yourself doing it. You convince yourself that you are going to win, going to succeed. Personally, I don't believe you should try something unless you are trying to do the best that you can. It just is what it is.

Like I've said in an earlier post, there is no reason to be content with doing your personal best. Think about it, why should you live in a state of mediocracy? Personally I want my best to be better than your best, in everything I do. Does this make me a bad person, no. It makes me someone with drive and motivation to succeed. 

This rant has been brought to you as a result of the following video: