Mental Toughness for Young Athletes
In pursuing mental toughness, young athletes inevitably encounter various challenges that can impede their growth and development. This chapter is dedicated to exploring these obstacles and equipping both parents and young athletes with effective strategies to overcome them. As we delve into these common hurdles, we aim to empower young athletes to build a strong foundation of mental resilience, allowing them to excel in their sports journey and beyond. By fostering an environment of support, understanding, and open communication, parents play a vital role in guiding their children through these challenges, helping them develop the mental toughness needed to overcome setbacks and thrive in the face of adversity.
Mental Toughness Training Examples
This training involves working with a sports psychologist or mental toughness coach to develop strategies for improving mental toughness. The training may include deep breathing, positive self-talk, and meditation.
The Double Defeat
When the scoreboard says defeat, and you have given yourself completely to the experience, you can hang your head high knowing you gave your all.
But if you held back, and you lost, you lost TWICE: A double defeat.
That will for sure keep you up late at night sobbing about your "what if" story.
Fear and Faith
Choose faith. Choose to prepare yourself and believe in your training. It has been said many times and I believe it to be true, “Champions do not rise to the level of competition, instead they drop to their level of training.”
The Difference Between Winning and Losing
“You got it. Winning and losing is not in your control,” I explain. “Instead of concerning yourself with the score, be a competitor. Who is coming in first during the sprints? Beat them. Who stays after practice to catch a few more throws? Catch more. A competitor does not worry about the scoreboard or stats or social media fans. A competitor shows up to be the best they can be and their hunger for improvement is never satiated.
![Invictus, aka "I am the captain of my soul" [poem]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65292b6b06d20e4a3c9fdb80/1698678065416-S6U5CIXWLLXIANY7KN4D/image-asset.jpeg)
Invictus, aka "I am the captain of my soul" [poem]
Invictus, by William Ernest Henley (1894-1903)
Mental Toughness, defined
The two questions I get most often are what is mental toughness and how do you develop it? I define mental toughness as being "able to access their talent at the highest level they are capable on a consistent basis regardless of the situation." Let’s break that down.
Mental Toughness, defined
What does it mean to be mentally tough? A mentally tough athlete is able to access their talent at the highest level they are capable on a consistent basis regardless of the situation
How to Develop Mental Toughness in an Athlete
How does one develop mental toughness? As a sport and performance consultant I get asked this often. To answer, let's start with defining what it means. The short definition is: One's ability to perform at a high level under adversity. However, it isn't that simple.
