Nine habits of highly successful athletes:
1. Showing up early
2. Listening to coaches
3. Working hard
4. Thinking positive
5. Putting the team first
6. Studying film
7. Eating healthy
8. Practicing rest and recovery
9. Going to sleep early
Being mentally tough is about:
Giving your best effort
Pushing through discomfort
Focusing on the task at hand
Blocking out distractions
Facing your fears
And staying poised under pressure
The five mental challenges of sports:
1. Pushing through discomfort.
2. Blocking out distractions.
3. Staying poised under pressure.
4. Thinking critically to solve problems.
5. Managing your ego and working with others.
Work hard to improve in all of these areas!
A good player-coach relationship is built on trust. As a coach, you earn your players’ trust by helping them improve and showing that you truly care about them. And as a player, you earn your coach’s trust by giving your best effort and being coachable.
After you make a mistake in a game, remember that there's nothing you can do to undo it, so you might as well forget about it, stay positive, and focus on the next play!
Mentally tough athletes stay motivated no matter the amount of failure or success they experience. They never give up when faced with adversity, and they always stay hungry after success.
Self-talk is one of the most important mental skills. The way you talk to yourself greatly affects your motivation, confidence, resilience, and mental health. The better your self-talk, the happier and more successful you’ll be!
Mentally tough athletes never let trash talk get inside their heads. No matter what their opponents say, they don’t react emotionally. They just ignore it and stay focused on the task at hand.
It’s okay to make mistakes in practice. That’s what you’re supposed to do. That's how you get better. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not challenging yourself enough. The more you take risks and learn from your mistakes in practice, the better you’ll perform in games.
Winning is somewhat uncontrollable, because even if you play your best, your opponent may play better. Therefore, you should focus more on your attitude and effort, which are entirely controllable. This will help you maintain your motivation and composure in games.