Mental Toughness, Motivation and Teaching

Last evening I was channel surfing and came upon a one-hour
program on this year’s pre-season training of the Alabama football team. I usually don’t
watch this stuff, but I heard “mental toughness’ so I decided to watch to see
if I could learn what this was. I watched it and still am not sure what to
think. I definitely did not learn what mental toughness was. It brought back
some real bad memories of my college football days in the sixties. All Nick Saban,
the head coach and the other coaches talked about was mental toughness. Over
and over they preached it. Then there was the strength coach; all he did was
scream, no instruction, just screaming of mindless platitudes vaguely related
to mental toughness. This left me cold. I have done my share of screaming, but
over the years I learned that when I controlled my voice that the
athletes responded and listened and the more I was able to teach. If you scream
all the time they will tune you out. I have watched Jim Radcliffe (University
of Oregon) with his players, he does not have to scream, he commands respect
with his presence, his persona, his knowledge and actions.

But this mental toughness thing bugs me. What is it?
Everyone talks about it, but I have still not found a good explanation of it
and how to teach it. (I know I posted on this last year and got the same old worn
out responses). Do mindless drills that elicit fatigue build it? Do
punishment runs do I it? Do trite slogans on the back of t-shirts enhance it? I don't think so. I
just don’t believe in it. I do however believe in mental discipline and
athletic intelligence. Every great athlete that I have seen has those
qualities. Mental discipline is having your head in the practice, training and
the game. It is being completely engaged and mindful. You show up everyday with
a plan and a goal to help you execute the plan. You don’t have to have someone
screaming at you for motivation, because the leaders have set out the goals and
means to achieve those goals. You just need to put your nose to the grindstone
and go after it. Don’t get me wrong I am not some fluffy wimp who lets the
athletes run the show. I believe that the coach is a teacher who must be firm
and fair, must teach the athlete the qualities that make up mental disciple and
praise the efforts to achieve it. That does not mean you need to be any less
demanding, you just need to lead and teach. Leading and teaching will enhance
mental disciple and increase athletic intelligence. Both of which will give the
athlete a chance to excel in the competitive arena. That is all we can ask.