The championship teams know there must be a priority on building a tough football mind, and incorporating different aspects of football psychology in their training program. An athlete’s football confidence allows him to reach his full physical potential, but likewise the most gifted athlete who struggles with insecurities and doubts will never find true success on the football field. Any coach knows the importance of football psychology to build his team, both as individuals and as a unit.
Vince Lombardi believed this fact as he stated, “Mental toughness is essential to success”.
There are many aspects to prepare a strong football mind. Sports psychologists and mental game coaches look at athletes who perform best under pressure, and other athletes who weaken as the pressure builds. They find that no matter the sport, the athletes who thrive under the stress of competition all find ways to accentuate positive thoughts and decrease the significance of failures and setbacks. The best coaches prepare their team mentally by offering as many scenarios as possible that might actually occur during a game.
The act of visualizing a response over and over in one’s mind allows them to feel confidence if they are faced with the scenario in the actual game. The mental preparedness of positive responses such as catching the pass, avoiding the rush, or making the tackle all help boost the athlete’s mental preparedness and ultimately toughness to the pressures of the game.
Confident teammates build a confident team. How the coach and team approaches adversity determines the impact small shortcomings will affect the overall performance of the team. Consider a team going for it on a fourth down play only to come up short. The successful team moves past that to pump up their defense, and encourage the offense to return back to the field.
“All of us get knocked down, but it’s resiliency that really matters. All of us do well when things are going well, but the thing that distinguishes athletes is the ability to do well in times of great stress, urgency and pressure.” Roger Staubach
The best athletes constantly strive to find improvement in their game by becoming stronger, faster, and mentally tougher. It is important that both coaches and athletes seek sport psychology articles to find methods to improve their mental game, football mind, and ability to deal with competitive stress. Strong analysis of previous performance in a positive frame of reference also strengthens the athlete for improved reactions the next time.
If while watching film a coach points to a mistake, but also offers the solution for success in the future, this improves the chances for better performance. However, if he criticizes the athlete or his character during the analysis, then on the next outing the athlete does not focus on how to positively respond he is more likely to simply “ mess up”.
The advancement of science in the psychology of winning makes it absolutely imperative for any athlete or coach to implement mental strategies that increase their ability to remain positive, keep emotions in control, and ultimately perform at their peak ability. Football requires that the athlete not only prepare physically, but keep mental preparation is also a top priority.
