“We compete, not so much against an opponent, but against ourselves. The real test is this: Did I make my best effort on every play?” – Bud Wilkinson

What makes a good coach? Among other things, a good coach can raise an athlete’s football confidence and strengthen their football mind.

A good coach will be even tempered, level headed and will remain calm and composed even when things are not going well for the team.

They will also know the importance of engaging with their players through constructive criticism and positive talk to better the athlete’s overall mental game and state of mind.

A potential football mental game pitfall can sometime come about for the athletes who learn to rely solely on their coach’s pep talks (or other external factors) to regulate their football mental toughness and their mental game.

This indicates the formation of over reliance on their coach, a type of unhealthy co-dependent relationship. A good coach can sense when an athlete’s head is in the game and when it is not.

During the game the most a coach can do is call a time out to talk to the athlete in question or bench the athlete in favor of giving another athlete an opportunity.

Successful athletes all have something in common. The all know how to become their best coach when it comes to their football mental game.

Not only do they know what pushes their buttons, they also know how to manage or self-regulate their own thoughts and actions at the appropriate time and in an appropriate manor to get an optimum performance out of themselves.

The good coach qualities, some of which were listed previously, can be learned and nurtured by most athletes that want to managed and give themselves the opportunity to boost their football mind and IQ.

Athletes can sometimes quickly see and understand the benefits of letting go of errors and generally manage to cope better with imperfections in practice and competition. This allows athletes to focus their mental and physical efforts on the moment and on the current play instead of the uncontrollable past.

These athletes have learned not to engage in perfectionist behaviors. They are not hard on themselves when things go wrong or when they are not performing well. They also do not engage in negative or critical internal dialogues or mental chatter.

Athletes that can supplement or replicate their coach’s positive input on their own, tend to become more independent on the field as they learn to trust in their own mental and physical abilities.

This is often the cornerstone to developing football confidence and reaching peak performance.

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