“Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles.”  Alex Karras
Each year, millions of young athletes spend their falls playing high school football and their winters, springs and summers preparing for the season. Most high schools in America have a high school football program, but very few of those high school players end up making it to the next level.

Whether it be the mental preparation football requires, the proper football mind or football mental toughness, many players, talented players, lack what it takes to get to the next level. For the most problem, their problems are not physical, they are mental.

It takes a special kind of player to play football at that next level– mental toughness is key. No longer are these high school stars the local celebrities that they have become in their small town. Now, they are thrown into the mix with other talented players which can crush the football confidence for some players. When getting ready to play college ball, the football mental game changes drastically for these young athletes.

For starters, these players can no longer get away with being the top players in their town. Once they start playing college football, they are competing with players from all around, not just one division or county.

Playing at a higher level alters the football mental game since many of the players going to the next level have never dealt with not starting and not playing as much.

The mental preparation required for some of these guys knowing that they will not come in their freshman year and start is unbearable at times, but it is a fact of life. Typically it is the upperclassmen that see the lion’s share of playing time at the next level.

Choosing what college to play at is no easy task either. Although a football mentality might help ease the process, it is not nearly as simple as it looks. While many young athletes want to play for the best football program possible, others just want to see the field.

Psychology in football makes it tough, makes players want to do their best and prove that they are the best, so many of them want to play with the best. Others do not realize the odds of going pro are slim and that college football offers can give student athletes a great education for less money, if they even have to pay at all.

Although players want to play the game that many of them have been playing their entire lives, they must come to the reality that it will not last forever and that they have the rest of their lives ahead of them but the life lessons they learn in football will stick with them forever.

The recruiting process can be tough on all, especially those who can get anxious. The constant texts, phone calls, letters in the mail and emails make it tough to remain focused, to stay in that football mindset, but the less it gets to players, the better off they are.

Ideally, players need to find a program where they can get a proper education while still being able to keep their football confidence and can enjoy the game. After all, it is only a game, so getting overly worried about it and not enjoying it makes it not worth doing.

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