“To me, football is so much about mental toughness, it’s digging deep, it’s doing whatever you need to do to help a team win and that comes in a lot of shapes and forms” —Tom Brady,
There are so many variables that can play their part in deciding whether an individual or team is a success or failure in modern day sport, and football is no exception.
With advanced training techniques, football psychology and nutrition, performance aiding footwear and everything else that incorporate the game at the highest level these days, the margins between winning and losing are at times very small.
Research and common sense tell us that top football players succeed because of their physical talents and their dedication to training.
However, they also succeed because of their dexterity in dealing with the psychological pressures of a football mental game.
In short, football mental toughness and resilience are tremendously important for any athlete aiming to be the best in this arena.
Mentally tough athletes exhibit sportsmanship. They don’t let the opponent know when he or she has gotten them down. Clearly we all experience disappointment, attacks from others, an occasional blow to the stomach. However, the behavior exhibited by mentally tough athletes after losing or being attacked by others or the situation sets the tone for the rest of a team.
Additionally, mental tough athletes support their teammates and their roles. If teammates start competing with and attacking one another, it is definitely difficult to win.
For example, Kyle Orton has done an outstanding job of displaying sportsmanship while under public scrutiny. When he brought to the Bronco, he has been the subject of constant press speculation about possibly being replaced.
The drafting of Tim Tebow brought on another press outcry, that Kyle was out and Tim was in. Kyle handled it with grace and dignity. Putting his amazing football mind to the game and the team, he got on the field and simply practiced hard, welcoming his new teammate. In the face of even internal competition, Kyle Orton exhibits the mentality of “Bring it on!”
Mental toughness is keeping yourself strong in the face of adversity.
It’s the ability to keep your football confidence, focus and determination despite the difficulties you encounter.
No one believed Adrian Peterson could come back from a torn ACL in one year. No one but Peterson himself, that is. His almost mythical recovery from an injury that generally takes two years or more to heal up is unprecedented. But in interviews, he’s said over and over that he knows his body, he knows what it takes to heal, and he knows how to put in the time, energy, work, and dedication to make it happen on his timetable.
Sometimes we allow ourselves to be limited by others’ standards. But to be mentally tough requires that we set our own standards of performance, and then do everything we can in a methodical and focused way to reach that bar.
In sports and in life, we are constantly assaulted with challenges. But if we can evaluate ourselves, relentlessly improve, and envision a lofty goal, no goal is out of our reach.
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