“I’m going to be more vigilant, I’m going to be more diligent, I’m going to be more visible and I’m going to have a better pulse,” Coach Philbin
Restoring football confidence in teams, individuals and the NFL has made headlines the past few weeks especially for the Miami Dolphins football team.
It is slowly but surely becoming more evident that the mental game of football is just as important as the physical game.
It is also becoming clearer that mental health plays a significant role in football confidence of the players. What we all know now is Jonathan Martin football confidence, football mental toughness and mental health declined when he was bullied by Richie Incognito.
Ted Wells was appointed by the NFL to run an investigation on the team under the suspicion of harassment. The report was released mid-February stating that Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey all determined to have played a role in the harassment of Martin. Given the details of the report these issues were determined to be contributing factors that caused Martin to suffer from mental health related issues, which in turned interfered with his ability to perform on the football field.
Miami Dolphins head coach, Joe Philbin plans to restore mental toughness by building football confidence and being more aware of the mental health needs of the players. As a result of this incident his plans are not only for physical preparation, but mental preparation as well. As much as football is a hands-on physical sport, the mental game of football and mental health is a big part of the game as well.
Philbin goes on to say “I can tell you that I never turned my back – if I heard this type of language or these types of acts being done I would have intervened immediately. There’s a common decency that people need to have to one another. When that gets violated, that’s an issue.”
Dolphin’s offensive line coach, Jim Turner, and trainer, Kevin O’Neil, character and leadership were questioned as a result of this incident. Their lack of leadership played a large part in the breaking down of the player’s mental toughness, football confidence and mental health.
Phibin plans to restore and build the Dolphin’s back up by focusing more on the overall well-being of the players – the mental and the physical. He plans to change the culture of the locker room by making sure there are leaders of good character and the players exercise common decency.
There is a large amount of football psychology behind the mental game of football and the mental health of the players. Psychology for football will tell you that strong, respected leaders of good character are needed in order to build mental toughness, build football confidence, and win championships.
