How to Build Mental Toughness in High School Athletes

Improve mental toughness in high school athletes to boost performance on and off the field. It’s a skill that transfers to adulthood and beyond — and one that can be taught. So it’s best to teach it early and set adolescents up for success.

High school coaches can add basic practices and tweak their current training style further to improve mental toughness, discipline, and performance. Continue reading for actionable tips and strategies you can implement to help your athletes become mentally tough.

Create a positive training environment 

As a coach, you lead by example, especially when mentoring high school athletes. One of the best ways to teach mental toughness is to create a positive training environment that facilitates growth.

The environment says a lot about how you want your athletes to behave and learn.

Training should be fun — that doesn’t mean it can’t be challenging, but your athletes should look forward to their sessions. So how do you do this — how do you create a positive training environment?

Introduce team-building exercises, bonding activities, and fun minigames — these recommendations are also great for building team chemistry. 

Also, practice what you preach. You should practice mental toughness (and be mentally tough) if that’s what you want to teach. Lead by example. 

Related: What Makes a Good High School Sports Coach?

It’s all about communication 

Many coaches adopt the “bully” mentality — they give drill after drill, instruction after instruction, and then wonder why their athletes aren’t improving. The issue here is that communication is a two-way street.

And yes, while these exercises may build discipline and mental toughness — to some extent, creating an open line of communication and working together may prove better. Athletes are more likely to talk to you when struggling, mentorship will become more collaborative, and performance typically improves. 

In a high school environment, you can go a step further by hanging around after practice or letting them know they can talk to you about anything — not just sports.

Introduce competition and pressure to build mental toughness

A lot of high school teams and athletes deal with pressure almost exclusively in competition. This is usually a handful of times a season. But instead, why not create training scenarios that mimic competition during practice?

Doing so has many benefits. For example, you can identify (a) what’s going well and (b) what can be improved. This is an excellent way to build mental toughness. Let’s say an athlete loses motivation and then makes mistakes after a call that was not in their favor by the referee — you can practice these exact scenarios to help prevent the dip in motivation and performance.

Introducing competition is easy to do as well. For example, you can split your team into two, or if you coach multiple teams, you can have them play each other.

After the friendly competition, you can ask high school athletes (a) what they think went well and (b) what they think can be improved. Getting feedback directly from your athletes increases accountability. You can also cross-reference this feedback with your notes to implement new skills or even mental training to improve mental toughness and performance. 

Teach basic mental training skills 

Mental skills provide athletes with the tools to increase confidence and build mental toughness. It’s also a useful tool to improve skill, e.g., visualizing freekick technique.

Despite this, however, high school students are less likely to perform more advanced mental skills because they may seem “anecdotal.” So instead, try and teach the fundamentals so they can see how effective they are, and then build on their skills over months and years.

Basic mental skills include [3]:

  • Positive self-talk
  • Goal setting 
  • Visualization 
  • Mindfulness 

We’ll explain each of these in more detail with examples of how to execute them with your high school athletes below.

Want more guidance on mental training? Read our blog post on how to create a mental training program for athletes.

Positive self-talk

Self-talk is one of the easier mental skills to implement. It can help increase confidence, reduce anxiety, and improve task performance. But when people think of self-talk, they often think of shouting affirmations in the mirror. 

And while this is partly true, it’s not the only way to do it. For starters, most people don’t do that — if they do use self-talk, it’s usually done in their minds. It’s words, phrases, and cues that trigger an emotional response. For example, a cross-country runner might use self-talk cues such as “relax shoulders” and “high knees.”

The same runner might use self-talk during an event to break up the race into smaller bite-size chunks. Let’s say the race is 5 laps long — they might say to themselves, “1 lap left,” when there’s actually 2 or 3. You can trick your brain into perseverance, and this is a powerful way to build mental toughness.  

Why not introduce your athletes to a basic self-talk script?

Goal setting 

Goal setting is a tried and tested method of improving performance and mental toughness.

One study in adolescents analyzed the impacts of a 12-week core strength training program. Results found that those who combined goal setting with core strength training were more effective in improving fitness [1]. 

This demonstrates the impact of goals — they are a must-have.

But how do you set effective goals? We suggest using the SMART goal-setting principles [2]:

  • Specific: state exactly what you want to achieve or improve.
  • Measurable: how can you accurately measure progress?
  • Achievable: Is it possible? You need to be realistic.
  • Realistic: your goals should be challenging, but not impossible.
  • Time-bound: set a realistic timeframe to achieve your goals.

When working with a team, consider setting shared goals and actually setting these together. Don’t just make them your goals — sit down together and collectively come up with goals to work towards. This will also help accountability and improve mental toughness.

Visualization

Visualization is one of the more difficult mental skills to implement with high school athletes. 

Instead of diving into the deep end, we recommend trying a simple exercise before practice: ask your athletes to visualize a skill they want to improve, imagining successful skill performance. For example, this could be taking a free kick, diving to save a shot in the top left corner, or successfully dribbling around a player.

This should improve focus within the training session, and add more intention and goal-directed behavior to get better at the skill they have identified.

Use worksheets or other written feedback methods, such as surveys or questionnaires, to track progress, i.e., if your athletes find these mental exercises valuable.

Mindfulness 

When people hear mindfulness, they often think of meditation. And while this is one of the components, mindfulness also comprises other exercises such as deep breathing, relaxation, and even journaling to provide clarity.

While you can use visualization at the start of practice, you can use mindfulness at the end of practice. For instance, you can ask your athletes to jot down what they think went well and want them to improve in the next session. This is a simple way to increase accountability and allows your athletes to become intentional.

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Improve mental toughness with Rewire

“Our coaches can see every night to stay on top of fatigue and readiness. So incredibly useful.” – Jez Cox, Head Cycling Coach, Oaklands Wolves

Coaches can use Rewire to help prime their athletes for performance, increasing mental toughness, focus, and readiness to perform at their best. You also receive insights into athlete readiness to help you make smarter training and recovery decisions.

Your athletes get access to the athlete platform — a science-backed toolkit that contains neuro-training exercises to improve mental resilience and mindset, and promotes mind and body recovery.

Find out more about Rewire for teams


References:

  1. Lu, Y., Yu, K. and Gan, X., 2022. Effects of a SMART Goal Setting and 12-Week Core Strength Training Intervention on Physical Fitness and Exercise Attitudes in Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(13), p.7715.
  2. McCarthy, P.J. and Gupta, S., 2022. Set goals to get goals: Sowing seeds for success in sports. Frontiers for Young Minds, 10(10.3389).
  3. Röthlin, P., Horvath, S., Trösch, S., Holtforth, M.G. and Birrer, D., 2020. Differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on performance-relevant psychological factors in sport: a randomized controlled trial. BMC psychology, 8, pp.1-13.
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How Can Coaches Improve Team Performance? 8 Tips

Michael Jordan once said, “talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

As a coach, improving team performance is no doubt one of your main goals. The better your team, the more likely you are to win. 

But many coaches often forget that a team consists of multiple players. It sounds so basic. However, all the moving pieces (the players) need to work together for the team to perform at its best.

And while everybody wants to win, it’s talent and team development that is often the most rewarding and realistic to achieve. Everybody wants to improve, right?

This blog will highlight how coaches can improve team performance.

Key takeaways:

  • Coaches should better understand team dynamics to improve performance
  • Celebrate small wins & reflect on losses candidly 
  • Use Rewire to help athletes achieve peak performance 

How can a coach help a team?

Without a coach, you can still have a team. 

But with a coach, the team is more likely to be better aligned towards the same objective, i.e., everyone has the same goal.

For instance, while a team wants to win (big goal), smaller actions such as athlete feedback and team dynamics are necessary to achieve the bigger goal. 

A coach can help athletes get on the same train that leads to the final destination (big goal). While previously, they might have taken different routes to get there. This alignment is what makes a successful team.

So how can coaches improve team performance?

  1. Organize sports team bonding activities 
  2. Celebrate small wins 
  3. Reflect on losses through a candid lens
  4. Set SMART team goals
  5. Provide custom feedback to your athletes (based on their skill level)
  6. Listen to your athletes & support their individual development
  7. Better understand team dynamics
  8. Implement mental training with your athletes 

Organize sports team bonding activities 

One of the best ways for coaches to improve team performance is by organizing team bonding activities. This is especially true if it’s a new team, such as a high school sports team or a collegiate soccer team.

Your choice of activities will depend on the age group of your athletes. For example, if you’re coaching a youth sports team, then games such as tug of war, stuck in the mud, and relay races are great starting points.

But there are surprisingly fewer team bonding activities for older teams and adults. But a few ideas include escape rooms, social events, team dinners, and other non-sport activities.

Let’s use the Top Gun movie example — they might be fighter pilots, but they play beach volleyball to bond and improve their teamwork. Get creative with it!

Celebrate small wins 

Don’t just celebrate the big victories — celebrate the small wins along the way. Make sure to involve all team members when celebrating key milestones, shared goals, and other events.

Acknowledging and celebrating these small wins is a great way to increase team morale, spirit, and performance. 

Reflect on losses through a candid lens 

Every team experiences losses. 

A good coach can reflect on team performance with an honest and candid viewpoint. 

It’s important to assess what went well, but, more importantly, what could be improved. Be careful how you deliver feedback — more on this later in this post — but be brutally transparent as to why you either (a) won, or (b) lost.

Set SMART team goals

By now, you likely know what SMART goals are. If not, don’t stress:

  • Specific: state exactly what you want to achieve or improve.
  • Measurable: how can you accurately measure progress?
  • Achievable: Is it possible? You need to be realistic.
  • Realistic: your goals should be challenging, but not impossible.
  • Time-bound: set a realistic timeframe to achieve your goals.

When setting goals as a coach, you should set these with your team. If the team is involved in the goal-setting process, they are more likely to commit to them.

As a coach, you may choose to discuss your goals with the team at the beginning of the season. 

This is a great time to drive motivation and get everyone on the same page. It makes it that much easier to move the needle closer to your goals, whether that’s winning the league or avoiding relegation. 

Make team goals a part of your pre-season preparation. 

Provide custom feedback to your athletes (based on their current skill level)

Coaches can build on their team performance by improving how they provide feedback to their athletes.

For example, if you’re coaching multiple teams of different skill levels, you shouldn’t use the same feedback for both groups [1].

Instead, you want to tailor your coaching feedback to their individual skill level.

Let me provide you with a basic and easy-to-understand example. You have two groups:

  1. Beginner-to-novice athletes
  2. Elite athletes

Feedback for the beginner-to-novice athletes will look a little different — it’s likely to be more focused on basic skill learning, thus, less technical. 

On the other hand, when providing feedback to elite athletes, you can be more direct and instructional — they know the basic skills, but they may need to apply them differently.

You can take a similar approach when providing feedback to your athletes. Provide custom feedback depending on where they are currently, not where you want them to be.

The better each athlete performs, typically, the better the team performs.

Related: What is the Most Effective Way to Provide Feedback to an Athlete?

Listen to your athletes & support their individual development

It sounds so simple, but listening to your athletes can improve team performance in sports.

Naturally, some athletes will be better at some skills than others. Therefore, you want to find a way to complement each skill set for the best results.

Also, being there for your athletes, e.g., after training, can provide additional team bonding. 

And if an athlete is struggling with their mental health or motivation for training, for example, then you can help them get access to the help they need.

Better understand team dynamics 

If you can leverage and better understand team dynamics, you can improve team performance.

For example, in a team, all teammates have preferred communication styles.

As a coach, you must recognize these and pair accordingly. You might be able to address one player’s weaknesses while improving another’s strengths.

Get creative with it. But ultimately, the more your team works like a team, the better. It sounds simple — that’s because it is — but when done correctly, it’s incredibly powerful. 

Implement mental training with your athletes

“Before every shot, I go to the movies.” – Jack Nicklaus

It’s no secret that the best athletes use mental training to improve their performance. For example, Elite Olympic swimmer Megan Jendrick, in preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, stated: “I visualize my races every night before I go to bed. I visualize it with a stopwatch in my hand. Every night, my goal is to go 1:05:40, I just visualized it the other day, and on the stopwatch, my time was 1:05:47.” Jendrick went on to win gold that year.

The above is only one example of mental training, a technique known as visualization. 

You can create a mental training program for your athletes to help improve their weaknesses and develop better skills and techniques. 

No two mental training plans are the same. To get started, we suggest you read our blog post on how to create a mental training program for athletes.

Coaches can use Rewire to improve team performance 

Coaches can improve team performance by following the advice in this blog post.

You can also take it a step further. Athletes can use Rewire to improve mental resilience, focus, and to enhance competition mindset, prep, and team performance, whether in cycling, golf, basketball, or any sport.

Here’s what Cody Parrent, Senior Director of ESports operations at Indiana Pacers, said:

“Rewire has changed the way our players and staff train, measure performance, and manage cognitive fatigue on a daily basis. This new holistic approach to readiness and recovery has enabled our esports athletes to perform at their maximum level and reach peak performance.” 

Find out how Rewire can improve team performance


References

  1. Otte, F.W., Davids, K., Millar, S.K. and Klatt, S., 2020. When and how to provide feedback and instructions to athletes?—How sport psychology and pedagogy insights can improve coaching interventions to enhance self-regulation in training. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, p.1444.
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How Can Sports Psychology Help Athletes?

It’s no secret that the best athletes are physically talented — they have impressive aerobic and anaerobic capacities, can shoot perfect free throws, and they can perform at the highest of intensities for hours on end.

But the very best athletes also know how to best perform mentally. They can silence the noise and play as if they are the only person in the stadium, on the pitch, or on the golf course.

Research shows that mental training in sports psychology can improve results more than physical training alone [1]. In fact, it’s changed the lives of many athletes, whether breaking through mental barriers, coming back from injury, or improving their performance.

With this in mind, in this blog post we discuss how sports psychology can help athletes.

Sports psychologists can:

  • Reduce performance anxiety and increase athlete confidence
  • Provide athletes with mental skills to deal with stressful situations
  • Help athletes return after injury 

What is sports psychology?

Sports psychology is all about the mind — it’s about developing mental fitness and resilience, and learning skills such as visualisation and effective goal setting to maximise an athlete’s performance.

In the last few years, there’s been a boom in sports psychology — every professional sports team has at least one, and some, have a whole team of psychologists on hand to provide mental skills training, support, and education to their athletes.

Athletes who train in both the physical and mental aspects of their sport are likely to achieve better results than an athlete who only trains on the field.

What do sports psychologists do?

Okay, now that you know what sports psychology is, what do sports psychologists actually do, aside from helping athletes get the most out of themselves?

Sports psychologists:

  1. Help athletes mentally prepare for competition
  2. Teach effective goal setting techniques
  3. Develop attention and focus
  4. Break through mental barriers 
  5. Improve self-confidence and reduce anxiety
  6. Help athletes return after injury

Help athletes mentally prepare for competition

Competition is tough, both mentally and physically. That shouldn’t be a surprise to athletes or coaches.

If an athlete’s mind is not in the right place, their physical performance may suffer.

Sports psychologists work with their athletes to prepare them mentally for competition.

But this isn’t something that happens overnight. 

Let’s say you have an athlete who gets tense, anxious, and feels overwhelmed when taking a set piece such as a free throw in basketball. A psychologist could work with the athlete to develop a ritual to calm their nerves and silence the noise — this might include deep breathing exercises, cues such as relaxing their shoulders, or imagery to visualise the shot before taking it.

Want to see this in action? Watch Jonny Wilkinson perform his pre-kick ritual below:

Working with a sports psychologist is often very personalised — there is no one size fits all approach. Instead, it’s about working on an individual athlete’s strengths and weaknesses.

Teach effective goal setting techniques 

All athletes have goals, whether you’re competing for an Olympic gold medal, want to break a 5k personal best, or win your basketball league tournament.

And we can all use effective goal setting techniques to improve self-confidence, performance, and the overall likelihood of success.

Sports psychologists and coaches should work with athletes to set goals using the following principles [2]:

  • Set specific goals that lead to better performance (vs. easy goals)
  • Short-term goals should move the needle towards long-term goals
  • An understanding that goals affect performance (effort, direction and attention, motivation, and strategy development)
  • Feedback regarding process is crucial when working towards goals
  • Goals must be accepted by the athlete 

Related: What Qualities Make A Great Sports Coach?

Develop attention and focus 

It’s natural for athletes to feel increased anxiety under pressure — it’s those moments before a freekick, a set piece, the closing moments of a game, or the final 100 metres of a 5,000-metre race.

A sports psychologist can help athletes regain focus and lessen their anxiety, allowing them to maximise performance.

Furthermore, some athletes might perform well, but struggle with attention and focus during training, perhaps preventing them from reaching that “next level.” 

Athletes can work alongside a sports psychologist to improve their motivation, attention and focus during those oh-so-crucial moments. 

Break through mental barriers

Athletes use mental coaching to break through barriers that may inhibit peak performance.

For example, an athlete may choke under high pressure regularly, fear task or performance failure after a specific event, or experience severe anxiety to the point where their performance is severely hindered. 

Sports psychologists employ mental skills training techniques to break through these mental barriers [1], alleviating anxiety and providing athletes with the tools to face their unique challenges head-on.

And the best part is, you don’t need to be an elite athlete to benefit from sports psychology and mental training.

Improve self-confidence and reduce anxiety

Working with a psychologist can help athletes improve confidence and optimise focus for performance.

Using certain mental exercises, athletes can recall how they felt during past performances, and can even practise certain skills and techniques to work on their mental game. Often, this includes the visualisation of particular scenarios and sports outcomes.

Psychologists administer a mix of mental skills, including [3]:

  • Self-talk
  • Attentional control
  • Goal setting
  • Imagery/visualisation 
  • Activation and relaxation

If you’re a coach and you want to start using mental skill training with your athletes, you can read our how to create a mental training program for athletes guide.

Help athletes return after injury

Returning from a sports injury is no easy feat. — many athletes push too hard too early and only make it worse.

And then there are other athletes who seemingly come back from the impossible. Take Chris Froome’s horrendous crash at the dauphiné back in 2019, for example. He fractured his right femur, elbow, and several ribs after hitting a wall at over 33 mph during a training ride — he was later airlifted to hospital.

Team Ineos did not renew his professional contract, and for many cyclists (and athletes), that would be the end of their careers. But not Froome.

And that’s only one example. There are others too, including Peyton Manning, who had multiple neck surgeries; Tiger Woods suffered from a double stress fracture in his left tibia; and Tom Brady who tore both the ACL and MCL in his knee.

All of these athletes returned back to their sport after going through rehabilitation with physiologists, doctors, and psychologists.

Why is sports psychology so important?

Sports psychology can help athletes reduce performance anxiety, come back from injury, break through mental barriers, and ultimately make them a more well-rounded and better athlete.

Prime your athletes for performance with Rewire

If you’re a coach, you can use Rewire for teams to prime your athletes for performance. 

With as little as 5 minutes of daily use, on average, athletes experience 70% less stress, 30% more focus, and a 30% increase in readiness to perform.

Athletes gain access to mindset recovery protocols based on science to improve their mindset and recovery, and to prepare them for training and competition.

And as a coach, you gain a comprehensive understanding of their “readiness scores” to determine their training load.

“As a professional athlete, I’ve known firsthand the importance of training the mind and body to push the limits of performance. Rewire’s latest platform makes mental strength training more accessible to athletes everywhere with easy-to-use tools to help them reach their goals.”

— Kyle Korver, NBA All-Star & Assistant GM for the Atlanta Hawks.

Book a consultation 

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References:

  1. Kumar, P. and Shirotriya, A.K., 2010. ‘Sports psychology’a crucial ingredient for athletes success: conceptual view. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(Suppl 1), pp.i55-i56.
  2. Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P., 1985. The application of goal setting to sports. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(3), pp.205-222.
  3. Röthlin, P., Horvath, S., Trösch, S., Holtforth, M.G. and Birrer, D., 2020. Differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on performance-relevant psychological factors in sport: a randomized controlled trial. BMC psychology, 8, pp.1-13.
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How to Create a Mental Training Program for Athletes

Improve your athletes’ mental game and develop a competitive edge by implementing a mental training plan.

Michael Phelps once said, “I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.” 

This quote from the Olympic swimmer — and most celebrated Olympian of all time — is a fantastic introduction to mental training and how it can improve confidence and mental strength.

Mental training tools, such as effective goal setting, visualisation, self-talk, and progressive muscle relaxation, can be used to maximise physical and psychological performance.

Some of the very best athletes — Phelps included — used psychological skills training to improve performance. And in this blog post, we’ll explain how you can create a mental skills training program for your athletes to help them stay focused when it matters most.

Please note: I am not a sports psychologist. I am simply relaying the literature in an easy-to-understand way to help you create a mental training program for your athletes.

How do athletes train mentally?

Athletes who follow a mental training program usually focus on one skill or psychological strategy a day. 

For example, during the week, they might practise a mix of skills to improve their mental game, including self-talk, visualisation, goal setting, and activation. 

If an athlete struggles to deal with the intense pressure of competition during a particularly stressful situation (such as a freekick in football), they can visualise this and practise other mental exercises to improve confidence and performance.

While this obviously looks different for every athlete and sport, coaches should create mental training programs to address athlete weaknesses while also honing in on their strengths.

So how do you start?

To begin, coaches should perform a needs assessment with their athletes — this helps identify any potential psychological strengths (and weaknesses), and areas that may be detrimental to performance. 

Ask your athletes to note down both physical and psychological skills they think are needed to perform well in their sport.

An example mental training program for a cyclist

Let’s use the example of a cyclist. They might mention skills such as:

  • Climbing ability
  • Descending ability (and confidence when doing so)
  • Core strength
  • Power output 
  • Cornering
  • Teamwork
  • Getting into an aero position 
  • Good communication with the team

Once you’ve got these noted down, athletes rate (on a scale of 1 to 10) how good they think they are at each skill.

Also, ask your athletes if they have any strengths or weaknesses in their sport. For example, they may say they are good at climbing, but worse at descending.

If they rate their descending ability a 4, for example, then mental skills can be used to improve their confidence and technique on those descents. 

Visualisation can be used to practise choosing the right line, putting the weight over the bike correctly, and braking in advance of the corner. This can help build up confidence without actually being on the bike.

During this needs assessment, it’s important that it’s a collaborative effort between coach and athlete — this makes it more likely that they’ll stick to the program.

For more data, coaches can ask athletes to complete the test of performance questionnaire (TOPS). This will also reveal other psychological strengths and weaknesses in training and competition.

Now with a list of strengths and weaknesses, alongside physical and psychological skills, you can begin collaborating with your athletes to create an effective mental training program.

Decide what mental skills to include in the program

The results from the TOPS questionnaire also show what mental skills the athlete is good at and others which can be improved.

This provides a great foundation for you to combine skills that they have not yet utilised (or are not very good at), and skills that they want to improve in their sport, e.g. descending ability.

Mental skills include [2]:

  • Self-talk
  • Emotional control
  • Goal setting 
  • Imagery (also called visualisation)
  • Activation
  • Relaxation
  • Negative thinking 
  • Attentional control 

If the imagery and self-talk scores were low (i.e. not used before), then we can add these to a mental training program to focus on those weaker areas such as descending, cornering and getting into an aero position.

The athlete will now be improving mental strength and physical training, applying a new skill to their performance.

You can also use mental skills they have previous practice with (and feel confident using) to complement their training and skill learning.

Be sure to ask the athlete what they want to improve and what mental skills they think would benefit their overall performance. Remember: the process should remain collaborative. 

Self-talk 

For self-talk, ask athletes to note down any negative self-talk they experience during training, competition, or when practising a skill.

Let’s say, for example, when approaching a descent, they feel scared, out of control, and as if they’re going to run off the road.

You can implement a script to replace negative thoughts with positive self-talk. 

Below are some examples of how this cyclist would begin using positive self-talk during training, and, eventually, competition. 

Negative self-talkPositive self-talk
I feel scared when descendingI’m confident at descending 
I feel like I’m going to run off the roadI’ll choose my line and stick to it
I’m worried I’ll grab the brakes in the cornerI’ll break in a straight line before the corner

Imagery

Imagery, or visualisation is similar to self-talk. And in our example, you could ask your athlete to imagine themselves descending.

What technique are they adopting? Where do they position themselves on the road? How does it feel leading up to the corner? Do they hit the apex? What about exiting the corner — do they accelerate quickly by putting more power on the pedals?

And while you should visualise the successful performance of the skill, it may also be beneficial to imagine what could go wrong, and other ways it could go. However, to begin with, we recommend mastering successful skill performance before exploring other visualisation outcomes.

Relaxation

And finally, let’s say our cyclist feels intense pressure during competition. If this was the case, it might be useful to practise relaxation techniques. This could include focused deep breathing, positive self-talk, progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques which are good mental training tools to have in your toolkit. 

No mental training program will be the same

When designing a mental training program for your athletes, it’s important to know that no two plans should or will be the same.

Athletes have unique strengths and weaknesses, some may have experience with mental skills training, and others might be starting from scratch.

But no matter what level an athlete is playing or competing in, mental training can help them improve physical (and mental) performance [1]. 

Coaches can use Rewire to build mental fitness 

As well as creating a mental training plan for your athletes, coaches can use Rewire for teams to further improve mental fitness and mindset recovery.

Athletes get access to evidence-based protocols from neuroscience and sports psychology, and actively practise self-talk, visualisation, guided breathing exercises, and more. 

Coaches can also track athletes’ readiness scores to tailor their physical and mental training for each athlete to maximise performance. 

“If you’re just relying on trying to sharpen your mental game while you’re out training, you might not always have the opportunity or you may wear your body down too much. With Rewire, you have a controlled environment and structure so that you can choose when you want to add mental training to your workouts and you can do it as often as you’d like.” – Laura Kline (Elite Ultra Runner & Endurance Athlete)

Find out how Rewire can improve mental fitness for your athletes.

FAQs

What is a mental skills training program?

A mental skills training program contains psychological exercises such as self-talk and visualisation to improve physical skills, whether that’s a free throw or a cycling descent.

How do you train mental training?

To start, begin practising easy-to-implement skills such as positive self-talk and visualisation. Note down areas of your sport you want to improve and use mental skills to optimise physical and mental performance.

How do athletes become better mentally?

The best athletes are highly resilient. Often, this is a result of mental training exercises such as visualisation, self-talk, and effective goal setting. You can do the same to improve your performance.

References:

  1. Holmes, P.S. and Collins, D.J., 2001. The PETTLEP approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model for sport psychologists. Journal of applied sport psychology, 13(1), pp.60-83.
  2. Röthlin, P., Horvath, S., Trösch, S., Holtforth, M.G. and Birrer, D., 2020. Differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on performance-relevant psychological factors in sport: a randomized controlled trial. BMC psychology, 8, pp.1-13.
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What Makes a Good Youth Sports Coach

We’ve all heard stories about youth sports coaches, both good and bad. There’s the coach who makes training exciting and a fun place to be, and then there’s the coach who yells at the kids, almost as if they enrolled into boot camp. 

If you’re a youth sports coach, there are certain qualities that parents look for and that kids need in a coach and mentor. 

This blog post will highlight what makes a good youth sports coach — it’s both a guide for coaches (what to do and what not to do), and for parents to help them find the right coach for their kids.

What are the qualities of a good coach in youth sports?

Good sports coaches often share similar qualities — they leave behind patterns.

Youth coaches typically have many of the following coaching behaviours: 

  1. They make training fun 
  2. Winning is not the priority 
  3. They teach good sportsmanship
  4. The coach does not play favourites
  5. They are patient
  6. Good youth sport coaches have a positive can-do attitude
  7. Let all kids get involved
  8. Teaches basic skills 
  9. Knows how to effectively communicate with the kids 
  10. Provides equal playing time and opportunities 

They make training fun 

Good sports coaches know how to make training fun (and why it’s important). 

We’ve all seen or heard the screaming coach — it’s not a good look, and it’s the wrong approach to coaching (especially when coaching young kids).

Training should be fun and may include friendly competition.

For example, there’s the classic warm up of stuck in the mud, tag, and other fun games.

If you’re in the pool, you might play a game such as attack of the killer bees (tag with pool noodles). Although, no contact with the face or head is allowed.

Or maybe if you’re playing football, you’ll finish the session with a quick round of crossbar challenge, involving all players and keeping things fun and competitive.

Winning is not the priority 

Winning should not be a priority of a youth coach.

Yes, it may feel good. And the team may enjoy it. But the priority should be to have fun.

Young athletes who enjoy training are more likely to stick with it, whether that’s for months or years.

Furthermore, not winning actually teaches many life lessons and skills, especially if you experience these from a young age. 

They teach good sportsmanship

Good sportsmanship should be taught from an early age. It not only teaches respect in the world of sport, but in life.

At the end of a session, youth coaches might ask their athletes to high-five each other.

At the end of a game, players should handshake their opponents.

Good youth sports coaches recognise the opportunity to teach proper sportsmanship and respect, and include these behaviours where possible and appropriate.

The coach does not play favourites 

The same can be said for any coach, whether in youth sports, high school, or at the elite level.

A good coach should never have favourites. 

Yes, they might have one or two star athletes (this is normal), but during training, they should provide their attention to all athletes. Not one, two, or a select group.

Prioritising certain children and athletes over others should be an instant red flag.

Related: What qualities make a great sports coach? 

They are patient 

At the end of the day, kids are kids.

They’ll talk over one another, they might not listen the first time, and you’ll have to repeat things over and over.

A good sports coach at the youth level needs to be very patient. 

That means not shouting when they don’t listen, and being willing to go the extra mile to explain concepts to kids who might be struggling to grasp them on the first try. It’s part of the learning process and part of developing new skills. 

This patience and dedication go a long way — you’ll see first-hand how much of a profound effect you can have on young athletes.

Good youth sports coaches have a positive can-do attitude 

At some point or another, we’ve all had (or seen) a coach who had a positive attitude — they were enthusiastic and pushed us to achieve more than we thought was possible.

A youth sports coach with a positive attitude is highly underrated. They motivate kids to attend practice, push themselves, and face many challenges.

They are also typically great at providing positive reinforcement and building self confidence in kids.

Related: What is the Most Effective Way to Provide Feedback to an Athlete?

Training instantly becomes more fun and enjoyable, and kids are equally as excited to attend the training session.

Compare this to a coach who shouts and screams at their athletes, and you’ll see first-hand how powerful that can-do attitude is. 

Enthusiasm is infectious — look for this quality in a youth sports coach. 

Let all kids get involved

A great coach lets all kids get involved, not just one individual player.

Excluding any kid or athlete is a sign of a bad coach.

Youth coaching (and any coaching) is about inclusivity. 

Excluding any kid is not only harmful in the moment (they may feel left out, upset, etc.), but you might stop them from playing sports later in life.

Sports exclusion is one of the worst things you can do — it’s not a good coaching behaviour. Avoid this at all costs, especially in youth.

Related: 5 Qualities of a Bad Coach (And How to Avoid Them).

Teaches basic skills 

A good youth sports coach focuses on the development of young kids (that includes teaching basic skills).

Often, these skills will be naturally built into training sessions and school PE classes.

For example, life skills such as teamwork, good communication, sportsmanship, and even fundamental physical skills (balance, jumping, running, hopping, etc.) are commonly taught.

These are easy to implement (but very important), and kids usually don’t even realise what lessons and skills they’re being taught until later in life.

Knows how to effectively communicate with the kids

While all coaches need to be effective communicators (it’s an integral part of coaching), it’s especially important when coaching young athletes and kids.

Young people have shorter spans of attention. They are more likely to become distracted. And you might need to explain a concept multiple times (visual and auditory) for them to get it.

Good coaches know this and are extremely patient with the kids. They have great communication skills and use these in (and out of) practice to get the most out of young athletes. 

Provides equal playing time and opportunities 

And finally, youth sports coaches should provide equal playing time and opportunities for all their athletes.

During training, that means everybody gets time on the ball, has equal opportunities to shoot hoops, and nobody is excluded in a game of tag.

Good youth coaches know how to involve all kids in a fun and engaging way — training becomes exciting, and kids look forward to their next session.

Which, as you can imagine, has many positive rebound effects.

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