Forging Mental Toughness
As a former Navy SEAL, I often asked myself why so many students quit or “drop on request” (DOR) from training. Yes, it’s physically demanding, but you don’t have to be an Olympic caliber athlete to meet the physical standards.
A lack of mental toughness has often been credited for the high attrition rates in SEAL training. As a coach, you may have wondered why some athletes in your program fail to give the effort you want to see from them. This, too, is sometimes passed off as a lack of mental toughness.
Mental toughness is the ability to demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity. It’s persevering through the challenges placed in front of you and the ability to overcome your fears while doing what needs to be done. It’s not letting anything stop you from achieving what you set out to do. But if you think about it, these are the actions of mentally tough people. So, what skills and tools does it take to put mental toughness into action?
Before mental toughness can occur, it has to be founded by motivation - the want or desire to succeed. In extreme cases, it may be a determination to survive. Providing external motivation to your athletes is sometimes all you need to see your players step up to the challenges you put in front of them. However, just as in SEAL training, there will be players who have superior ability and skill but still crumble under the pressure of intense practice or high-level competition. This can create frustration and confusion for coaches who feel they have used all the tools at their disposal to motivate their players.
This is when it’s time to call in the professionals. In this day and age, many programs have Sport Psychologists or Mental Performance Coaches on staff. When employed effectively, they can provide education, training, and follow up to help enhance the overall performance of your athletes. If you don’t have one on staff, I suggest you hire one. Make them an integral part of your player development process because confidence, attentional focus, and stress management are the mental skills that many talented people lose control of in the face of extreme conditions or the stress of intense high-level competition.
While we all have the ability to use mental tools such as motivational self-talk, energization/relaxation breathing techniques, imagery/visualization, and goal-setting, it’s unfair to assume all your players know how to put them into practice.
Players need to be educated on self-awareness including how and when to intentionally employ the mental tools that work for them. Just like it takes multiple repetitions to hone physical skills and techniques, it takes multiple repetitions in practice for players to employ mental tools in the midst of high-stress situations.
At SEAL training, a new emphasis has been placed on the development of mental skills to prepare the students for the psychological rigors of the program. Record numbers of students are persevering and exercising mental toughness like never seen before. While the standards have remained intact, the education and practice of mental tools have proven to increase the capacity of SEAL training. Let it do the same for your program.
