Mental Toughness Deserves the Same Treatment as Strength Training
Coaches and parents are quick to address a deficiency in physical skills with camps, private coaching, drills, and strength/speed training. For some parents, money is no object when it comes to coaching up a child on their physical skills.
On the other hand, when a young athlete experiences issues with mental toughness they get nothing even close to the same treatment. At best they get a motivational speech. At worst parents and coaches yell obscenities at them.
Athletes struggling with mental toughness get negative reinforcement constantly. Coaches, parents, and even fans tell them they are lazy, lack motivation, have a bad attitude or some other criticism that only makes things worse.
All things being equal, there is almost zero effort made to support athletes who need mental skills training. Some coaches would rather kick these athletes off their team rather than find a way to help them.
The solution? Parents and coaches must stop ignoring the simple things like setting and tracking goals to get mentally tougher. Simple things like sitting still and breathing to learn how to control one’s mind against negative self-talk. Or hanging on a pull-up bar for as long as possible to connect mental toughness to physical toughness.
Can the athlete do these things for 1 minute, 2 minutes, or 10 minutes? Can they set and track a goal to add 10, 20, or 30 seconds to their personal best every week or two? Mental skills training is not rocket science, but it does require consistent effort.
Physical problems become problems because of the lack of physical skills. Similarly, mental problems become problems because of the lack of mental skills. Until parents and coaches accept this and do something about it, an athlete who struggles with mental toughness will continue to struggle.