The Reason Why a Coach Can NOT Make an Athlete Tougher
Every coach who has coached for a while has come across a super talented athlete who just isn’t tough. The athlete has all the speed and strength they need to be great, but until the athlete gets more grit the athlete will just be average.
Every coach worth their salt believes they can make an athlete like this tougher. Unfortunately, I must be the bearer of bad news and tell you that a coach simply can’t make an athlete tougher.
A coach can make an athlete stronger, but strength is just the starting point. Physical toughness goes beyond just the physical part. A coach can push an athlete to be physically strong, but a coach can’t push an athlete to be physically tough.
Physical toughness is a measure of how one’s body can endure pain caused by fatigue and adverse conditions. Therefore, to become physically tough, an athlete must be able to continue to avoid negative thoughts as they experience increased fatigue and adversity. This means an athlete must be mentally tough before they can be physically tough.
Those who are mentally weak are prone to not only negative thoughts in the face of fatigue and adversity, but also complain a lot and are quick to give up. This is why physical toughness requires mental toughness. This is also why a coach can’t make an athlete tougher.
Only the athlete can control their thoughts and their mindset. As a result, to be physically tougher, the athlete must first be self-motivated to train both their mind and body to be resilient.
So, this means that instead of a coach focusing on making an athlete tougher, coaches should focus on teaching athletes the mental skills they need to develop the inner strength for self-motivation.