Two players run onto the field from different sides.  Both are looking forward to playing well for themselves, their schools, teammates, family, and friends.  Both players have been prepared and both are excited about the possible outcome.  Mental toughness could be the difference maker between one of these players going home thrilled with their performance and the other going home wondering what went wrong.

One of the players understands the game and that mistakes happen.  That player is aware that their will be good plays and bad plays.  The team will not play a perfect game, and he/she will not do so either.  The other player hasn't spent much time thinking about the game other than what he/she needs to do next.  That player simply knows that if he/she does their job right things should go well.  The second player is about to get an education in mental toughness and boy, do they need it.

While it does happen from time to time it is uncommon for a player who is not mentally tough to overcome such a shortcoming and perform well against quality opponnents.  In contests where such a match-up takes place, players that are willing to put bad plays behind them are usually the players that can overcome mistakes during such a contest.  The result of this ability is to the betterment of their team.

A breakdown in mental toughness is perhaps one of the ugliest things to watch during a contest.  We've all seen it at one point or another.  Usually a player experiences a series of setbacks which brings him to a humbling breaking point.  Lashing out at teammates, coaches, trainers, and whoever else is within earshot is a first sign.  As the player continues in frustration soon the game itself is no longer a care.  The player will disregard the needs of their team and instead remain focused on only what will make them feel better at that moment.  Many times such a player ends up finishing the game on the bench much to the chagrin of many people who care for them.

Players, parents, coaches, and fans can all have a hand in both the downfall of the athlete as well as the return to competition.  In addition and most importantly, these same people can also help prepare the same athlete to not breakdown in the first place.  Here's how:

It's a game

You've heard it all of your life, but perhaps you haven't been listening.  A game is defined as "a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators".  Depending on the game being played the rules will vary.  One thing that will remain the same is that if the rules are followed their will be a chance for a winner and a loser.  In our current society where people want to feel good about what they do it is many times forgotten that losing doesn't feel good. 

Losing doesn't feel good

To the victor comes the spoils and to the loser the consequences.  Winning brings about an emotional well being where losing brings about a feeling of loss.  This is because the loser of a contest has missed out on winning.  During practices, training runs, film sessions, and preparation coaches don't spend time preparing a team to lose.  You don't hear a coach sit down before the game and discuss how the team should react if they lose.  The goal of the contest is to win and that is what the player's thoughts are being set towards.  If a team doesn't obtain what they sought after they experience a sense of loss.

Practice well and play well

If you have heard coaches talk about how they use games to practice and get better then you have been listening to a coach whose team knows how to practice.  Many times a good team is able to scrimmage against tougher talent in practice than during games.  These teams are going to be successful because the players on these teams have been lead to understand that if you practice well you will play well on game night.  During the games these players are able to compete at a high level and have felt the taste of imperfection during the practice week.

Learn through life

Contrary to what many people think athletics is a part of life and what happens in life is a part of athletics.  Players have more going on during a day than just sports and all that is going on will have an affect on the court just like what happens on the court will affect a player's life.  If a player, coach, parent, and or fans is able to affect a player then they are able to affect the team.  This can be good and bad and it is up to all involved to do their part.  Fans can be both an encouragement and a discouragement to a player as can the attitude coming from a parent, other player, and coach.  Similar to how a player has to handle all of these relationships on a daily basis, it is also common for a player to continue to handle the same relationships during a game.  If a player can surround himself with people in life that are supportive like players on a team are, then the player has a great opportunity to be mentally tough.  Many coaches will attempt to isolate a player during games or on game day, and this may be good if the player is not surrounded by people who are able to be a benefit to them.  For those players who are able to be surrounded by quality people, they have no such worries on game days.

Be genuine

Anyone who has ever played sports is well aware of how athletes can put forth an image that isn't who they really are.  If you are not good with yourself without winning you probably are not going to worth a darn once you do win.  Be genuine in all that you do and it will be one less thing to attempt to do when the going gets tough. 

So our two players take to the field and as described above the first player is able to simply display another portion of his/her life during the coarse of the game.  The second finds things a little bit rougher as he/she hasn't spent much time dealing with mishaps, bad luck, or even failure on the field.  If things go bad for our hero, the first player is able to adjust like he/she does on every other day and continue to effort towards a win.  If things go bad for our second player, what do they have to fall back on?  The answer many times is whatever it is that they are surrounded by.  Players tend to repeat what they hear from coaches, kids tend to act as their friends do, children think about what their parents want, and overall that could leave a player stripped of tools for that night.  What is worse is that if this is the case for that second player, there might not be anyone available to help them learn from that game.  This is why Prep Sports is truly a team event.

So being mentally tough doesn't mean that you won't get a concussion.  Mental Toughness is the ability to continue to compete when factors outside of your control are pitted against you.  In most cases, this is exactly what a team needs and a leader displays.

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