Building an Elite Mindset
As an athlete, it is imperative to develop an elite mindset. Establishing this early on in one’s athletic career will allow for both physical and mental fortitude in situations that require athletes to overcome adversity. It allows athletes to overcome their mistakes with the belief that they can develop their abilities. What can they do better next time? Our mindset is our own perspective and this in turn creates our reality. However, mindset is dynamic and can change and grow on a regular basis. Having an elite mindset is a lot like having a growth mindset - it is the belief that one’s abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. It is our work as coaches, to help our athletes understand that life in sport is NEVER perfect and there is NO such thing. Setbacks and failures are truly a setup for a comeback and most of all learning. So, how do we help our athletes develop an elite mindset?
First, have your athletes assess their current mindset by answering a few questions:
When do you feel most alive?
Explain a time that adversity caused you to break and a time when adversity has caused you to perform at a higher level?
When you are performing at your best, what does that look like? Feel like?
When you are performing at your worst, what does that look like? Feel like?
What does it look like and feel like when you have lost self-confidence and self-doubt has started to creep into your mindset?
Once they have completed these questions, ask them to record/write down their goals for the season and put them in a place where they can see them everyday! Not only will they be able to see them, it will help to keep them accountable and develop an elite mindset to reach those goals.
Putting this into practice:
It isn’t what happens to you, it is HOW you RESPOND to it.
Event + Response = Outcome. What are you able to control at this moment? In this situation? Walk through what it looks like to be at your BEST in this situation.
Become aware of how we respond to certain stimuli - officials, mistakes, other teammates, coach, the crowd, parents, etc.
What are your specific challenges? Can you identify them?
Once you have identified them, how are you going to respond to them in the future?
Pause, breath, and focus on what you can control.
What does your body language look like? Become aware of how your body language affects those around you.
Where is your focus?
Establish a keyword or phrase that is going to allow you to move on to the next point. The next play. What is it and have you used it to bring yourself back to the present in a positive way?
Developing an elite mindset will take practice, but if we teach our athletes how to do it early and often, they will be able to overcome the challenges that come with playing sports that much easier.
