Navy Seals: Embrace the Suck

The Navy Seals use a concept called, “Embrace the Suck.”  You’re facing a tough challenge ahead.  And you have two choices – you can go toward the challenge, or you can walk away.  Which habit will you create? Talk to your student-athlete. 

Mentally prepare them for what is ahead.  The physical and mental strain of practice can be a shock a system for those kids first starting out on their athletic journey.  New sports-parents without a sports background don’t really know about this important step in the preparation of the student-athlete.  Spend time on the front end developing a plan for dealing with “the suck.”  Dropping your son or daughter off for the very first day of practice with the advice, “have fun” is not a plan.   

And this is why developing sports-parenting skills and mental toughness before working on athletic skills or even thinking about a NCAA recruiting strategy is so important. 

Step One:  develop sports-parent skills;

Step Two:  develop student-athlete mental toughness;

Step Three: develop athletic skills.