Mental toughness beats lazy talent over time, every
time.
Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had phenomenal, unreal athletic
talent in their prime. But what made Jordan and Woods scary competitors,
according to their peers, was their grit, mental toughness, resilience and
tunnel-vision. Jordan and Woods would simply
outlast and gut it out longer than their competition. This mindset causes the competition to pack it
in early. There was a great story about
Jordan (after one of his many retirements) that almost immediately after ending
his basketball career he would be out on the driving range before the sun came
up practicing and practicing and practicing his golf game. That is grit.
There is no mistaking who has the mental edge before
kickoff. Both teams know it. No need to hire a body language expert to see
who has is mentally prepared to dominate.
When the Seattle Seahawks destroyed the explosive Denver Broncos offense
in the 2014 Super Bowl it was clear what team had the mental edge. The Broncos set offensive league records that
year in passing yards, points scored, touchdowns and games with 50+ points. The Seahawks handled the Broncos 43-8. The
Broncos had packed it in before the coin toss.
Encourage this mindset in your student-athlete -
develop a mental edge and drive to outlast the competition.