"Sports for me is when a guy walks off the court, and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with Pride either way." --Jim Courier

What is mental toughness?

Does it happen by accident? Or is the culmination of years of learned strategies that the mind stores up for later uses when needed...?

Or is it something we can't explain at all?

As hard as we try, those in the profession of Mental Skills/Toughness training for athletes, as well as Sport Psychologists will never know every ounce of what it takes to create the perfect program for winning every time.

So much can change in a second. The mind amazes me.

Especially the mind of competition.
I am currently in the midst of studying for my Sport Psychology Program Diploma from PCDI (Professional Career Deveolopment Institute), and have to pass all 11 sections in order to receive it.

I never realized how complicated we are, just talking sports.

There are so many factors that motivate, stimulate, and move us in the direction of competition, both positive and negative, that it almost amazes me just in theory.

There are Self/Intrinsic motivation, Social factors like the Coach's behavior, your success/failure perception, etc..., Extrinsic motivation which are all broken down into Integrated regulation, identified regulation, introjected regulation and external regulation... And I could go on. The point is this: I am reading a whole section (each section consists of three chapters before an interview/written exam) on motivation in sports. What it takes to just "Want" to compete.... let alone talking about actually competing.

I think I have found something...Something that has totally grabbed me by my gut. It's that feeling of "fire in the belly" that I know I have felt before, and feel now when I am engrossed in the mental aspect of sport. This is my favorite part. I would lock myself away and learn everything I could get my hands on... I am amazed by what the mental training in sports can do.

I watched Tiger Woods compete over the weekend in the Buick Open and win. Again. He is the youngest player to 50 wins... in the history of golf.

Is he really just that good? Some might say he is. He is a machine.

But others argue it's as much his mental training as it is his physical skills/training and practice. I tend to agree.

I follow sports like a hawk. As an avid Yankee fan, I have been very interested in A-Rod's Breakdown on the field and at the plate. I have watched... listenend and learned from him. I have read what his coaches were saying. The mental game can change your swing. Confidence levels changing, either up or down, will affect your physical motions and skills.

Remember back in the day of Mackey Sasser?? He was not the only one who just stopped being able to simply throw a ball. This had nothing to do with the physical motion of throwing, it was purely from the neck up that affected him all of a sudden. He couldn't throw the baseball down to second base on a steal. For a while, he couldn't even get it back to his pitcher after a pitch.

Imagine... your mind controlling how and when you swung the bat, threw a ball, fielded an easy grounder. Imagine... because it's real.

Is it mental? Yes, I would say it is. All of it. Whether we want to admit it or not...

Coach Jen