The mental side of being an athlete is often undervalued and undertrained which leads to a variety of struggles in sports as well as an inability for an athlete to reach their full potential. Unfortunately, physical skills are often trained exclusively while mental skills are ignored either due to players and coaches not understanding the value of mental skills or just an inability to train them. This leads to development in physical talent, but without the proper mindset and mental skills in addition, the athlete will not be able to make the most of the physical talent they have. Many college programs understand the importance of mental training and have sport psychologists on staff, but most athletes aren’t given the opportunity to get this training during such an important time of development. Additionally, the recent pandemic has just increased the need for training mental skills with the impact it has had on so many people both mentally and socially. The importance of mental health is being realized more and sports are a significant opportunity for that development. Building a healthy mindset can create a world of difference for an athlete.

     So what does ‘mindset’ actually mean? Mindset can be defined as a person’s way of thinking. It’s a set of beliefs that shapes how you view the world and yourself. An athlete’s mindset is so important because we aren’t just like robots when we play sports, performing skills exactly as we’ve trained them regardless of the setting or circumstance. As humans, we are affected by the weight of the situation, the atmosphere and people around us, thinking about the past and the future, and more. All of these things will have an impact on our performance and, depending on our mindset, we will either be affected negatively by them or thrive through them.

     Growing up, I loved sports and dedicated lots of time to playing, learning, and improving. However, I never had a coach who specifically helped me learn and grow in the mental side of being an athlete. I didn’t learn about these ideas and their importance until I started coaching and was searching for how to help my players be their best. Looking back now, I certainly wish I had been taught these ideas and skills along the way. Since learning these ideas through coaching, it has benefited my own athletic career tremendously. I sometimes wonder how much more I could’ve grown and accomplished if I had someone who had specifically invested in me on the mental side earlier in my career. So now I’m dedicating myself to invest in athletes to help them reach their full potential and growth!