Mindset Monday 9/6/10- Attitude

Attitude
Success is not determined by your motivation before the game, but by your attitude throughout the game.

Many coaches and players give big pep talks before the game to increase the teams motivation to win a game. This usually leads to bursts of energy on the first few plays or minutes of the game. John Wooden, the greatest coach of all time, did not believe in pep talks for this very reason. He wanted players attitudes consistent throughout the game, not just in the beginning. Wooden maintained that a pep talk causes a spike in energy. Life is full of peaks and valleys. After one peaks, one soon crashes. Therefore it is not good to raise and lower the players level. Instead, have a consistently intense attitude throughout the game.

It is necessary to raise ones intensity at different points of the game when the situation calls for it. But we let the game dictate this spike in intensity. I am not saying that pep talks are bogus and that we should never use them. I am saying that motivation is something that should be instilled in athletes well before games. Athletes should be already approaching each game with a burning desire to win. A team that needs a big rah rah talk before competing probably does not already have the will to win instilled in them.

Save your pep talks for practice. The day of a game you should be doing the same thing you always do- being intense, smart, and under control. Game day is just another day at the office. Everything is important, but nothing is special. Don’t make games special by delivering heroic Hollywood pep talks (this is inspiring in movies, but does not usually pan out so well in reality). Once we make a competition special, we start trying too hard which almost always takes away from the natural fluidity of our movements. Trying too hard, which often stems from pep talks, is usually contrary to living in the moment because it hypes up an event. To achieve the Flow State or that can’t miss feeling of being in the zone, have your attitude consistent from the start of the game until the final whistle sounds.

Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
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