Using The Mental Edge In Coaching the Team

By: Michael Russell

Getting the competitive mental edge on an opponent is an important goal of successful coaches, whether they coach high school, college or pro teams. Success in any competitive game depends on both the physical and mental abilities of every player. A good coach knows how to influence the mental attitudes of his team and therefore to increase the chances of winning the game. Achieving this magical goal however is not easy. Keeping your own mental control during an exciting, competitive game is hard enough, let alone keeping control of the many individuals that are the team!

Developing a winning mental edge is as individual as the coach's philosophy itself. It's not a never-ending pep talk or a one-time gimmick to pump up the players for a particular game. This is an all-consuming mission that will reap great rewards if taught and instilled properly and sincerely. This involves skills, understanding personal responsibility and using proper and relevant organizational guidelines. The first important thing the successful coach will do is to have a sound philosophy. This concept should be built around leadership, motivation, flexibility, goal setting and responsibility. An individual must become his own person and not copy someone else. He should look at his traits, concentrate on the good ones and leave the bad ones behind.

The next thing a good coach will do is to decide what to emphasize on the things that can be achieved successfully. For instance, it's unreasonable to expect to win every single game of the season. Using a realistic approach in this area will relax the players from trying to achieve impossible goals.

The successful coach will always consider himself responsible for the success or failure of his program. If the coach is adamant with his conviction about this, then it will rub off on the team players. The team in turn will become hard to beat, since no one will "pass the buck" and everyone will see himself as personally responsible for the success or failure of the entire team.

The next key for getting that competitive edge is the coach's insistence on single-mindedness and focusing on the mission. The individuals and the team as a whole must believe in what they are doing. Success must become a reality in the player's minds and failure is not an option. With this mindset, the coach will add the work necessary to put the mission into motion. The coach and team must be totally focused on the mission and it should be top priority.

Then the preparations must be started. The players must train so they will be in top physical form and, also at the same time, be mentally tough. Training for each game is essential and a successful coach will put all of his time and energy into the mission. Doing so will also motivate the team players to "up" their efforts to do an outstanding job during the season.

The last key to inspire a competitive mental edge is to have a positive attitude most, if not all, of the time. Correcting mistakes and demanding the right executions are an important part of coaching, but they should never drift over to the negative side.

Coaching is a hard job, but it can also be very rewarding. The good, successful coaches have developed their own personal philosophies in creating a mental competitive edge within their team and also for using it on the opponent. These coaches are the winners!

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