His grades improved as his power of concentration increased. As we start the new season I am confident that David will continue to make excellent use of the mental toughness tools you've taught him. Thanks ever so much for all your help. We have a completely new kid in the house. Mental toughness begins with learning to recognize all these mental mistakes.
Athletes get to where they are by working hard.
If something is causing a performance problem the typical athlete will just put more effort into solving the problem. While this problem solving strategy may work when it comes to learning new technique or getting over a bad habit, it has the opposite effect when the problems related to your mental mechanics. The normal frustrations that arise when you're slumping tend to cause the athlete to try too hard. It doesn't matter if you're a batter ina slump, a swimmer or runner who goes faster in practice than in the big races, a gymnast, diver or skater who is blocked by fears or a particular skill, a soccer, lacrosse or football player who can't seem to let go of his mistakes, a basketball player who can't seem to find his jump shot or any struggling athlete in any sport. The aim of this third step is to not just help you eliminate the problem, but to leave you with the mental toughness skills which will help you avoid these kinds of difficulties in the future.