While the presence of mental toughness is certainly not enough to guarantee a championship, the lack of mental toughness is almost certainly a guarantee against one.
Put in Spencer Wood‘s words, “Lack of mental toughness is guaranteed to cost you a championship.”
Of course, not all of us are on the heels of a championship, but lack of mental toughness can cost you other things as well: a winning season, a victory over a rival, a unified team… perhaps even your coaching sanity.
Mental toughness is a character trait that your players will need long after they hang up their extra-baggy basketball shorts. If for no other reason than improving your players’ character, mental toughness is a required curriculum.
It’s difficult to define what mental toughness means, though.
Is it perseverance? Commitment? Performance consistency or big game preparation? Is it focus or does it just come down to hard work?
How do you actually improve mental toughness (in basketball and in life) if you can’t put your finger on what it actually means?
Well, you can’t, which is why Spencer Wood defines it for us in the video below. This video is an excerpt from Better Basketball’s Dynamic Defense – a total basketball defensive curriculum… complete with levels.
Talent always chases self belief. That’s my favorite take away from that 7-minute clip. It’s so true and it’s something we all need to work on.
I’ll leave you with an anonymous quote: “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”
