“Suit Up” (Being Mentally Prepared To Play Football) and Other Mental Skills Drills for Practice
As coaches begin working on plans for the upcoming fall, and figure out what they need to prepare for a successful season, I would recommend that they look at how they can incorporate mental conditioning, along with physical conditioning and skills development, into the various elements of their practices. It is imperative that a team invest some time and energy into presenting some basic mental skills training drills at each practice in order to help every player become mentally prepared to play their best game. Any coach who chooses not to address the players’ mental game will only put his football team at a competitive disadvantage.
A great place to start with mental conditioning is when the players suit up for practice. As a player puts on each piece of equipment, he can practice using various affirmations as he puts on the shoulder pads, shoes, helmet, etc. Each piece of equipment has a particular purpose, whether it’s to protect the body or make him physically tougher on the field. Each affirmation is used to protect the player’s mind and make him mentally tougher on the field. The affirmation is a positive thought or statement that the player tells himself as he puts on that particular piece of equipment. This affirmation should reflect one of the player’s personal strengths or qualities as a athlete or person. An affirmation could be “I am determined”, “I am strong” or “I am playing for my teammates”. It helps the player get mentally focused and to begin letting go of any distractions on or off the field.
Another drill is when the player is ready to step on the field. With the first two steps that a player takes on the field, he can create a visual or verbal cue that helps mentally prepare himself for practice. It could simply be a verbal cue like “I belong on this team” and “I believe in this team” or “I love to play this game” and “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else” or “ready” and “aim”. Each football player needs to be reminded that stepping onto the field is like stepping through a door frame into a new room. Stepping onto the football field is like a physical cue to the player that he needs to put himself into the right frame of mind.
During each practice, every player should be instructed in how to visualize how they want to play. The players are trained in the basics of visualization and are taken through the simple elements of visualizing their performance. At each practice, have the players practice visualizing a particular formation and maneuver for about five minutes. Have each player focus his visualization on his responsibilities for that formation or maneuver, and have him go through each step. The player is to see it, feel it, hear it and then replay it. Then after the five minute visualization, have the team actually practice that formation or maneuver. The message is that you have to mentally see what you plan to do before you actually do it.
Another mental exercise is bringing the players together to discuss the needs of successful team and how each player has particular personal strengths and qualities that can help meet one or more of those needs. After the team lists all the different needs (players with leadership skills, players who persevere, players with a sense of humor, players with intelligence, etc.), each player will be asked to reflect upon and write down what he considers to be his own strengths and qualities. Then the coaching staff can help each player identify how he can use these strengths and qualities to support his team.
All of these mental skills drills or exercises are teaching the players to become mentally self-disciplined. They are learning that they must take responsibility for the mental aspect of their game, and that being mentally prepared to play and perform at a higher level takes practice. To dedicate at least 15 to 20 minutes for mental conditioning at each practice could give the team the competitive edge it needs to be successful on the football field.
Anthony Lanzillo is a sports counselor and mental skills trainer in South Jersey who began working with middle school and high school athletes in such sports as basketball, lacrosse and football in 2012. He has created the Reaching Your Mental Peak blog (sharpmentalsportsskills.blogspot.com) and organized the Mental Skills In Sports community on google. He can be reached at risson1954@gmail.com.
