A key piece to not only success, but enjoyment in sports is a strong mind. Yet, this is often not given much attention until athletes are older. Which is why focusing on developing mental toughness in young athletes needs to become a priority.
There is no denying the many challenges athletes face, especially as they rise in levels and pressure becomes greater.
Learning the skills which make up a strong mind will provide any young athlete with the strength they need to manage these challenges and cope with any pressure that comes their way.
Six Ways To Develop Mental Toughness
When thinking about how to develop mental toughness for young athletes, I like to think about what it truly means to be mentally tough.
In short-what are the attributes that actually make up a strong mind?
Once those are understood, you can begin proactively building these skills, leading to a strong mind moving forward.
The six traits I believe make up mental toughness include: self-awareness, self-confidence, self-worth, resilience, a successful self-image, and self-management.
Self-Awareness
Being self-aware means you have the ability to understand your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Understanding doesn’t simply mean knowing what you’re feeling, for example, but also why.
When talking about developing a strong mind, having the ability to understand yourself is key.
This allows for a young athlete to see what’s causing them to doubt themselves, and help them realize why they feel so much anxiety going into a game.
Self-Confidence
Second guessing your skills and not truly believing in yourself will never lead to high level performances.
Developing mental toughness for a young athlete must involve building self-confidence.
There are many things that will work against an athlete’s self-belief, including mistakes, criticism from others, and opposing teams.
Proactively building self-confidence at an early age creates a barrier against these doubts.
For example, knowing you have the skills to play at a higher level will help as you make the transition from middle school to high school, or even high school to college.
Not only does a high level of confidence give you the belief you need in your current skills, but it also provides you with the trust that you will be able to adapt and improve as needed.
Self-Worth
Self-confidence involves your skills. But when we go deeper than that, we realize any young athlete must also possess a healthy view of themselves; not in relation to any task.
This is known as self-worth: an internal feeling of being good enough and having value.
In terms of athletics, having high levels of self-worth allows you to judge and approve of yourself, without needing such approval from others.
The need for social approval wears athletes down and leads to many mental game challenges such as fear of failure, anxiety, and perfectionism.
Self-worth acts as an armor against these.
Resilience
Every young athlete needs to gain the ability to fail fast!
Mistakes are common, and a necessary part of growth. However, they are also a leading factor of frustration and anxiety.
When thinking about how to develop mental toughness in young athletes, the power to be resilient and bounce back from failure is key.
Successful Self-Image
You cannot outperform your own self-image.
What does this mean? It means, no matter how much you want to win, if you don’t truly see yourself as capable of success, you will always fall short of your goals.
Mental toughness requires a strong self-image. One that aligns with your goals and is cemented in the belief that you are a good player and a successful athlete.
Self-Management
When I think about mental toughness, the last trait that comes to mind is the ability to manage yourself.
This involves regulating your own thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Which is why the first trait I outlined, self-awareness, is so important. Without understanding, you cannot change.
Once you do develop high levels of self-awareness, then you gain the power to manage yourself in a better way. Controlling your thoughts and emotions going into games and after mistakes.
Final Thoughts
Every athlete needs a strong mind. And the earlier this is developed, the better.
But how exactly can such strength be gained?
Through focusing on the six key characteristics that make up what it means to be a mentally tough athlete.
Self-awareness, self-confidence, self-worth, resilience, a successful self-image, and self-management are the keys to building mental toughness for young athletes.