The Power Of The Mind In Football
By Brian Cain·
The power of the mind is as miraculous as it is incomprehensible. Studies have continued for years, and we are still miles away from truly understanding the full capabilities of the human brain. Countless examples of the "mind over matter" type of experience have been documented over time.There are incredible examples of prisoners of war being released and performing amazing physical feats that they had practiced mentally during their detentions.
One such example is of a POW who came out of exile having visualized playing golf every day. By the time he was free and stepped onto a golf course, he lowered his golf game by ten strokes. Upon his release, another POW who practiced mental conditioning became a competent guitarist by teaching himself the guitar through repetitive visualization processes, despite never playing the instrument before.
There are endless miraculous stories similar to these, and it is safe to say that even though neurological function is not as well understood as the physiological, no one is prepared to discount the human mind as the most powerful tool available in the world.
The good news is that even without understanding the scientific intricacies of the human mind, anyone can improve his mental toughness for football with a simple mental conditioning program and by doing simple exercises on a routine basis. You learn best in conditioning yourself to be the toughest mentally just like you do physically - by doing a little a lot, not a lot a little.
MENTAL CONDITIONING FOR FOOTBALL
Mental conditioning for football is the process of developing mental toughness, by which an individual exercises and develops the mental muscles to control his mental state in order to control his behavior. You must be in control of yourself before you can control your performance on the field - and gaining self-control in the violent, aggressive, combative sport of football is essential to your success.
When divided between the two words, mental relates to the mind, while conditioning means to train oneself to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances that will happen in the game, such as an official missing a call, the other team ripping off a big play or you having to play through pain and discomfort.
Mental conditioning is a process similar to how you would physically condition your body in the weight room. When you lift weights infrequently, you don't get any stronger; but when you lift weights consistently, the timely repetition will make you stronger. Mental toughness is developed the same way, by doing a little a lot.
Mental conditioning gives you the techniques to develop control over the beliefs in your mind. Beliefs (both positive and negative) shape our behavior, create our experiences, and determine our results.
THE POWER OF BELIEFS
Philosophers and spiritual leaders have been preaching the power of beliefs for centuries, while scientists have been conducting research on how the mind works for decades. Football coaches – such as the great Bud Wilkinson of Oklahoma, whose teams won three national championships in the 1950's and won 47 straight games between 1953 and 57 - were among the first in our culture to recognize the practical application of positive affirmation training and the implications of mental conditioning for their performance. Wilkinson once famously said:
Football coaches like Wilkinson realized that they could dramatically improve their players' confidence, resilience in the face of adversity and their on-field performance reliability by integrating positive confidence conditioning statements and mental imagery into their daily training regimens. Jimmy Johnson, one of only three coaches to have won both the Super Bowl and the national championship, said this:
CAIN'S COACHING POINT:
The mental conditioning skills you will learn to perform at your best in football will also help you to perform at your best in life when your football playing days are over.
Football really is a gateway to life. The skills coaches teach you on the field will help you to perform in the world.