MENTAL TOUGHNESS - THE STRENGTH OF A WINNER By Dan McAllister I recently attended a soccer coaching school that is offered by US Soccer Federation where part of our training was on the area of psychology. Darren Treasure, a professor at Arizona University and the staff Psychologist for US Soccer and our US National Teams, both men and women, offered the difference between players in general and those that are able to play at the highest levels. In an example of two players being equally capable of high level success as far as ability and game understanding, the one who would inevitably make it is the one who has "mental toughness." Here is what he had to say about this subject.

THE ATTRIBUTES OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS:

1) STRONG DESIRE TO SUCCEED: The desire to succeed comes with questions that each person must ask himself, such as: Do I know where I'm going and how I'm going to get there ? This is the obvious goal setting process that is essential to any hope for success becoming real success. How badly do I want it ? There is a cost for any achievement and athletes must know what they are and be willing to pay the price for success. Am I prepared to make the sacrifices to get there ? Again, if an athlete is not willing to give up certain things such as some social activities, other interests, etc. to achieve his goal, he will lack the will necessary to get him there.

2) STAY POSITIVE IN THE FACE OF CHALLENGE AND PRESSURE: Competition is a continuous presentation of challenges and problems. How we react to those challenges and problems will prove to be the difference in what level we're able to compete at. The athlete who beats on the ground after a poor effort on a perfect scoring opportunity and can't get his head lifted quickly back into the game will be doomed to a sub-par level of his own ability. The goalkeeper who does not quickly, almost immediately, recover from a goal scored against him won't be able to play at the level he desires, it just can't happen. Those players with extreme mental toughness can "delete" their mistakes quickly and move on. , the US goalkeeper for several years was asked what game was his best game and why. He chose his game in the 1994 World Cup against Romania where he was beaten for a goal on the near post, a spot where ALL goalkeepers know they should not get beat. When asked WHY he felt that was his best game, he replied that "after that score and I knew I had made a terrible mistake, I was able to delete the score from my mind and the rest of my game was flawless." Tony knew he had made a horrible mistake, but his "mental toughness" enabled him to refocus on the rest of his game and he was splendid. Which is a prime example of the next question an athlete can ask himself: How good are you at staying positive under pressure ? As in Tony's example, his ability to stay positive kept him from snowballing his first mistake. It is the reason Tony has been the starting goalkeeper for many years for the USA, but yet most agree that Casey Keller or are both superior in technical ability. Tony has always had the ability to persevere under pressure. Do you love the challenge of tough competition ? For many it is the fuel of competition that drives them. They feed off from it and their motivation is centered on that challenge. How well do you deal with adversity ? When things are going well, when your team is playing well and winning, most anyone will be doing well. It is when the chips are down or when your team begins to falter or are on the skids that the weaker players buckle. In basketball, there are players known as "streak shooters." They go through phases where their shots just won't fall. They also know they must continue to shoot regardless of their lack of success because before long they will be dropping in the shots left and right.

3) CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES: This is one of my favorites... Do you worry about uncontrollable factors ? In soccer, I teach my players to focus on the things we can control...ourselves and how we play. We can not control the weather, the other team, the field conditions, the referees, even our own parents...we must focus on only the things that we CAN control. Focus on things we can do something about. Players need to take in what is good, and let the other stuff go... I've seen players totally give up on playing the ball thinking there was an offsides or a foul was committed, only to have the other team go forward to score while we tried to call the foul or offsides. That is a costly mistake on something we couldn't control, even if it legitimately was a blown call, the score's now 1-0.

4) HIGH COMMITMENT: The higher level you wish to compete at the more you must commit yourselves. Demand more of yourselves than others demand of you. If your coach, boss, or team mates put demands on you, be willing to increase those demands voluntarily rather than just barely meet their expectations. My dad always taught us to give more than is expected of us and we'd never be looking for work. And he encouraged us to do the same in every endeavor we took on. It was probably the single most important thing he taught me. Maintain balance-sport/career-family-social-etc. Despite the need to be committed, an athlete also needs to have regeneration periods away from the sport, just as employees need vacation time, weekends, etc. away from work. Balance keeps us sane and allows us to come back rejuvenated. Do I give 100% in training as well as competition, even if things are not going well ? This has always been a pet peeve of mine, players that come to practice and don't put out, but seem to have all kinds of interest and energy on game day. They are also the ones ticked off on game day when they don't start or sit out for much of the game. A coach has to gage a players ability and mental preparedness in practice as much if not more than in the game. And any reasonably conscious coach or player knows that "you play how you practice." In addition to that, if in training I don't put game like pressure on my teammates and on game day they're unable to handle the pressure our opponent puts on us, it's my fault because I didn't put 100% into my practice. Charles Swinndoll offers a famous statement on attitude..."life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% how we react to it." I think that soccer is 10% the game, and 90% of how we prepare for it."

5) HIGH LEVEL OF SELF BELIEF Can you maintain your self-belief when you're performing badly ? When you're playing great it's easy, but how about when things aren't so great ? The perfectionist often is the one who can accomplish the most, but can also be hindered the quickest if they can not accept less than perfection in their performance. The strive for perfection is great, but one needs to accept less than that while they keep their sights focused clearly on it. Is confidence under stress one of your strengths ? As the intensity mounts during competition, are you able to maintain your confidence and focus ? Think of Michael Jordan...when the Bulls are losing, he honestly believes right up to the end that they can win. And often they do. Even in sound defeat, he will come back and show absolutely no negative effects of either his own performance or that of his teams. Never give up, even when it looks like it is all over. A champion never gives up, regardless of the score. Even those that fall short of their goal can show the true element of a champion by gracefully accepting defeat and taking pride in their accomplishments. I remember a soccer game my girls played in Dayton, OH recently where our team made it to the semi-finals and lost there 5-0. Despite the sounds of the score, I was so proud of our team because despite the overwhelming odds of recovery, they NEVER gave up through the final whistle. That tournament was a tremendous experience of their character, I loved being a part of it.

6) POSITIVE BODY LANGUAGE: 90% of a message is transmitted by body language (non-verbal). That is an incredible statement. We think we need to "say" the right things when so much of what we say is how we say it non-verbally. Non-verbal messages are 16 times more powerful than verbal ones. OK, let's look at Michael Jordan again... when he has something to say to his opponent, he usually keeps his mouth shut and puts some incredible move on him, blows by him to the basket and does a fabulous reverse jam. !!!!! Exclamation point on his message. I tell players not to get mixed up in the trash talk, physical cheap play, and taunting of the opponents, but rather to do their "talking" in their play. Do you look like you mean business ? Michael Jordan does !! A good business man knows that being the part means we must also look the part. Do you maintain positive body language when you're losing or playing poorly ? The goalkeeper who falls to the ground and buries his head in the dirt is revealing his mindset and it's certainly not positive. On the other hand, the goalkeeper who immediately works to inspire himself and his teammates to get refocused with his head held high and on the balls of his feet can spark his team to respond to the challenge.

In conclusion, let me try to simplify some of this area of mental toughness. The very best athlete’s in the world tend to be ones who are perfectionists. They do not want to accept anything less than perfect. However, while that is their ultimate goal, perfection, they also have the ability and understanding to allow themselves to fail, to fall short, to falter in the midst of “battle”, all while still keeping their sites clearly focused on the bullseye of perfection. There are example os this throughout all of athletics, recently in the womens World Cup quarter finals played in 1999 where the favored US National team was playing against a very talented German National Team. Many believed it would be a game in which the victor might be the one to capitolize on their opponents mistake. Veteran defender made a very costly error early in the first half when she dropped a ball back to goalkeeper Brianna Scurry as she came to meet her. Brandi’s ball was off target and dribbled into their own goal to put Germany up 1-0. This was a very costly mistake and one that may prove to be what knocked the US out of the World Cup prematurely. It was bad enough that Brandi had made the mistake, however, it would now be even more important as to how she reacted to this error. As a true veteran and a classic example of why she was a first team starter for many years, she responded immediately and with great confidence as she went on to play a magnificent game eventually scoring the game tieing goal (after having had to come from behind twice in this game) as her way of righting her error. It was a tremendous disply of mental toughness in one of the most important games of her entire soccer career.

Goal: Perfection

Reality: Mistakes are still going to happen, how you react proves how “tough” you are mentally!

Prescription: Strive for perfection, know that failures are only part of long-term success.