December 7, 2011

“The great athletes don't have to think about it. They just go out and do it. The ones that don't have as much ability have to convince themselves that they can play.”

 -Jimmy Cefalo, NFL wide receiver, Miami Dolphins



In the martial arts this ability to perform without conscious thought is known as “mushin” or no mind. Athletes have rituals and unique moves that they do to get themselves psyched up for a game. Some are more elaborate and obvious than others. When it’s “go time” and there is no time for the longer version, champions can put themselves into a proper mental state by just repeating a key word like “flame” or“Spartans”. Would you agree that when we play without physically warming up, injuries are a frequent result? If so you will surely agree that when we don’t mentally prep before a game it can lead to less than stellar results. I love this Cefalo quote because it taps into a widely held belief about sports champions. But I would like to challenge that belief. Is it true that the great ones just roll out of bed and onto the gridiron? Are there champions who don’t really have to psych themselves before they head into the Octagon? The myth is that the champions are always ready to go. I don’t believe this. If it is true for a select few, how do they achieve this? I mean, really? How can you guarantee you’ll always be in a prime mental state knowing you can win before

every physical contest? I don’t think that’s possible. If you are the exception to this rule let me ask a follow up question. Were you always able to bring that level of confidence and composure? You probably didn’t have it the first day you picked up a football or put on a uniform.

My point is the ability to let go of all thinking and perform at a high level is a mental skill rather than an inborn attribute. Generations of great football players like Namath, Theismann and Manning have all exhibited it but they learned how to do it and then practiced it. Whoever you admire in sports it is unlikely they had their current level of confidence when they began their professional career or when they competed at the high school or college level. The ability to just go out there and do it is something that is developed over time. This is the one of the reasons to engage in mental skills training. Don’t be intimidated because you don’t have the unstoppable mental state of your football hero. Make it a priority to develop in this area. If every athlete spent one half the time they spend on cardio, weights and other sports drills on some form of mental training they would see a radical improvement in performance. No athlete is born with total athletic confidence and composure. They are developed from a combination of physical training and mental training. Through rigorous physical training skills like passing, rushing and kicking field goals become second nature. With consistent mental training, attitudes like confidence can also become second nature.

Quotes like the one we examined this week perpetuate the myth of the “sports superman”.  If we look beneath the surface we will learn that these great players are not superhuman. All the greats mentally prepare themselves before important matches and just because we do not see that preparation does not mean that it does not take place.