Mental Moment-What Do Elite Athletes Have to Say
How do elite athletes make it to the top? How did they get started in the sport? What was their youth sports experience like? What role did their parents play in their youth sports career? What have been the keys to success for these top athletes?
The Responsible Sports Team, together with the experts at Positive Coaching Alliance and our youth sport partners, have had the opportunity to sit down and talk to some of the top athletes in the history of their sports and ask them. And you might be surprised to hear what they had to say.
No surprise, they tended to mention the same things. They share our commitment to the principles of Responsible Sports and in fact many of them credit their success to these ideals. We’ve collected the top 10 lessons we learned from these athletes – and for each principle, you can listen or watch our interview with the athletes by just clicking the links.
Top 10 Lessons From Responsible Sports Athletes.
- Control The Controllables. The experts at Positive Coaching Alliance remind us: players become more anxious when they worry about the outcome on the scoreboard and things they can’t control. “A win on the scoreboard depends a great deal on the quality of the opponent, which is outside of the control of the athlete or team,” according to Jim Thompson, Executive Director for Positive Coaching Alliance. In fact, sports psychology research shows that teams and athletes who take a Mastery Approach (giving 100% effort, constantly learning, and bouncing back from mistakes) consistently win more. Former U.S. National Team softball pitcher and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michele Smith learned at a young age to focus on what she and her teammates could control themselves. The result was one of the most impressive softball careers in the history of USA Softball.
- Always Keep Learning. One of the major tenants of Responsible Sports is ELM – Effort, Learning and Mistakes. Each time we have had the opportunity to sit down with an athlete, they inevitably tell us about their commitment to always keep learning and growing. Even when they reach the top of their sport, they are still learning and growing thanks to National Team teammates. At no point do successful athletes believe they have learned it all. They are always learning more. USA Hockey Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medalist Al MacInnis believes this philosophy was the key to his success.
Stay Positive. Successful athletes believe in themselves and their potential. They stay positive about each race, each game, each match, each opportunity. Former two-time Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Summer Sanders told us how she always stayed positive, and how – more importantly – her coaches and parents helped keep her positive.- Set Goals. Former World Cup and Olympic soccer player Alexi Lalas really reinforced the value of top athletes setting goals when we sat down and talked to him. As a defenseman, Alexi wasn’t the guy scoring the goals. Yet his performance on the field was key to his team’s success. Alexi used to set goals for each game. And the goals were things he himself could control. Regardless of the final score, Alexi measured his performance based on his personal goals. Listen as Alexi talks about how to set personal goals.
- Give Maximum Effort. Great athletes give 100% effort, 100% of the time. Even in the face of adversity, these great athletes rise above and continue to try. They leave everything on the mat, ice, court or field. They simply don’t give up – even when initially they may not succeed. Former US National Women’s soccer team player and three-time Olympic Medalist Julie Foudy reminds us that the key to her success was giving maximum effort. International stars like Ailson Eraclito Da Salva, considered one of Brazil’s greatest rowers, overcame tremendous odds by giving maximum effort at all times.
- Be A Great Teammate. As a Responsible Sports Parent, we hope our kids learn one big lesson from sports: that you can both excel individually and at the same time be a great teammate. Teaching youth that these two things are not mutually exclusive is sometimes difficult. But when you talk to great athletes, you learn that in fact those who master the art of being a great teammate are the ones who truly succeed. Former USA Softball Olympic Medalist Dot Richardson, US National Women’s Soccer team and three-time Olympic Medalist Joy Fawcett and NBA Champion Shane Battier are all outstanding examples of being elite individual athletes while also being exceptional teammates. Listen to all of them talk about how they accomplished these feats.
- Honor The Game. Top athletes know that reaching the pinnacle of the sport requires that you honor the game you play. You honor the rules of the game, your opponents, the officials, your teammates, and yourself. Two-time Olympic wrestling Medalist Rulon Gardner epitomizes Honoring The Game. Rulon focused on the next point if he disagreed with a referee’s call. He had a profound respect for his opponents and believed they helped make him great. He was a champion in the corner for his fellow teammates. And he focused himself on a can-do attitude – even through his recent comeback attempt. Listen as Rulon shares his insights on how Honoring The Game helped make him a champion.
Bounce Back From Mistakes. Great athletes all learn to brush off mistakes and move forward. Some have a ‘control key’ they mentally press to reset. Others think about ‘flushing it’ to move forward. Others immediately focus on ‘what’s next’ instead of dwelling on what just happened. Great coaches and parents helped these athletes learn the techniques and tools to bounce back from mistakes. Former USA Softball two-time Olympic Medalist Jessica Mendoza shared with us her advice to help young athletes bounce back from mistakes the way she was able to do throughout her illustrious career.
- Be Prepared. Elite athletes work hard. They physically prepare themselves through practice, training and good nutrition. But they also prepare themselves mentally with game plans, tactical strategy, film analysis and mental approaches. Great athletes are prepared both mentally and physically. USA Hockey Men’s Olympic Head Coach Ron Wilson shared with Responsible Sports why preparation was the key to success with the team.
- Get Hooked On A Dream. And finally, it’s no mistake that great athletes dreamed about achieving athletic greatness as a kid. Oftentimes they saw an athlete performing at the highest level and said to themselves, “I want to be like that.” They had a dream, and their parents and coaches supported that dream. Listen as former USA Hockey player Michele Amidon talks about enjoying the journey and the dream of potential Olympic greatness.
Happy weekend!
Dr. Michelle
Photo credit: www.softballmag.com; www.popwarner.com; info.fshcc.com
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