Let's dive into the 4 skills in the hierarchy of mental toughness, and why it's important to develop one skill in order to progress to another.
1. MOTIVATION
An athlete needs to find a "why." Why do I want to improve? Why do I want to succeed at volleyball? Without the proper internal motivation and "why", then long-term development and success just cannot sustain. Sometimes in the middle of a long season, a coach will observe that their athletes' motivation may start to subside, and it's important to lead them back to this first pillar in the hierarchy of mental toughness.
2. CONFIDENCE
Confidence is not an all or nothing concept where an athlete has it or doesn't. It is a matter of "how much" confidence does an athlete have? It is an essential skill for athlete's to develop, grow and sustain confidence, but oftentimes this is the hardest skill to train. It is proven to be much easier to lose confidence than to gain it.
3. FOCUS
Focus is the mental skill that coaches work on most with athletes. Besides, every one of us is an athlete. Focus directly impacts confidence and it's not a matter of if we focus, it's what we focus on, and how we focus.
4. RE-FOCUS
The most difficult mental skill is re-focus! Learning HOW to let go of mistakes and move on is not an easy feat. Ever come across a perfectionist athlete? Or maybe you are one? Perfectionist athletes oftentimes struggle with making mistakes and as a result, they don't go for it and they play it "safe."
Athletes can be taught to re-focus through specific cues, and these cues are best utilized when they are merged with one's specific learning style, auditory, visual, or kinesthetic.
Dr. Rob Bell will focus on the 4 skills in the mental toughness hierarchy in the next Always Play On Mental Toughness series for Athletes, Parents and Coaches. Always Play On powered by the JVA is a weekly series featured in the JVA Dig It App that includes a mental training video from Dr. Rob Bell every Tuesday to foster a learning environment to develop positive sports habits and improve the mental game.
The JVA is an association of Junior Club Directors and Coaches who are dedicated to all facets of junior volleyball and have a desire to offer the best programming possible to their members. We are the leaders and forward thinkers in Junior Volleyball Programs and we are a voice for junior clubs. Our number one goal is to help club programs and events thrive.