Here's another article I had saved from a few years ago,  I cant credit the author as I didn't save it,  but I did feel it helped me, so wondered if you guys would enjoy the read also.

Mental Toughness

Some thoughts on “Mental Toughness” and the implications

for coaches and players in sport

“When the going gets tough the tough

get going”

ABSTRACT

Mental

toughness is a quality that is highly valued in sport.  It is considered

essential in those athletes who aspire to success in world-class sport. 

At present there is much debate on what it is and how to develop it.  In

this paper mental toughness is discussed in detail from a philosophical and

practical perspective. The conclusion is that mental toughness is related to

that degree of motivation a player possesses and is developed by good coaching,

a well designed program of preparation and appropriate competitive experiences.

PART 1.  WHAT IS MENTAL TOUGHNESS

It is commonly assumed,

owing to the nature of sport, that mental toughness' is a quality that all

serious competitive players should possess.  It appears to be a concept

that most people are familiar with and use about people's behavior in various

contexts. It is a complex concept, particularly with respect to why some people

appear to have it to varying degrees or not to have it. It will be of interest

to coaches and players therefore to identify the specific characteristics of

mental toughness and the different situations in which it is manifested. With

this information it may become possible to provide some guidelines on how to

develop mental toughness in players. The purpose of this paper is to examine

the concept of “mental toughness”, to consider whether or not mental toughness

can be developed in players and, if so, how might this be done.

Distinction

between mental and physical toughness

In order to avoid any

possible confusion between physical and mental toughness it will help to

distinguish between them.  Initially this can be done quite easily by

examining how the word ‘ tough'  is used in both

descriptions.   The New Shorter Oxford Dictionary provides a variety

of descriptions for 'tough', e.g.:  ” Able to resist hardship, pain

fatigue, etc., having great physical and mental endurance.  Difficult to

influence or affect; persistent, stubborn, unyielding, uncompromising,

hardened. Uncompromising or severe towards opposition. Resistant to setback or

adversity.”   It also refers to tough in several other senses

with reference, for example, to a tough guy as ” a hard or uncompromising

person; a person not easily thwarted, withstand or endure difficult conditions

to the end without flinching”.  In another sense being tough minded

is described as “realistic, sceptical, not sentimental”. It is

apparent that the dictionary provides examples of physical and mental toughness

without distinguishing between them. Is there a distinction between physical

and mental toughness or is the basis of all toughness mental?  If there

were a distinction then it would follow that a person could be tough physically

but not mentally and vice versa.

Physical

toughness

When we describe a player

as physically tough we usually refer to his ability to withstand an external or

internal physical force of sorts often in the context of dangerous and/or

physical contact sports.  We might describe him as strong, hard, robust

and resilient to physical knocks. They do not have any physical effect and he

obviously doesn't experience pain. It would be quite valid to describe him as

physically tough if he doesn't feel any pain but not necessarily valid to

describe him as mentally tough. To warrant the description of mentally tough we

would expect him to experience physical pain but persevere in spite of

it.  A case of mind over matter.  When we describe someone as

physically tough only we simply imply that he is physically strong, hard and

resilient just as other material objects are strong, hard and resilient, e.g.

certain types of wood and metal; hence the descriptions, “built like a

rock”, “as hard as oak”, “as tough as steel”. 

Physical toughness is not the same as mental toughness, nor need mentally tough

people be physically tough though they may be, as indeed they are in many

sports.

Mental

toughness

What is mental toughness?

One way of finding out is to determine whether there are features common to the

various situations in which we may describe some people as being mentally

tough.  This may illuminate the demands of such a situation on people and

the mental qualities required to cope with the demands. 

Common

features

The dictionary

definitions help to some extent to determine these features as they indicate

that a person must experience extreme

adverse conditions of the sort appropriate to the situation. If

a person can cope easily with the existing conditions then it is unlikely that

he or she will experience the sorts of demands that will require any particular

mental qualities of the sort that we would expect mentally tough people to

manifest.  Obviously a person who does not perceive a situation as adverse

will not need to be mentally tough in that situation.  Alternatively an

observer might see the same situation as extremely demanding, in that it

requires certain qualities to cope with it, and consequently assess a person

coping with it as mentally tough.   People can and often do perceive

situations differently and may classify them accordingly with respect to what

they consider is required from a person to cope with the situation. Though

mental toughness is a state relative to the individual in the situation, it can

also be the subjective judgement of the observer of the mental state of the

individual in the situation. Both judgements are relative to the perceptions of

the people experiencing the situation directly or indirectly and, in the case

of the observer, the judgement could be wrong as the observer is only

perceiving the situation at third hand and not directly as a participant. 

For example, I believe that others and I would experience arctic conditions of

cold, hunger etc. as extremely hard and demanding much mental toughness in the

effort to survive. An Eskimo, however, who knows how to cope with the

conditions, might do so easily and not experience the situation as demanding or

consider himself mentally tough – though the observer might do so.

Mental toughness is relative to the individual and the extent to

which he can cope with an adverse situation.

The Eskimo example

suggests another requirement of the situation for the manifestation of mental

toughness. One might ask why anyone would voluntarily choose to experience

adverse conditions. In the case of the Eskimo, who lives in environment in

which adversity can be part of the survival of daily life, he would seem to

have little choice in the matter providing that he continues to live in that

environment. In sport however athletes do have a choice yet voluntarily

experience adversity of varying degrees. Why?  It is because they want to

achieve something.  There must be a valued

goal, which the person wants to achieve regardless of the

hardships that may arise in doing so. Indeed in extreme examples of mental

toughness a person may consider the goal more important than himself – he may

risk life and limb to achieve it.  “I'll die first before I give up”,

or “you'll win over my dead body.”  It is unlikely that mental

toughness will be required in a situation where the goal is not important to

the person, as it is doubtful that the person would be prepared to suffer

adversity to achieve it.

The

common features in situations necessary for the manifestation of mental

toughness are:  

·      adversity

·      a

valued goal

It has been suggested

that from these two features arises the need for mental toughness

behaviour.  Before looking further into what this entails it will be

helpful to make a few comments about the achievement or non-achievement of the

valued goal.  As stated above, mental toughness is relative to the

individual and how he can cope with an adverse situation. It doesn't follow

from this that a person who is mentally tough and has the skill, knowledge and

experience to achieve his valued goal will necessarily be successful in doing

so. He may fail.  Alternatively it doesn't follow that a mentally tough

person who lacks the necessary skill, knowledge and experience cannot achieve

his goal though it is most likely he will not do so particularly in activities

in which skill, knowledge and experience are essential. In climbing for

example, a person lacking knowledge and skill would have to learn quickly by

trial and error and may not achieve his goal because the going might be too

difficult for him to cope with, not in terms of his mental attitude, but in

terms of his lack of skill, knowledge and experience.

People

can be mentally tough in ignorance of how to cope in a situation.

This notwithstanding,

most people engaged in any activity, regardless of the degree of mental

toughness which may be required, will be more likely to achieve their goals, if

they possess the skill, knowledge and experience to do so and the converse if

they do not.  This is unquestionably the case in sport.

Sport

– the valued goal and the demands of the adverse situation

The attraction of sport

for many players in general and top players in particular

is that it offers numerous

opportunities to stretch them physically.  The higher the level of the

sport the harder is the competition and the greater are the demands made on the

players.  Undoubtedly the ultimate goal in top class sport is to win, to

gain a successful outcome in whatever contest one is engaged in whether that is

sailing in the ‘Round the World' race, climbing a particular mountain for the

first time, competing for an Olympic gold medal or a World or National

championship.

Whenever an athlete

engages in formal competition as distinct from in a friendly' informal

competition all his efforts should be directed towards trying to win.  In

saying this it is recognised that to aim to win is the

logical point of any contest.  In friendly competition, e.g. a social game

at the local tennis club, the win, though the logical goal, may not be as

important as having played an enjoyable game of tennis. The latter may be the

valued goal. In formal competition the win is normally the valued goal. 

The adverse conditions are those obstacles which must be overcome in order to

win, e.g. the climatic conditions of oceans and mountains, the opponents in

sports, the players' own physical or mental limitations and negative

thoughts. 

The degree of mental

toughness required by any player will be relative to the sport and to the

player.   There is not much one can do about the sport but there is

much one can do about the player with respect to ensuring that he can cope with

the general demands of the sport. As suggested above the higher the standard of

the sport, when the going gets tough,

the greater will be the requirement for the player to be mentally tough.

The

general demands of sport

All players must acquire

a knowledge of the sport, technical and tactical skill, fitness and develop

appropriate attitudes in order to improve their performances and so become

competent players' of their sport.   Mental toughness falls within

that aspect of performance known as attitude'.(1) Attitude is used here to

refer to players' behaviour with the purpose of making

clear what is entailed in mental toughness' behaviour.  It is assumed that mental toughness is not only an

appropriate attitude to adopt in certain situations but is also highly

desirable.  Appropriate attitudes in sport derive from several sources. As

one normally takes up a sport voluntarily as being worthwhile to play such

attitudes arise as love of the sport, care about how one plays it, pride in how

one plays and a commitment to the standards inherent in the sport. From the

notion that sport is a social construct initially played for people's enjoyment

and satisfaction derive such moral attitudes such as fairness and consideration

of others interests.  Mental toughness falls into that group of attitudes

that derive from sport as competition – to engage in it is to engage in a

contest. As stated above the point of a contest is to try to win. It is assumed

therefore, that if the players seriously engage in a contest they will be committed to the task of trying to

win.

Presupposed in such a

commitment is the belief

that the goal of winning is realistic

and can be achieved. It is unlikely that any player of a sport will make a

serious commitment to try to win if he did not believe that he could do

so.  Such a belief presupposes that the player is confident to sufficient extent that

he can achieve the goal. The effort of trying to win is expressed in determination behaviour that the player should persevere with until the contest is ended.  To

apply oneself in this way requires concentration,

the focus of attention, on the task of winning. These four attitudes:

commitment, determination, perseverance and concentration are necessary in any

activity in which individuals want to achieve a successful outcome. They are

fundamental to mental toughness behaviour in sport

or any other activity. If players of a sport do not manifest such attitudes in

competition it would be quite valid to ask them if they understand the point of

the contest and if they do then perhaps some thought might be given as to what

their actual purpose is.

Though these four

attitudes are necessary to mental toughness they are not sufficient. Mental

toughness

behaviour requires rather more. Reference to

the Eskimo may help to make this clear.  The Eskimo who knows how to cope

to achieve his goal and adopts the appropriate attitudes to do so may find that

under very extreme conditions even he has to drive himself beyond his known

limits to survive. He has to dig deep into his mental and physical reserves to

the full extent that he is capable of and hang on simply to endure the hardship

until he achieves his goal.  If he cannot he will

not survive. In such a situation it is quite reasonable to assume that he may

experience an unacceptable degree of mental stress, e.g. a state of panic. If

so he may require that degree of self

control necessary to keep calm in order to make decisions about

what actions to take to achieve the goal regardless of the adversity. To

keep cool under pressure. Failure to do so

may result in poor decisions about what actions to take; so increasing the

chances of failure to achieve the goal. This is when either stoicism or strength of will, the two means of

self-control, may be required.  The stoic will maintain his self control

by disregarding or acting indifferently to any suffering that he may be

experiencing.  He will not complain about it or feel sorry for himself

(2). The practised stoic will adopt such an attitude as a matter of habit when

faced with adversity.  The question does arise as to whether the stoic

would experience a state of panic but being human I assume that it is possible.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with the stoical attitude, a person may apply strength of will to control his emotions,

to keep calm and try to make decisions about what action(s) to take to face up

to and cope with the adversity in order to achieve his goal. Strength of will

would be more likely with those people who have not learned to adopt a stoical

attitude.  It is a feature of the stoic that his disregard of the adversity

allows him to get on calmly with the job.  It is a feature of the person

who requires a strong will that they will try hard to face up to, and get on

with, the task at hand. In addition, relative to the difficulties presented by

an extremely adverse situation, both stoic and non-stoic may also need certain

other qualities to achieve their goal. It is unlikely that the going will be

smooth; there may be setbacks and failures as is the case in sport when

confronted with an opponent who is both an obstacle and a creator of obstacles

in the contest.

Consequently the

qualities of tenacity

and resilience may be

necessary in negotiating obstacles and recovering from any setbacks. Because of

the nature of a contest in sport a player may need to be adventurous, to take a risk in trying

to seize those opportunities that may arise which further the possibility of

winning.

These three qualities and

others, e.g. being obstinate and unyielding,

derive from the attitudes of determination and perseverance in that they are

ways of describing players' determination and perseverance behaviour.

In sport the non-stoic

may also need courage if

he perceives the situation as fear making in some way, e.g. if he is scared of

being hurt, to overcome the fear and to maintain his efforts to win.  If

the non-stoic is not scared then obviously courage will not be required. The

mention of fear suggests that the need for mental toughness may also be

required in situations involving mental hardship.  For example, a player in

competition can experience self doubt, a loss of confidence, fear of losing and

suffer mentally at the thought of the possible consequences of losing, e.g. a

loss of status at failing to meet others' expectations that he ought to

win.  Such players may also require courage and strength of will to

overcome their doubts and to fight through. 

It

would appear therefore that self-control is a necessary condition of mental

toughness and this is obtained by stoicism or strength of will. Where a person

must apply strength of will, courage may or may not be a necessary feature of

mental toughness depending on whether or not a person perceives the situation

as fear making.

This discussion has

illuminated several necessary mental attitudes and related attitudes, which are

inherent in mental toughness behaviour. These are: 

·      commitment:

–  self belief and confidence

·      determination:

– tenacity, resilience, adventurousness

·       perseverance:

–  obstinate, unyielding

·      self

control: – stoicism or strength of will

PART 2. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS ANALYSIS FOR PLAYERS

AND COACHES?

The main questions here

are:

(a) Why does a player

need mental toughness?

(b) Can mental toughness

be developed in players?

(c) How can it be

developed?

(d) How do we know if a

player has the potential for mental toughness?

Why

does a player need to develop mental toughness? 

It is a necessary feature

of competitive sport that players must compete. Competitive sport at the

highest levels provides a context in which players are often confronted with

degrees of adversity that demands from them not only high level skill and

fitness but also the mental attitudes which are inherent in mental toughness.

To increase the possibility of winning when confronted with such adversity players

would benefit from being mentally tough.

Can

mental toughness be developed?

There is evidence to

indicate that those features I have suggested make up mental toughness can be

developed.  For example in certain sections of the armed forces, the SAS

and the Royal Marines, they would claim that they have demonstrated that they

do train men to become mentally tough; just as there are coaches who would

claim that they have helped players to become mentally tough. It will be

apparent to any experienced national level coach that the need for particular

mental attitudes arise because of the demands of sport as competition and so

coaches try to develop them in players who may already possess them to varying

degrees.  It would seem on reflection that the difference between the

mentallytough players and the others is simply one of degree – the ability to

cope successfully with that degree of adversity which [PC1] the

players may have to endure

Though it is part of the

training of coaches to learn how to develop the performance of players, i.e.

skill, fitness and appropriate attitudes in general (which include all the

mental qualities that make up mental toughness), it is not normally part of the

training of coaches to learn how to develop mental toughness.  Perhaps it

is not necessary to do so.   It could be that players will develop

the qualities necessary for mental toughness simply by learning to play and to

operate at a high level in their sports and those that have the potential will

become mentally tough. Alternatively it may be that all players have the

potential and it is possible to develop their mental qualities to that extra

degree that will raise them to the ranks of the mentally tough.  At

present, although some coaches may use methods that succeed in helping players

to develop mental toughness there do not appear to be any publicly established

coaching methods for doing so.  One would rule out on moral and practical

grounds the ‘make them or break them' school of coaching which as it implies

may or may not work.  

How

do we develop mental toughness?

As stated above most

committed and successful players would claim that they already satisfy most of

the criteria for mental toughness. They have a valued goal, a belief that they

can attain it and consider it important enough to commit them to striving to

achieve it.  This is quite normal in any sport.  As having a valued

goal is of fundamental importance in the development of mental toughness it is

worth considering the different sorts of goal that athletes might want to

achieve.  Goals are usually divided into intrinsic and extrinsic

goals.  Extrinsic goals are those goals (ends) to which the activity is a means,

e.g. status, prestige, money. Intrinsic goals are those that are inherent

within the activities.

They include:

(a) personal performance

goals i.e. the content that the player must learn to become a competent player

of the sport e.g. fitness, technical and tactical skill, appropriate attitudes

including, determination, adventurousness and fairness and the standards of

excellence he should attain in each of these areas.

(b) competition goals: to

win contests of various sorts, to get on the team.

One might ask why a

player should take on challenges that necessitate a degree of mental toughness

in order to achieve these goals. The reasons provided usually fall within the

areas intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is solely to do

with oneself and is directly related to the intrinsic goals of the activity as

an end in itself. In this context motivating factors may include: enjoyment,

satisfaction, interest, the challenge, pride in performance, to test self,

develop self, to be the best one can, to achieve mastery of the activity, to be

the best in the world.

 Extrinsic

motivation includes those external factors that influence players to strive to

achieve his intrinsic or extrinsic goals. Such factors may include the typical ˜carrot and the stick' rewards and

punishments type of motivation and other factors, e.g. not wanting to let

others down, to please others, to prove a point to others.  

Players can be motivated

to pursue intrinsic goals for both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons; whereas in

the case of extrinsic goals, to which the activity is simply a means and may

have no logical connection with the extrinsic goal, they are motivated by

extrinsic reasons only.  Often the extrinsic goal serves as the extrinsic

motivation. There is nothing new in this observation but it is useful to make

it as it raises a pertinent question about mental toughness.  To what

extent will a player pursue a particular goal, i.e. intrinsic or extrinsic,

when faced with extreme adversity?  Is it the intrinsic or extrinsic

motivation or both that drives him on?

For example, within the

activity of family life, a parent might risk his life to try to save the life

of his drowning child in the face of extreme adversity, e.g. a river in flood.

Saving the child's life would be the intrinsic goal attempted from the

intrinsic motivation of love of the child and the extrinsic motivation of moral

duty. There would be one type of goal and two types of motivation.  In

similar circumstances, an adult may try to save the life of a non-related

child, the extrinsic goal, from the extrinsic motivation of moral duty to

others.   It would seem that, regardless of the type of goal and the

type of motivation, the goal has to be highly valued and of sufficient

importance that a person will undergo adversity of varying degrees which will

require a degree of mental toughness to attain it.  At some stage

therefore it will be necessary to identify the sorts of intrinsic and extrinsic

goals that any player wants to achieve and the type of motivation for doing

so.  We know from experience that in general young players when they first

begin to participate in a sport, do so to achieve the intrinsic goals mainly

for intrinsic reasons:  interest, enjoyment, satisfactions, to learn the

sport, to develop skill and fitness and become a competent performer, to

experience the challenges, to do well in competition.(3) It is also recognised

that, in the case of some young successful players, the goals and the

motivation may become extrinsic as they achieve prestige and a status amongst

their peer group and begin to play for status or to please parents and others

who may place the pressure of expectations on them.

The inter-change between

intrinsic and extrinsic goals, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is a

common occurrence in sport and one which good coaches are aware of as they try

to keep their players focused on the intrinsic goals while promoting the

appropriate sort of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation to do.  The

intrinsic goals are logically prior to any extrinsic goals that the player

might have. Unless he attains the intrinsic goals within a sport, it is

logically impossible that he will achieve the standards necessary to be

successful in the sport and to achieve the usual extrinsic goals of status,

prestige and wealth that success might bring.

The general assumption

made by sports psychologists and coaches is that unless players are

intrinsically motivated to play for intrinsic goals then they will not give of

their best. This does not necessarily follow. For example, there is no reason

why a player, who plays tennis mainly for the extrinsic goal of earning great

wealth for the extrinsic motivation that he wants to provide for his family and

have a wealthy life style in the future, should not give the same quantity and

quality of performance and effort as a player who is intrinsically motivated to

play for intrinsic goals only. In fact it is possible he might be more

motivated. The same would apply

to anyone in professional work.  One might not even like the job but gives

of one's best because one believes that it is morally right to do so as that is

what the employer is paying for. Alternatively one works to achieve the

intrinsic goals because if one does not and lowers the standard of work then

one loses the means to achieving the extrinsic goals, i.e. one might get the

sack. In these circumstances one has always the choice of leaving the job but

as long as one remains in it one gives one's best for positive or negative

reasons.

The idea of ‘development'

does suggest that mental toughness is a state that is developed over time even

though genetically it may be the case that some people may have a greater

capacity for mental toughness than others as is generally believed by players

and coaches. (4) It may also be the case that there are many people who have no

capacity for mental toughness, though we can never know for we cannot judge how

a person will react in a situation when the chips are really down and a valued

goal is at stake. There may be situations in life when people who have never

showed any signs of mental toughness may do in situations of extreme mental

hardship, e.g. the political hostages, parents whose child may be dying of

cancer, a mother who has to spend a lifetime caring for a child with a disability, 

an innocent  person wrongly imprisoned for a crime.

 In the case of

sport there are many people who will never require the need for mental

toughness in their sport, perhaps because of the nature of the sport or because

for them, no matter how talented, success as a goal in sport is not important

enough to suffer for. Such people are not likely to get themselves in adverse

situations or, if they do, they will opt out quite quickly and therefore will

not require to be mentally tough. This being the case, if we want to try to

develop mental toughness, we should focus on the serious competitive player for

whom success is presumed to be important.   

Most of the work that

goes on in preparation and competition while the player is learning his

particular sport will be common to all players.  If the intention is to

develop the mentally tough player then realistic and attainable intrinsic

performance and competition goals, relative both to the sport and the players

ability, must be carefully selected in order to present the player with

constant challenges in adverse situations which progressively increase in

complexity and difficulty. If players are to learn to cope with adversity then

they must experience adversity. They learn by doing. They become mentally tough

by doing mentally tough acts. (5)

There is a further

consideration.  If it is a necessary condition that there has to be a

valued goal it will be essential to determine the genuine goal seeker from the

non-genuine goal seeker in a sport. To what extent will a player commit himself

to achieving a realistic and valued goal particularly if in doing so he must

experience a high degree of adversity?  The answer to this question will

provide an answer to a question posed previously, “How do we know if a

player has the potential for mental toughness?”

It has been suggested

that recreational players may not have sufficient interest in a sport to pursue

demanding goals.  The same might apply, though further on in the journey,

to the serious competitive player.  At some point he also may draw the

line beyond which he will not stretch himself any further. Just where that line

is time will tell.  For example a player claims to want to achieve

X.  X being a goal that is estimated to be realistic but one that presents

a difficult challenge for the player. It will be recognised that the attempt to

achieve X will place extra demands on the player and entail a certain degree of

hardship. It will require the player to achieve many other preliminary goals on

the journey to achieve X. The player must then do that amount and intensity of

work both in preparation and competition to achieve the preliminary goals which

he and/or his coach perceive as meaningful and as necessary to achieve X. 

In doing so he should experience varying degrees of hardship, relative to the

sport, in the work required in the preparation and competition to attempt to

achieve X.  This work is the test of the player's commitment to the goal.

At some point it must be sufficiently demanding that the player has to decide

whether he really wants X, whether X is that important. This is a moment of truth – the test of whether

the player wants to or can meet the challenges inherent in the work required to

achieve X.  If the player shows the qualities required to do the work and

achieve his performance and/or competition goals, if he passes this test, he

will have provided evidence that he has got what it takes to cope with the

demands of the work necessary to achieve the performance or competition goals

at that level. Subsequently it would be quite realistic for him to believe that

he could cope with similar demands in similar situations. He has proved to

himself that he has got what it takes. He has developed his mental toughness to

some extent.  Now he must progress to more demanding work.  This he

can do with the confidence that he is capable of coping with adverse situations

up to and including that stage in his journey.    It makes sense

however that the next challenge, in demanding more from him and putting him to

a greater test, will be attainable only with greater effort.  His success

at the previous level will have provided him with the knowledge that he can

cope with adverse situations which will give him the confidence necessary to tackle

more difficult situations.  “In

times of difficulty we must not lose sight of our achievements, must see the

bright future and must pluck up our courage” (6).

The development of mental

toughness in the player is a process of continuous progress in which he is

confronted by moments of truth,

which serve as tests of his progress at various points in his development.

Increasingly difficult challenges, regular testing and assessment of progress

are essential in the development of mental toughness; and all tests to be

meaningful must be relevent to a specific goal.

With so much emphasis on

and provision for junior sport nowadays it is inevitable that this is where one

might expect the development of mental toughness to begin. The development of

growing children, however, is a complex enough matter as it is without

considering how to develop their potential for mental toughness. 

Fortunately it is not necessary to try to develop it as it will develop

naturally to some extent through the normal experiences children will have

during the learning process providing, of course, that the potential for

developing mental toughness and any other appropriate attitudes is not hindered

by negative coaching (which is another discussion).  As most players will

travel a similar journey in their progress from learning a sport to top class

performance then I would suggest that some basic guidelines, which will apply

to all players in general and potentially mentally tough ones in particular,

should ensure that this does not occur and would be the most appropriate means

of proposing some ways of developing mental toughness for those coaches and

players who want to make a conscious effort to do so.

PART 3. GUIDELINES

The following guidelines

are presented under various headings for the coach and player to discuss,

consider and agree together, if is first agreed that developing mental

toughness is an aim of the coaching programme.

Goals

·      Find

out which goals the player wants to achieve (7). If long-term intrinsic and/or

extrinsic goals then tell the player what this presupposes in achieving the

necessary short-term intrinsic goals.

·      Analyse

the sport and try to identify the actual situations that may be considered

adverse in general regardless of different player's individual perceptions,

e.g. the discipline of regular hard training and practice.

·      Find

out which situations in a particular sport are perceived by the player as

adverse and likely to cause an almost unacceptable degree of physical or mental

hardship, e.g. doing work he dislikes intensely and causes him to suffer in

some way.

·      Provide

increasingly challenging goals relative to the player's capabilities.

Motivation

·      Find

out why the player wants to achieve his intrinsic or extrinsic goals (8). 

Is his motivation intrinsic or extrinsic?

·      If

the motivation is extrinsic then also emphasise the importance and benefits of

the intrinsic motivation.

·      Focus

on the intrinsic reasons as much as possible whatever the type of motivation.

Procedure

·      Set

realistic and meaningful intrinsic goals.

·      Direct

and keep the focus on the intrinsic goals.

·      Test

regularly with challenges to assess progress and the desire to achieve.

·      Monitor

regularly and reset goals as necessary.

The

coach and the athlete

Provide a learning

programme in which the player develops interest in the sport, skill, fitness

and appropriate attitudes, and gains the necessary experience in preparation

and competition.

·      Tell

the player what is expected of him at all times.

·      Encourage

and praise the effort regardless of the outcome (unless of course there is

inadequate effort). 

·      Analyse

and provide constructive positive criticism of the outcome (9). Give praise and

encouragement where due.  Discuss his work and progress with the

player. 

·      Keep

the player fully informed about his progress.

·      Nurture

the player's self image, esteem, confidence and belief by providing challenging

and achievable targets in preparation and competition and praising the effort

and outcome.  

·      Nurture

the will to win by emphasising the importance of each target in achieving his

goals.  Make use of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as appropriate

(10), while recognising that the thrust should be towards the intrinsic

motivation.

·      Develop

self-control by training the player to focus on the task and reflect on the

situation when under pressure in order to make intelligent decisions about

future actions – intelligent thought not emotion solves problems.

·      Develop

strength of will by encouraging the player to be positive and get stuck into the task regardless of any

difficulty and hardship.

·      Promote

a stoical attitude by encouraging the player to focus on the job,  

disregard his feelings and to keep calm under pressure.

·      Encourage

players who give maximum effort but fail to achieve a particular outcome.

Either reset the target or help the players to do the work required to achieve

the target.

·      Promote

the autonomy of the player by providing him with the skill, knowledge and

confidence to make and to be responsible for his decisions and their outcomes.

The

Programme

The programme includes

both the preparation and the competition.

(a) Preparation:

·      plan

thoroughly to maximise the development of the player's skill, fitness and

knowledge.

·      provide

work that is meaningful and progressively harder over time.

·      simulate

competition, i.e. develop the player's mental and physical toughness in

progressively more demanding situations designed to be as identical to the

actual competition as possible.

(b) Competition

·      provide

carefully selected and graded competition to enable the players to gain

experience, knowledge and skill; achieve some success; to build up

self-confidence and self esteem.

·      encourage

the player to try his best at all times as only then will he gain an accurate

assessment of his performance in competition and learn how he is progressing.

·      what

he can do without any expectations; to try to improve on his previous

performance; to try to get closer to or defeat a particular opponent, to win a

contest.

CONCLUSION

It is apparent from the

foregoing discussion that the steps taken to develop mental toughness differ

little, if at all, from those taken by good positive, caring coaches when

coaching any player.  Ultimately, mental toughness is a quality required

and expressed by those players to whom the goal is all important and who want

to achieve it to the extent that they will make an extra effort, i.e. ˜dig

deeper˜ and if necessary endure extreme adversity to do so.  The coach can

play a significant role stimulating and encouraging the desire to achieve

intrinsic goals in a sport, by praising the player when he does achieve, and by

providing the appropriate skill, knowledge and experiences that enable the

player to develop the mental toughness to do so.

The

paradox of mental toughness

As the player become more

skilled, knowledgeable and mentally tougher it would seem that he reduces the

need to be mentally tough. Will the mentally tough player perceive a familiar

situation as adverse?  It is unlikely, as he will be equipped to cope with

it and consequently he will see it as normal and not demanding any special

effort or act of will in the situation.  In this respect it may seem as if

there is a paradox.  In many sports the demands of the situations can

remain quite constant within the parameters of the rules.  Once a player

has developed the necessary mental toughness to cope with the adverse

situations in such sports he sees them as normal. As players in these sports

develop mental toughness they require it less. The player has learned how to

cope with the situation and doesn't need to be mentally tough. When the tough get going the going gets easier.

However, I have argued

that the development of mental toughness is a progressive process in which the

player is confronted with increasingly demanding situations as yet beyond his

experience.  In which case he must keep putting himself to the test of his

ability to cope yet again. He must experience more moments of truth.  The advantage of having completed

previous tests successfully should provide him with the belief and the

confidence that he can cope with difficult situations. He is more able to dig

deeper when the going gets tough even though he has not tested himself in the

new situation. If he succeeds it should follow that he gains more confidence

and belief in his ability to cope, that he is becoming mentally tougher. The

further the player progresses successfully in his journey to achieve his goals

in spite of the adversity the more will he develop his mental toughness and

such other contributory qualities as self belief, confidence and esteem. It is

this progression that rules out the possible paradox.  Perhaps that is why

in some sports players seek even greater challenges that place greater demands

on their mental toughness to cope with them. Extreme outdoor sports players are

typical in this respect as they seek more difficult and challenging goals. Then

it really is a case of  “When the

going gets tough the tough get going.