I had a discussion with a friend of mine yesterday about the importance of the mental game. I mentioned to him that this year I will be focusing on the mental game and teaching it to my players. He agreed with it's importance, but he didn't agree that you can teach it. His opinion is one that either you have it or you don't and you have to find the players that have it. Very similar to a player with speed. His daughter plays at a high level and has already got a scholarship with a top PAC-12 team. However, when I first coached his DD years ago, she did not have it. Nor did she have a very high game I.Q. That cannot be said about her now.
I say you can teach it and reinforce that part of the game just as you can the physical part of the game. However, it does make for an interesting discussion. I'm wondering what people here think. Is there aspects of it that cannot be taught? Let me know what you think.
I say you can teach it and reinforce that part of the game just as you can the physical part of the game. However, it does make for an interesting discussion. I'm wondering what people here think. Is there aspects of it that cannot be taught? Let me know what you think.