By Dana Smith
(June 10, 2021)

One of the many joys of coaching and leading is seeing those who you work with grow and thrive as they master new skills, become better athletes, and, most importantly, learn the valuable life skills presented through sports. Resilience, or the ability to overcome obstacles in obtaining one’s goals, is one of the many aspects of our athletes that we can develop through our work as coaches by providing opportunities to promote and make a regular practice of resilience.  In sport, athletes demonstrate resilience when they work through their comfort zone mentally, physically, and emotionally to overcome the obstacles they face in training and competition.  The following letter is an example of how I instill resilience in my athletes.

Dear Athlete,
We can view resilience as a virtue of high reward when developing the skills to practice this virtue in life. Sport is an excellent training ground for promoting and making a regular practice of resilience. Follow these guidelines while crafting your skills in sport to build resilience that will benefit you throughout life.

• When in training, be willing to go out of your comfort zone. Moving out of your comfort zone is where personal growth occurs. The space outside of your comfort zone will prepare you mentally and physically to move closer to your goals.  Repeat to yourself, “I am out of my comfort zone. I am becoming a better athlete and person right now.”
• In competition, accept that distractions will occur and be mindful of what your task focus is in the moment. Use your task cues to regain focus and perform at your best.

• Always have a game plan. Know it, use it, and trust that the work you have done will lead to success through the game plan. 
• Participating in sports is an emotional process. Accept that emotions will be a part of practice and competition. When strong emotions arise, acknowledge them, evaluate how emotions impact your performance and adapt to make the necessary adjustments to get back to your task focus, and the moment at hand.
• Let your teammates be a part of your growth and success. Accept your role on the team. Make it your mission to fulfill that role to the best of your ability. Your teammates will be there to push you and help you become a better athlete. Do the same for them, and everyone will be better for it in the long run.
• Sports are physical, and injuries are bound to happen. Look upon the recovery process as an opportunity to learn about yourself and your sport. Take notice of the success you have towards your rehabilitation goals and acknowledge the hard work that helped you reach those goals. Learn more about your sport by attending training sessions and asking questions. 

• There will be times when luck is not on your side. Recognize bad calls, missed opportunities, and mental mistakes for what they are, in the past. Breathe, use your task cues, and give your best effort throughout every moment of competition, even when bad luck comes your way.
• Nobody wins every game. We can look upon losses as another learning opportunity. Reflect on the experience through your journaling and one-on-one meetings with your coach. Become a better athlete by acknowledging what was in your control that you could have been better at executing. Use the experiences as motivation and the information gained to plan for future training and strategy to move you forward towards your goals.
• You should not try to play through an injury or be pressured to do so by anyone. At times, however, moving out of your comfort zone will result in a degree of physical pain. Sports have an inherent characteristic that brings pain into the process. Accept that pain will be a part of what you do and focus on your task. Tell yourself, “I accept the pain, and I will play through it to reach my goals.”
• Create goals that you can reach and make them tools for your growth.  Push yourself to achieve a level of performance that you do not see in yourself in the present. Make this your destination and do everything you can to make it there.

So now you know what to do to build the virtue of resilience, here are some situations to avoid.

• Do not let your mind tell your body what it cannot do. When you feel discomfort, your mind will say you can’t do it and quit.  Tell your brain to mind its own business and let your body get on with its job.
• Do not let the pressure of competition be a barrier to your success. The goal is to become a better athlete and person; if you grow through sport, you are already a success.
• Do not abandon the game plan to beat a better opponent or experiment outside of your training on a lesser opponent. We learn about our abilities through the execution of the game plan and what we have trained for in practice, do not give away this learning opportunity.
• Do not let your emotions get the best of you. Win or lose, destructive emotions will take away from your ultimate goal, growth.  Let these emotions be what they are, but do not let them control you.
• Do not attempt to make yourself the focus of the team; let the team be your focus. The team will be a source of encouragement, strength, and push you to be the best you can be. Be a part of this process as a tool for your growth and progress.

• Do not let injuries keep you from progressing towards your goals. They may be a setback and move you further away from your destination, but there is value in the recovery process. Take full advantage of this value to help you become more resilient and better equipped to reach your goals.
• Do not let the bad luck that befalls you be more significant than it is in the moment. You cannot control what happened in the past. Take on your current situation and perform to the best of your ability.
• Do not let a loss be the measure of how you see yourself as a person or an athlete. Take it for what it is, a learning experience. Let the loss help you move closer to your goals by learning from it and letting it motivate you.
• Do not abandon your core values in pursuit of victory. Becoming a better athlete and person is ultimately about committing to your values and making them a foundation for your actions.
• Do not let anyone convince you that you cannot achieve what you set your mind to accomplishing.  Set your goals, and do not let anyone get in your way. Challenge yourself to learn new skills and build confidence through your progress by engaging in these challenges. Although there will be setbacks, this does not mean you cannot continue to move towards what you are seeking. Do not let anyone change your mind about what you know you can accomplish.

Play on,
Coach