COPING WITH ADVERSITY: How to Instill a Sense of Grit in Your Athlete
I wanted to spend some time this AM doing a deep dive into the sports psychology of developing a sense of mental toughness, or grit, within your young athlete. The discussion talked about the essential positive feedback that every parent has to provide to their youngster when they are first starting out in sports, and then as they get a little older into their teenage years, how to learn from the two basic formulae of grit.
Dr. Angela Duckworth of the Univ. of Pennsylvania, wrote the best-selling book entitled GRIT a few years ago, and in short, she has theorized the following:
Talent x effort = skill. I don’t think there’s any question about that. And you can certainly teach your young athlete about that. But only if they practice and practice a lot, will they develop real skill.
And the second part of Duckworth’s formula is: 2. skill x effort = achievement.
If they truly want to become proficient at their sport and become competitive, they will need to expend a great deal of effort (practice) on their skill in order to achieve and make real progress. And even they never turn pro or receive a D-1 athletic scholarship, they will at least benefit from the life-lesson of being gritty. That will prepare your youngster for whatever profession they choose to pursue in life.
The callers were excellent this AM. Please take a listen. I think this is a vitally important topic.
https://www.audacy.com/wfan/podcasts/rick-wolff-the-sports-edge-209/the-sports-edge-with-rick-wolff-365814721?
