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?
TRENDS IN SPORTS: Parents, What Life Lessons Do You Want Your Athletes to Learn from Sports?
We as coaches , educators, and as parents talk all the time about the important intangibles of sports — what we want our youngsters to take away from their playing experiences.
Sure, of course, sports offers fun and enjoyment and pleasure….sports are supposed to be about kids having fun….that’s a given.
But what about the other essential life lessons that come with competing? For many of us who played sports as a kid, and who follow sports today as grown-ups, many of these life-lessons are firmly ingrained into us. They have become baked into our hard-wiring.
Yet there was a time in our lives in which we had to first learn the lessons. And as such, my question is what were the key lessons you learned along the way that you want your own athletes to learn?
I’m talking about coping with adversity….of learning how to work hard and master a skill….of learning how win with a sense of sportsmanship, or learning how to lose with dignity….how to learn how to stand on your own two feet and communicate with your coach…lessons like this. About learning how that winning only feels good if you play fair, and don’t cheat.
In short, on today’s, I wanted to do a kind of impromptu public forum as to what are the most important lessons we want our kids to learn when it comes to sports…lessons that will have an guiding impact on them for their entire life.
The calls and comments were superb. Take a listen and see what you think:
https://omny.fm/shows/rick-wolff-the-sports-edge/the-sports-edge-with-rick-wolff-61
