I’m wondering how many other states have already declared to do what Virginia is going to do??? Football in high schools in Virginia will not be played until March and April. In fact, NO high school sports in VA till (at least) Christmas.
Several coaches have lamented to me about how disappointed they are and… of course, how down their kids are that they can’t play football this fall.
The question becomes: how do you take a bad situation and change it for good? The answer: an attitude adjustment is needed!
We use the word attitude a lot. But… exactly what is “attitude?” The dictionary says the definition of attitude is: “A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in one’s behavior.”
So the way we “think” impacts the way we “act!” The attitude that you, as the Coach, project to your players has a major impact on their behavior. “Take that frown and turn it upside down!”
Here’s what I’ve shared with a couple of coaching friends who were struggling with how to present this major change in the sports calendar so that their players would accept the (radical) change and have a good attitude about it. I said:
Tell them (fall athletes) that “now you get to see what baseball players have dealt with since they started playing organized ball!!!”
Create a paradigm shift. You’ve got to bring about a “fundamental change in underlying assumptions” about a certain situation. When you get football players to “see” themselves the way that “spring” sport athletes “see” themselves, you can begin the shifting.
What is is about being a “spring” sport athlete? Wellllllllll…. you start school in the fall and nobody is talking about or even interested in your sport! Why? Cuz it’s still 6 months until you start playing. Soooooooo…. what do you do in the meantime? Work hard to prepare properly for the start of pre-season practice! You lift; you run; you do drill work; you play 7 on 7 (IF it’s allowed in your area)—- you do the things that are necessary to get ready to have a great season!
You LOOK AT yourself as a “spring” sport athlete this year! Do the things that “spring” sport athletes have done for years! Mentally prepare your mind the way that “spring” sport athletes have done for years! THAT is what you “plant” in your athletes’ minds!
