Possessing a mental edge can take athletes to the next level, but what separates good from great athletes is their ability to bounce back. Mistakes are inevitable, but great athletes are able to recover and bounce back because they have built up their psychological resilience. Psychological resilience encompasses ‘‘the capacity of individuals to cope successfully with significant change, adversity or risk’’ (Lee & Cranford, 2008, p. 213). In a sporting context this entails the ability of an athlete to successfully overcome adversity and maintain a stable mindset while performing at a consistently high level. Coaches can play an influential role in supporting their athletes to become psychologically resilient and to positively adapt when facing adversity.

Athletes will face various forms of adversity. Some may range from a minor level (e.g. making a bad pass) to a more severe level (i.e. suffering a long-term injury). Adversity is typically associated with the demands of competitive performance, preparation, level of competition, and outside stressors (Sarkar & Fletcher, 2013). These experiences can impact the level of stress an athlete undergoes as well as create unnecessary pressure or distractions. This makes it difficult to perform at a constant high level if they are not psychologically resilient and understand how to positively adapt.

Evoking positive qualities out of athletes can aid in their ability to adapt. Helping athletes to remain optimistic, persevere, feel in control, exhibit self-efficacy and seek social support encourages positive adaptation and thus become more resilient (Sarkar & Fletcher, 2013). How do we promote these characteristics? Sometimes time is a factor so making sure that there is a balance between corrections and encouragement is key. Corrections should never done in a belittling way and always provide reassurance. Coaches should make sure their corrections are clear so that the athlete can make them. For example telling an athlete to “stop diving in” is less beneficial than saying “make sure that you focus on the ball, keep your defensive stance, and wait for the opponent to make a mistake and then tackle.” Often we focus so much on the negative elements of performance and neglect to find the positive or learning outcome in the situation. This may be finding one positive takeaway from the situation (i.e. a loss; mistake). For example, how the team persevered until the final whistle and left it all on the field.

Creating drills and specific environments that challenge and prepare athletes for performance under pressure can aide in the development of psychological resilience. Preparation through creating potential distractions or types of environments (i.e. time of day, weather, uniforms) can aide in positive adaptation. Creating a pre-performance ritual that encourages athletes to mentally switch gears from a practice to competitive mindset may enhance mental performance as well. This may be performing a specific warm up and having a certain amount of free time to individually prepare before team preparation. The final significant element is creating social support through team building from the top to the bottom. Overall, you are only as strong as the weakest link and creating a positive and supportive environment will help everyone to work through adversity and positively adapt. These are some of the ways to build up psychological resilience in athletes and teams.

References:

Fletcher, D., & Sarkar, M. (2013). Psychological resilience: A review and critique of definitions, concepts, and theory. European Psychologist, 18(1), 12-23.

Sarkar, M., & Fletcher, D. (2013). How should we measure psychological resilience in sport performers? Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 17(4), 264-280.