90% mental

Gearing up for Saturday's scrimmage, we made too many mental mistakes in practice tonight. Lining up in the wrong formations, forgetting the snap count, fumbles...it seemed like we just couldn't keep our heads in the game.

Coaches often tell players that the game is "90% mental." There is a significant amount of truth to that. That doesn't mean that you can take a rocket scientist and he/she would automatically be a good football player, but the fact is that our bodies do - or refuse to do - only what our brain tells it to. The coaching staff will continue to remind the players to take "mental reps," meaning that even if they are not directly involved with the play, they can watch their position and visualize what they would do. If I had to give just one piece of advice to a very young child who wanted to become a good football player, I would urge them to spend as much time around the game of football as possible. Even watching the game with a close eye can make you a better player.

Sometimes this type of "coach speak" goes in one ear and out the other. Fortunately for me, there are numerous examples of how important a player's mental approach to the game is extremely important. Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time according to this coach, was known for his quickness and leaping ability...but more than anything, according to players and coaches who worked with him (or against him), it was his competitive nature and his passion for basketball that made him great. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are probably the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and are all-time greats...yet neither of them have the strongest arm or the quickest feet. It's what is between the ears that makes them so special.

It's still early in the season, and we have plenty of time to fix these mistakes. I hope we start on Saturday in Grafton.

See you there!