Down, But Not Out!
09/07/23
One thing is certain as an athlete, you will get “humbled” at some point in your career. Even the most elite athletes in the world have at some point choked, performed poorly, or failed. However, what I truly believe separates “good” from “great” athletes besides talent and work ethic, is how they respond to failure.
In sports we’ve heard the idiom “Down and Out” that originated from boxing, referring to a boxer who is knocked down and out by their opponent.
While this term is most closely connected to boxing, I think it’s applicable to all athletes. “Down and Out” can also be interpreted as a mindset that can tarnish athletes’ ability to be resilient in the face of adversity. For instance, an athlete who adopts a “Down and Out” mentality looks at an unfavorable score differential or poor performance during a game and mentally counts themselves out before it’s over (that inevitably impacts their physical performance).
Elite athletes might be “down” in a game, performance, or competition at some point, but refuse to count themselves as “out” even in the most dire of circumstances.
A Championship Mindset says I might be “Down, But Not Out.”
How to foster a “Down, But Not Out” mentality in athletes:
Adversity is an opportunity. Training athletes to shift the way in which they label being down makes all the difference. Athletes must shift the language from being “down” as being a challenge or threat, to seeing it as an opportunity to overcome. Athletes have the power to decide how they classify their opponent or obstacle, that can trigger either feelings of defeat or empowerment. If I decide I’m defeated, I stop trying. If I decide I’m positioned for a comeback, I push harder.
Mental Resilience. Once an athlete works on changing their language on how they are perceiving the setback in front of them, it’s essential to tap into a mental resilience. Mental resilience means having a short memory, moving forward, and focusing on the next best thing they can do to improve their circumstances. Mental resilience is acknowledging the reality of the hurdle in front of you, but believing you have what it takes to jump over it. Mental resilience says I might be stuck, but I won’t stop trying. Mental resilience is tapping back into a winning mindset that reminds you “You might be down, but you’re not out.”
Do your job. After you’ve changed the way you speak about being down, changed your mindset, the last thing is to take action. Oftentimes, the tendency when an athlete is performing poorly can be to overcomplicate the steps of how to get back on track. The formula is simple though, just get back to doing your job. Oftentimes, you will hear coaches tell their players to “get back to the basics”, meaning get back to what you know and what you do well, start there, and execute. I think the subtext of “do your job” is a reminder to the athlete that you’re already qualified to be in this position! We just have to help our athletes remember the greatness that already exists within, and reactivate it in hard times.