Championship

Confidence
9 Essential lessons for
Creating championship confidence,
mastering your mindset,
& crushing the competition

By Jared M. Wood, Ph.D.

Adapted from the Training Manual
It's Only Cold On One Sideline
 Championship Confidence
9 Essential lessons for
Creating championship confidence,
mastering your mindset,
& crushing the competition

Research on confidence, typically called self-efficacy in the research, indicates that confidence can
have more than a 15% effect on performance when it is trained and applied properly. Personally, I
think this number is low when we consider that confidence has an effect on athletic development
day after day after day over a period of years. I happen to believe that confidence is the main
ingredient in making the play and avoiding choking in clutch moments. Confidence is the decisive
factor at the moment of truth! In order to help you learn more about confidence, I've taken parts of
the Confidence Section from my training manual, It's Only Cold On One Sideline, and made them
available in a simple to use, free format. Seize the day, work hard, follow the lessons in
Championship Confidence, and you will create a tremendous improvement in your confidence,
practice habits, motivation, and performance. I want to help you reach your athletic goals and
personal championships, and this is our first step on that journey. Each day you will either get
better or you will get worse. Follow the lessons in Championship Confidence to seize
improvement each and every day. Carpe diem.

The Lessons
Chapter Intro Page
Each Essential Element of Sports Confidence starts with the introduction page of the chapter. This
page usually contains a couple of quotes and a main idea about each source of confidence
(achievement, modeling, encouragement, physical states, imagery, emotional states), or each
application of confidence (preparation, competition plans, and simulation).

Repetition
Repetition is designed to reinforce the main points of the chapter. Although I didn't include the test
for the chapter, you will easily learn the main points of each chapte quickly. All of my coaches
were big fans of repetition and perfectly practice until we took the drill to the field and executed
perfectly in games. This is your easiest way to learn through taking many reps with the most
essential information about how confidence affects performance and how you can harness its
power.

Execution
My high school football coach, Coach Ralph Munger, a five time State Champion as both a coach
and a player, used to always talk about execution. He used to the term the way my coaches at
Albion used the phrase make the play. Essentially, execution is about mental toughness. It's about
doing what you are supposed to do, when it's supposed to be done, how it's supposed to be done
(I don't know who originally defined mental toughness that way, but I love it. Thanks to my former
player Jim Couretas, now one of my peers as a teacher a coach himself, for that definition). In the
Execution section, you are going to learn a specific skill related to the chapter, and you will be
challenged to put it into action in a specific way. Work hard on the skills described in the
Execution section, and you will become a psychologically skilled, mentally tough performer.

If confidence is important, and it is (it's essential to peak performance!), and if there are 9 essential
elements to mastering confidence, it only makes sense to use all 9 elements. Get to learning! And
best wishes on winning your personal championships.
 "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them
great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them."
-Orison Swett Marden

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in
every difficulty."
- Winston Churchill

Achievement is the most effective way to increase confidence. It is the primary source of
can do beliefs.

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 Winning Time
Repetition
! The number one source of confidence is accomplishment.
! Confidence is earned through making the play.
! You should be confident in what you have done before, and you should be confident
that the next time you do it you will be even better.
! At the moment of truth, the decisive moment in a football play, confidence makes the
play.
! Feedback from the coach to the player is essential for gaining confidence and making
the play. Feedback from coach to coach is essential for coaches getting better and making
the play as coaches.
! The sandwich approach is an excellent way to give feedback.
The Sandwich Approach
1. A positive statement to attract the athlete's attention.
2. A future oriented correction about how to make the play.
3. Encouragement.
! When plays are made, celebrate them. Not every play will require a celebration, but a
great play, or a play that reaches a new level of execution, demands celebration to
emphasize accomplishment and the justification for higher confidence.
! "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them
great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them."
-Orison Swett Marden
Be willing to make the most out of every opportunity, and remember that each moment of
the day holds opportunity to get better. If you are going to be great, you must seize
greatness in what others see as common occasions. Make the play. Seize greatness.
Celebrate being uncommon.
! "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity
in every difficulty."
- Winston Churchill
At the very least, every difficulty holds an opportunity for you to work against a worthy
challenge and improve your skill, knowledge, patience, and resilience. Let your opponent
dislike difficulty. You can reframe difficulty as an opportunity to grow. This will change
your attitude and help you make the play when you need it most.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! Make the play. Earn your confidence.

! Create and seize opportunities to make plays.

! After making a great play or reaching a new level of execution, celebrate it.

! Coaches, put athletes in position to make plays mentally and physically. Athletes,
make sure you are seizing opportunities to get into position to makes plays mentally and
physically. Confidence will not grow maximally without accomplishment.

! Focus on what went right or what should go right to make the play. It seldom makes
sense to highlight mistakes.

! Use the sandwich approach to deliver critical feedback to keep an emphasize on how
to make the play the next time.
1. A positive statement to attract the athlete's attention.
2. A future oriented correction about how to make the play.
3. Encouragement.

! View every play as an opportunity to win the game and play (or coach) every play as if
it is your last.

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 "They were just guys like you. They were ordinary people doing ordinary things
extraordinarily well."
-John Gagliardi, Head Coach, St. John's College, imparting vicarious confidence in his
players, as told by Austin Murphy in The Sweet Season

"Wake up everyday with someone to look up to, something to look forward to, and
someone to chase."
- Matthew McConaughey

Having models of correct performance influences confidence. Confidence increases when

you: 1) Know what to do; 2) Know that someone just like you has accomplished what you
want to accomplish. Having models also increases inspiration toward accomplishment.

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 Winning Time
Repetition

! The second source of confidence is a model, meaning someone to emulate, someone

to aspire to be like, someone to inspire us to greater heights.

! The reasoning behind using models to increase confidence goes like this: What I see
you, my role model, accomplish, I am confident I can accomplish as well.

! Role models serve as examples of what we can do, and we receive confidence boosts
by believing we can accomplish what they've accomplished.

! Models tend to boost confidence most when we believe we are similar to the model in
some important ways.

! "They were just guys like you. They were ordinary people doing ordinary things
extraordinarily well."
-John Gagliardi, Head Coach, St. John's College
As you learned in Make the Play, accomplishment matters. Doing things extraordinarily
well matters, and even ordinary people can succeed extraordinarily well. Confidence
often increases when we focus on the accomplishments of guys in our program who went
before us, guys who are just guys like us who have done things extraordinarily well.

! "Wake up everyday with someone to look up to, something to look forward to, and
someone to chase."
- Matthew McConaughey
Have a role model or mentor, an activity to look forward to, and a model to chase and
exceed. It will be great for your motivation.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! It's always good to know what to do in order to reach your goals. A role model can
help show you the way and boost your confidence in the process.

! Good role models inspire confidence. Choose at least one role model who you believe
is very similar to you, or was similar to you, at your age. Believe you can accomplish what
he accomplished, and maybe, even a bit more.

! You can have multiple roles models and/or mentors. Use various role models to suit
various goals or needs.

! You should have a role model you chase as well, and your belief should be, "Anything
you can do, I can do better." Then go out and work hard to prove it.

! A role model who is also a mentor can help with discussions and suggestions that tell
you what to do and how to do it. Knowing what to do and how to do it boosts confidence.

! Understand that you may be a role model for younger athletes (or coaches). How do
you want to be perceived by those watching you and looking up to you? Knowing you are
being watched and studied should help motivate you to work hard.

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 "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions...the really great make you feel
that you, too, can become great."
-Mark Twain

"A rising tide lifts all boats."

-John F. Kennedy

Encouragement is an important source of confidence. You can encourage yourself and

teammates as well. When you speak encouragement out loud, you have the power to
inspire confidence in yourself and everyone who hears your words.

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 Winning Time
Repetition
! Encouragement is the third source of confidence.
! Encouragement has the power to change thoughts and emotions (attitudes), which can
have a great impact on goals and actions.
! Process goals set in the moment (such as, "Keep pushing!" and "You've got this!" and
"Believe in yourself! You can do this!") are easily affected by encouragement.
! Physical toughness is all about mental toughness.
! You can encourage 1) yourself and 2) others around you (that is, your teammates).
! One of the best ways to increase mental toughness is to speak encouragement when
it's hard to breathe. Conditioning is a great time to practice and improve your
encouragement to yourself and others.
! When you shout encouragement, you pick up at least two minds out of their own
misery: Yours and anyone else who hears your encouragement.

! "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Enthusiasm, especially in the form of encouragement, breeds positive thoughts and
emotions (attitudes). You will never be at your best without enthusiasm from yourself and
others.
! "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions...the really great make you
feel that you, too, can become great."
-Mark Twain
It is important to be encouraging and to surround yourself with others who are also
encouraging. Someone who puts you down is due for a downfall themselves.
! "A rising tide lifts all boats."
-John F. Kennedy
Remember, a rising tide lifts all boats. One force, one person, has the power to lift up
others. That's the power of encouragement.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! Pick 'em up!!! Begin your pursuit of greatness with enthusiasm and encouragement.
Lift your teammates every chance you get.

! Anytime your attitude needs a change, pick 'em up! Pick up yourself and others with
encouraging statements. Say them out loud. Be encouraging, enthusiastic, and emphatic!

! Shout encouragement to yourself and others. Be the rising tide that lifts all boats.

! Build mental toughness, and therefore physical toughness, by shouting encouragement

when it's hard to breathe in conditioning.

! Seek out and surround yourself with others who are encouraging, others who believe
in you, and others who help you believe in yourself.

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 "Fatigue will make cowards of us all."
- Vince Lombardi

Mens sana in corpore sano.

- Latin phrase, translated as, "A sound mind in a healthy body."

Physical states are an important source of confidence. When feeling strong, fit, and
energized, confidence can soar to great heights. Injuries, fatigue, dehydration, tightness,
and other negative physical conditions decrease confidence. Constantly increasing mental
toughness through relentless pursuit of strength and conditioning increases confidence.

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 Winning Time
Repetition

! Conditioning is an important physical AND mental part of most football practices.

! When a football player feels strong, physically fit, and conditioned to play football, his
confidence can soar to great heights. Injuries, fatigue, dehydration, tightness, and other
negative physical conditions harm confidence and keep it constricted.
! Conditioning the mind to be focused when the body is tired is important.
! Although conditioning drills are typically thought of as increasing physical toughness,
the real toughness is mental. The mind pushes the body past its previous limits. It's a
willful exercise of the mind.
! Adding other mental elements to conditioning, such as a snap count or ball movement,
further make conditioning a mental exercise and improve its benefits.
! Speaking out loud encouragement to others when it is hard to breathe is a great
exercise in mental toughness, and contrary to popular belief, actually makes conditioning
easier and more enjoyable.

! "Fatigue will make cowards of us all."

- Vince Lombardi
Do not allow fatigue to trick you into fear. First, condition the body to avoid fatigue as
much as possible. Confidence is linked to physical states of conditioning. Second,
condition the mind and body to respond with encouragement and pick up your teammates
whenever fatigue begins to set in. Confidence increases when we feel good physically and
are encouraged.

! Mens sana in corpore sano.

- Latin phrase, translated as, "A sound mind in a healthy body."
A sound mind must have a healthy body to live in for the mind to be at its best. Keep your
mind and body in great shape together. They will mutually benefit one another. One
important benefit is that a healthy body allows a more confident mind to develop.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! Work hard to be in great physical condition. For football, get strong, powerful, and
dynamically flexible. Create endurance by pushing the limits of your anaerobic
conditioning.

! Remember to hydrate, rest, and eat well. Your physical state depends on your body's
ability to heal itself.

! Whenever possible, take care of injuries early on, while the injury is minor and easiest
to treat.

! Push your physical conditioning to new levels by being mentally tough.

! Increase your mental toughness by pushing your body past limits your mind had
previously set.

! Increase your mental toughness by picking up others when you (and they) are fatigued.
Encourage your teammates.

! Lead by example. Move next to a struggling teammate to position yourself where your
influence in greatest. Forcing yourself to lead is one way to increase mental toughness.

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 "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
-Napoleon Hill

"If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it."
-Muhammad Ali

"A journey of a lifetime begins with a single vision - followed by one step, then another
and another."
-Terry Orlick, Ph.D.

Imagery is the creation of images in the mind's eye. Creating imagery of making the play
can increase confidence. Imagery of what one can do can be used any time and any place
to boost confidence.

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 Winning Time
Repetition
! Imagery is creating a visual image in the mind's eye.
! You can use either an internal perspective (see it from your own eyes) or an external
perspective (see it as you would watch it on TV screen). Research shows that both are effective. I
usually recommend at least trying it from an internal perspective to place yourself in the action
and use all senses effectively.
! Imagery of accomplishment can lead to increases in confidence.
! Imagery can be practiced anytime and any place.
! Imagery is a key to taking mental reps.
! Imagery can be used to improve physical skills and also game plans, such as keys and reads.
! Imagery should be controllable and vivid. It should be in high definition (HD) and as real as
possible.
! In order to create a vivid image, the athlete (or coach) can use sight, sound, touch, taste, smell,
muscle movement feelings (kinesthetic awareness), and emotions.
! The best images help the athlete (or coach) increase a confident attitude, meaning that
confidence is both a thought (belief) and a feeling.
! "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
-Napoleon Hill
Quotes such as this are testament to the power of imagery. Our power to imagine helps create our
reality. The more imagination we have, the more possibilities we have in sport and the rest of life
as well.
! "If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it."
-Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali also mentions the power of mind along with emotions. If you can buy into
something both mentally and emotionally, then you can go out and work hard to achieve it.
! "A journey of a lifetime begins with a single vision - followed by one step, then another and
another."
Terry Orlick, Ph.D.
Terry Orlick is a sport psychologist. He believes that if you create a crystal clear vision and set out
to achieve it, one little thing at a time, you will have set yourself on an incredible journey.

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 Winning Time
Execution
! Imagery can help improve physical execution and learning of game plans. Any imagery is
better than none, but imagery can be used daily, even constantly as one takes mental reps while
watching. The more you use it, the more effective it will become.
! Make imagery vivid. Use sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, emotion, and muscle sensations to
create an HD image. Use color if you like. Make it clear. Put yourself in the middle of action or
watch it on a screen. Use the imagery speed that helps you the most. Experiment with imagery to
find what works best for you.
! Some simple but effective ways to use imagery:
* Use imagery the first thing in the morning to get ready for the day's events. Having a positive
image can set expectations for the day and help things go smoothly. Imagery can also be used to
remind one that things don't have to go perfectly. You can handle it, and it will still work out fine in
the end.
* Use imagery before bed to review the day's success (reminders to celebrate accomplishment)
and prime for tomorrow.
* Use imagery before each rep to see perfect execution.
* Take mental reps by using imagery while not in practice or the game.
* Use imagery after a mistake to correct the mistake. See perfect form.
* Use imagery of accomplishing win goals before practice in order to create a positive attitude
(confident beliefs and good feelings/emotions). Use that confident attitude to have an energetic
practice full of action.
* Use imagery to learn game plans and train reactions to adversity. You need not imagine a mistake
in order to imagine reacting properly to it. Simply start your image after the mistake and see the
proper response. In other words, you don't have to re-live past mistakes, get over them in imagery
just as you should get over them in games and practice.
* Use imagery in your pre-game routine in order to see perfect execution and responses. Prime
yourself to be great with images of excellence.
! Commit to practicing imagery to increase your confidence. Start by setting aside just 3 minutes
a day for imagery practice. Try doing the 3 minutes within an hour before practice, preferably as
close to practice time as possible. After hitting that goal for a week, increase it by a few minutes or
add another 3 minute session at another time during the day. When watching others practice,
commit to imagery by taking high quality mental reps.
! Commit to improving your imagery skill. Make it vivid and controllable. Practice by replaying
the same image five times in a row, and each time, make the image a bit clearer, a bit better.
! Use a quick imagery session to increase positive emotions and motivation before practice and
games. Do it daily.

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 "I don't want us to lose our emotion, but we can't lose our composure."
- Bill Cowher

"I'm looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm
and passion."
- Mike Krzyzewski

Emotions are a powerful influence on thoughts and actions. Emotions such as love,
happiness, and excitement can inspire confident thoughts and actions. Relentless pursuit
of confidence thoughts and feelings leads to confident attitudes, goals, and action.

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 Winning Time
Repetition
! Emotions have a significant influence on thoughts and actions. Emotions are an
important influence on confidence.
! Emotions move us to action (or sometimes prevent us from acting in the case of
sadness).
! Love and happiness (excitement) fill us with energy needed to move.
! Love and excitement can be both emotions and thoughts, which makes them attitudes.
! Love and excitement are great for confidence.
! Fear and anxiety are harmful to confidence. Both can fill us with energy, but we need
to learn how to reframe them to increase confidence.
! Anger is an important emotion. Realize when you are angry, you can harness the
energy boost anger provides in order to work for change or improvement. When anger is
felt intensely, however, we lose the ability to think clearly. Mistakes are made when anger
takes over the thinking process. Anger is best used as an attitude to summon energy for
doing work (such as practicing intensely), not as a competitive strategy for psyching up.
Still, a little anger or indignation is fine in an intense competition, especially if it helps
change game momentum in your favor.
! Stay away from hatred. It causes you more damage than anyone else. It doesn't help
anyone else either.
! "I don't want us to lose our emotion, but we can't lose our composure."
- Bill Cowher
Cowher's quote speaks to the balance between strong emotion and clear thinking. It's
important to use emotion to boost energy, but it's important to have an attitude that
embraces composure, not simply wild expression of emotion.
! "I'm looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm
and passion."
- Mike Krzyzewski
Coach K knows that enthusiasm and passion, two positive emotions are important to team
building. Not only do they make one a good teammate to be around, the inspire the same
from others around them.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! Learn to use emotions while they are hot, meaning while feeling them intensely. Each
serves a special purpose. Use them to get you moving.
! Learn to influence emotions, especially love and happiness, by making them attitudes.
Choose challenging pursuits you love and get to work on them.
! Love and happiness fill us with energy that gets us moving and keeps us moving. Love
and happiness are very effective for practice and competition.
! Anxiety can have a positive effect, at least in terms of energy. It creates a rush of
adrenaline that can be used for movement. Mentally reframe anxiety by labeling it
excitement, then go ahead and embrace it. Interpreting anxiety as excitement allows you
to harness the positive effects of the adrenaline while keeping confidence high.
! Fear is harmful to confidence. Reframe the situation you fear as an opportunity to be
courageous, and then go out and be courageous.
! Nothing creates emotions like game-time competition. Learn to play with various
emotions by simulating game conditions in practice.
! Ramp up emotions effectively in pre-game. Don't play the game before kickoff. You
want to save your energy for the game.
! Use imagery to ramp up emotions and confidence as game time approaches. If
coaches allow it, music may help build emotions to a peak before warm-up or game time,
but imagery is probably just as effective at stirring emotions and it's completely portable.

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 Winning Time
fundamental skill: Reframing
Reframing is simply a way to look at something in a new light or from a different
angle. Think of it this way: It's like cropping a picture to include only what you like and
none of what you don't like. Or it's taking a picture you don't particularly like and trying
to make the best of it anyway by putting a good frame around it.

In a classic case of reframing, we take the feelings of anxiety caused by the

adrenaline rush, which also gives us a boost of energy, and we re-label it as excitement. In
other words, we take the butterflies in the stomach, shaking hands, sweating, and other
signs of anxiety, and we call it excitement instead. We like the energy rush we get, but we
don't like the negative thinking that often goes with anxiety. Instead, the same symptoms
can be reframed as excitement.

You might try some of these other common uses of reframing:

! Call a loss a wake up call and think of it as a learning experience that will help you get
better.
! Rather than griping about an opponent running up the score on you, consider that they
gave you a gift. They showed you exactly how much better you have to be.
! View criticism as feedback. *There are true differences between criticism and
feedback, but nobody is perfect. If someone criticizes you, reframe it as feedback and
attempt to get better.
! View a "blow off" or "walk through" day as game day. Let your opponent take days off.
You view every day as an opportunity to have an impact on the game, a day to gain a
competitive advantage on your opponent. You will play like you practice; therefore, every
day is game day.
! View setbacks as opportunities to exercise patience, persistence, and grit.
! View the pain of conditioning as weakness leaving the body.
! View turnovers as an opportunity to exercise your will (and sudden change drill) and
crush the opponent's hopes of taking advantage of your turnover.

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"Respecting your opponent is the key to winning any bout. Hold your enemy in contempt
and you may miss the strategy behind his moves."
-David H. Hackworth

Losses, mistakes, and other sources of doubt constantly bombard football players and
coaches. While it is important to play confidently, doubt is not all bad. Doubt and a
healthy sense of respect for one's opponents can improve accurate assessment of strengths
and weaknesses and lead to motivation to improve.

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 Winning Time
Repetition

! Respecting an opponent allows coaches to create an effective game plan.

! Respecting an opponent's strength tends to create effort in practice and other forms of
game preparation.

! Respecting an opponent's strengths can lead to more improvement on your part.

Welcoming, embracing, and accepting challenges fosters growth.

! After considering some doubts, accomplishments in practice build confidence. It is

important to hit game time with very high self-confidence supported by a week of hard
work and accomplishment in practice.

! Doubt from others often seems to have a similar beneficial effect on effort. Doubt from
others may be (though it hasn't been proven) safer than any type of self-doubt.

! Setbacks, losses, and misfortune happen to everyone in sports. Resilience is about

overcoming doubt through accomplishment and replacing it with confidence.

! "Respecting your opponent is the key to winning any bout. Hold your enemy in
contempt and you may miss the strategy behind his moves."
-David H. Hackworth
I like this Hackworth quote. We often hold our opponents, our enemies, in contempt, and
we refuse to believe they are good at anything. This is a mistake. We need to give our
opponents have the benefit of the doubt and believe that they have some strengths. Then
we need to prepare for those strengths. Be prepared. Be overprepared.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! Game plan for opponent strengths and weaknesses.

! Respect an opponent's strengths in order to create a sense of urgency and effort for the
week's preparation. Practice with purpose in order to improve.

! Always respect an opponent's strengths, but replace any doubt with confidence
through accomplishment during the week of practice.

! Respect the idea that others may doubt you. Find others who believe in you, get
confident, and set out to prove the doubters wrong. With each little success, let your
confidence grow.

! Expect setbacks and problems to occur from time to time. You can handle it. Be
resilient. Overcome doubt through accomplishment of the little things (and sometimes big
things), and celebrate, encourage, and let your confidence soar.

! If a setback occurs, expect a correction in your favor. Work hard and look for
opportunities to make the play. Seize the moment and make the play to turn the situation
in your favor.

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"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for
danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognize the
opportunity."
-John F. Kennedy

Sudden change situations such as turnovers demand special preparation for teams wishing
to be at their best. By preparing properly and having a great attitude, mistakes and
setbacks can become an advantage for the well-prepared team.

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 Winning Time
Repetition

! Sudden changes happen. You can handle them, especially if you are prepared for
them.

! Being prepared for sudden changes takes away their shock value. It allows for you stay
calm and confident.

! Competition plans allow you to create and practice responses to important game
situations. Competition plans are a type of smart game plan that takes into account the
most common setbacks that can occur and plans to overcome them.

! For any situation that requires resilience, having a planned physical and attitudinal
response can increase confidence in the team's ability to handle the setback.

! Practicing sudden change is an important type of game simulation.

! "The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands
for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognize the
opportunity."
-John F. Kennedy
In every crisis, there is an opportunity to handle it well and create an advantage by
reversing a mistake. Although danger exists, crises such as sudden changes also provide
opportunities to show resilience and rise to greatness.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! Create competition plans for sudden changes in games. Competition plans should
include both physical and attitudinal responses.

! Practice sudden changes with both physical responses and attitude responses.

! Learn to love overcoming a sudden change. Sudden changes are opportunities to steal
back momentum from your opponent.

! Simulate sudden changes to create realistic opportunities to overcome setbacks and

increase resilience and confidence. The more you make the play in a sudden change
situation, the more your confidence will increase.

! Be aware of dangerous game situations and prepare for them to reduce anxiety and
improve confidence.

! Reframe crisis as opportunity to create the proper attitude for competing against
worthy opponents who will give you their best shot, a situation you should learn to
embrace and love because it will ultimately make you better.

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 "To have been there before without ever having been there - that is the goal of
simulation."
- Terry Orlick, Ph.D.

Simulation is the creation of game-like conditions in practice.

Anything you can do in practice to increase familiarity with game-like conditions should
improve confidence and performance in real games. Practicing under simulated pressure
can make one immune to this type of choking.

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 Winning Time
Repetition

! Simulation is the act of recreating game conditions in practice.

! Unfamiliar conditions can cause anxiety, which harms confidence, and other
unwanted thoughts. This can cause a drop in skill level. Anything you can do to increase
the known aspects of competition should improve confidence.
! Simulations, and even knowledge of locker room facilities, pregame timing, and other
little things can reduce confusion and anxiety and increase confidence.
! Thinking about a skill or reaction that has become automatic will harm execution of
the response. Practicing under simulated pressure can make one immune to this type of
choking.
! Playing under game scenarios, game clock, scores, referee calls, and pressure
situations for the kick game are great ways to simulate.
! Ones-on-ones and twos-on-twos are great ways to simulate worthy competition and
game speed.
! Using relatively small conditioning rewards and punishments can increase pressure
more than one might expect. Be reasonable with the reward or punishment. Have it be in
line with what you normally condition. It's not cruel to simulate pressure. It's responsible.

! "To have been there before without ever having been there - that is the goal of
simulation."
- Terry Orlick, Ph.D.
A good simulation puts athletes and coaches in game situations...except the real
scoreboard isn't on. The simulation helps them tune into gamelike situations mentally,
emotionally, and physically, and it increases experience. It also like reduces confusion,
and sometimes the element of surprise, which should help increase confidence.

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 Winning Time
Execution

! Use simulations to reduce confusion and anxiety and to increase confidence.

! Simulate game conditions, such as needing to force a turnover or being down late in
the game, to create a sense of urgency and pressure.

! Simulate the game clock in order to improve clock management.

! To improve performance in the kicking game, simulate pressure by filming or having

the whole team watch the kicking team's performance. Put a small conditioning reward or
punishment on performance to increase pressure even a bit more.

! Simulate scenarios and pressure in the kick game to improve special team
performance, the phase of the game Coach Schmidt considered the most important for
creating a competitive advantage.

! Simulate crowd conditions to the extent possible.

! Simulate competitive intensity and game speed by going ones-on-ones and twos-on-
twos.

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 Winning Time
fundamental skill: Simulation
Simulation is the act of trying to recreate game conditions in practice. It is a
fundamental skill for mentally tough teams. Unfamiliar conditions cause confusion
and other unwanted thoughts that lead to doubt and anxiety. If the playing conditions are
highly unfamiliar to practice conditions, the anxiety and intrusive thoughts can be enough
to cause a significant drop in skill level. Simulations help coaches and athletes eliminate
confusion and gain experience and confidence under game-like conditions. Thus,
simulating game conditions is an incredibly important part of athletic preparation.

One of the greatest reasons simulations work so well is that simulations tend to introduce
goals into practice. Instead of letting practice get stale, simulations give athletes (and
coaches) a chance to match their skills under a worthy challenge. Here are some ways to
challenge certain aspects of the game with simulations. I've also included some example
simuations in parentheses.

Simulations (and some examples of each)

! Pre-game routines (use the same timing for pregame and game during preseason or
first scrimmage)
! Timing (turn the clock on, get used to a play clock, 2:00 drill)
! Strategy (trick plays, plays out of certain situations, tendencies)
! Game situations (need to pick up or stop a fourth and short)
! Coming from behind (down 2 with 2:00 to play, game winning kick in the last second,
defense to force a turnover within one series)
! Playing with the lead (offense needs to run out the game start with 6:00 on the clock)
! Bad calls (force your team into overcoming adversity in a scrimmage)
! Field conditions (turf vs grass can often be practiced if needed)
! Weather conditions (practice in bad weather with an emphasis it could be needed in a
game, use wet ball sometimes)
! Lighting conditions (practice in the sun or stadium lights depending on game time)
! Bigger, faster, players (use extra players to create more coverage or double team
blocks, use weighted vests or other small weights to slow players down slightly to get
ready for a fast team)

(C) Jared M. Wood, Ph.D. Confidence Page 96