Finding Your Internal Football Coach

The Fight for Hope

Could you imagine a football coach in his pre-game speech going on and on about how big, strong and undefeated the opponent is and then ending with “Good luck, try not to get hurt.” We would think his sports psychology is completely broken. Is it broken? He simply stated the facts and then ended with a little empathy, “try not to get hurt.” Doesn’t it seem odd to leave HOPE out of the pre-game speech?

Hope is a needed ingredient in sports psychology.

Hope sounds like this: “We have studied the opponent, built our plan, laser focused our strategy, trained and worked hard and I believe we have the winning game plan to be victorious. So now let’s all stick to the plan, support each other and have the best game of our lives.”

Then after the big defeat as they start peeling off their gear back in the locker room we hope the coach will come in with a smile and starts to congratulating the team and then highlighting the moments where the plan worked and they won the moment, advanced the ball or scored. And then in hushed tones we really hope he would take a knee and whisper, “I’m proud of each of you, you are winners, we are building a championship team, I can’t wait for next week’s game. We really advanced our plan today.”

If hope is the GOLD STANDARD for sport psychology I think most of us, including me, could adopt a little more football coach in our brains starting with a daily pregame speech just to ourselves. It would go something like this.

“Good morning, today is a new day of challenges. What a privilege to work with others and execute our plan. I anticipate success, favour from our clients, innovation within our team and the spirit of HOPE to be the fuel that propels us throughout the day.”

This all could happen in bed, before your feet have touched the floor.

All sport metaphors aside, the greatest battle in our lives is between our own ears. It is the formation of beliefs into thoughts and thoughts into words:

I think it is time for the football coach in us to rise up and build HOPE in our day to day lives. It can all start with one statement of Hope before you hit the ground running.

I encourage you to give it a try. Find your inner football coach.

Steven Falk

P.S. Don’t forget, People Can Change and The Power of Success is in TEAM

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