Coaches who are exceedingly hard on their players,
Who yell at, put down and demean them,
Who are excessively negative and withholding of positive feedback,
Vigorously defend their behaviors by explaining that this is what is necessary to “build mental toughness,” to prepare athleteS to play at the highest levels, to make them stronger…
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
Screaming at your players, withholding positive feedback, humiliating them and continuously putting them down makes them weaker, NOT stronger! It makes them fearful of making mistakes and causes them to play tentatively!
You build mental toughness by being DEMANDING, NOT DEMEANING, by TREATING YOUR PLAYERS WITH RESPECT,
By BUILDING THEM UP, rather than TEARING THEM DOWN
