Why I Started Built Different: Mindset Series

As a coach, I spend a lot of time preparing athletes physically. We work on technique, strength, speed and conditioning. We plan training months in advance because we understand that being ready to compete takes time.

Their minds deserve that same preparation.

I started our Built Different: Mindset series because I want our student athletes to have tools they can use when things get hard. I don’t want competition day to be the first time we address negative self-talk, a lack of focus or the inability to move past a mistake. By then, those habits may have been showing up for months.

You can see them in practice. An athlete makes one mistake and lets it affect the rest of the workout. Someone gets frustrated when a teammate is progressing faster. Someone wants a big result but struggles to honor the daily commitments required to get there.

Those are things we have an opportunity to work on now.

I have been the athlete with high expectations, and I am now the coach helping athletes work toward theirs. I know how much preparation goes into a few seconds of competition. I want our athletes to give themselves a real chance to show what they have worked for.

That includes learning how to talk to themselves.

Self-affirmations can feel uncomfortable at first. Some athletes can tell you everything they think is wrong with them but struggle to say something positive about themselves with conviction. That concerns me. You cannot spend every day tearing yourself down and expect confidence to suddenly appear when you step on the line.

“I am prepared.”

“I can make this adjustment.”

“One mistake does not erase my work.”

Those are statements athletes can practice and support with their actions. When you know you have been consistent, followed through and put in the work, you have something real to remind yourself of when doubt shows up.

We also have to learn how to handle setbacks. There will be disappointing performances, interrupted training and days when the effort does not produce the result you wanted. You are allowed to be disappointed. But we have to work on what happens next.

Can you take feedback without shutting down?

Can you identify what needs to improve without deciding that you are a failure?

Can you come back tomorrow ready to work?

That response takes practice, too.

Focus and discipline start with everyday decisions. Listening through the entire instruction. Being intentional during your warmup. Completing your assignments. Getting treatment. Getting to bed when you know you have an early morning. Following through when your coach is not standing beside you.

I want our athletes to recognize how often they get to practice those skills before they ever compete.

Commitment and buy-in matter because your goals will eventually ask something of you that is inconvenient. You will have to manage your time, accept correction and make choices that your friends may not understand. You have to know why you are here and what you are willing to do with the opportunity.

As a coach, I also have a responsibility to explain the purpose behind what we ask of them and give them room to ask questions. I want them to understand the standard and take ownership of it.

Mental toughness includes being honest when you are struggling. It includes asking for help, having a difficult conversation and accepting responsibility without making excuses. Our athletes need tools for those moments just as much as they need tools for the final stretch of a race.

That is why Built Different matters to me. We are giving our student athletes time to reflect, recognize patterns and start making corrections while they still have opportunities to practice them.

I want them to arrive at competition knowing how to settle themselves, direct their attention and respond when something does not go according to plan. And I want those same skills to serve them in the classroom, in their relationships and long after their athletic careers are over.

We have big goals. We are going to keep preparing our minds to follow through on them.