Mistakes Will Happen; It’s How You Handle Them That Counts

Getting Angry Easily or Being Too Hard on Yourself Can Ruin Your College Future 

A college coach can be watching at anytime.  You never know.  So, when you make a mistake, what do you do?  Throw your helmet, a towel or a fit?  Do you hang your head and mutter under your breath?  When you do these things, what’s a coach supposed to think?  You’re toast, that’s what.

Coaches know better than anyone about mistakes.  They see them every day in practice and in games.  Their jobs depend on noticing mistakes and then helping athletes both understand and correct them.  But, if you want that chance with a college coach, it’s vital to be in control of your emotions following miscues.  Otherwise, you could lose the opportunity of a lifetime to be a college athlete. 

Emotional maturity is sometimes a lot to ask when everything, at the moment, is on the line.  Winning can be on the line, but winning the game is not what we are referring to here.  Winning a scholarship offer is, though. 

There are thousands upon thousands of athletes in the same boat as you.  They want desperately to advance to the next level.  Some will be stopped by their attitudes and an inability to curtail destructive emotional outbursts.  Others, some less physically talented, will get the nod instead because they have demonstrated a degree of emotional maturity beyond those whose unwillingness to address their shortcomings in this key aspect of athletics. 

We suggest this:  if you have difficulty with your temper or attitude when things don’t go your way or when you make a mistake, or even when someone around you does something wrong, get help.  Accept it and deal with it.  Talk to your coaches or mentors you trust.  Ask their advice on how to stop sabotaging your own future.  Then, like anything else, think about it and visualize situations which have previously pushed your “hot” button.  See yourself reacting differently, more appropriately.  Practice this over and again.  Catch yourself before this harmful behavior has a chance to reveal itself again.