Mind Over Sports

Coaches often try to force their belief systems onto athletes. Such an approach just doesn’t work. The athlete’s belief system controls performance, not the coach’s. If a relief pitcher believes he needs 12 minutes to warm up before putting him into a game, the manager should allow him his twelve minutes. Some beliefs concern physical activities. There are coaches who insist male athletes avoid sexual relations in the twenty-four hours before a game, believing such activity somehow depletes a player. In contrast, some players feel that such activity relaxes them and enhances their athletic ability the next day. Conceivably sex can promote or retard performance. If an athlete believes it’s beneficial, it will be. But if a player has to lie to a coach about such intimate personal activity, their dishonesty will have a negative effect at game time.