"Lunch Money"

The two most powerful answers in medicine are "I don't know" and "that's a good idea, we should do that." 

First, a repost on "Negative Thinking."

Outsiders "don't know." Most coaches have our favorite sayings like "the ball is gold" or "Bad teams give games away. Good teams don't. Which are we going to be?"

Play to win, not to avoid losing. These are light years apart. When you analyze possessions, find that teams win points, give away points, score points off errors, and lose points because of opponent execution. Top teams score more points and give away fewer. Do the math. 

• Teams give away points with service errors. 
• Teams surrender points with poor communication/rotation.
• Teams lose momentum because of loss of focus. 
• Teams rarely "don't show up." 

Most coaches share a variation of "bear down" or "next play" or "c'mon, let's go." All seek to engage players with full concentration. The best teams play harder for longer. 

The myth of Achilles. "Thetis was extraordinarily concerned about her baby son’s mortality. She did everything she could to make him immortal: She burned him over a fire every night, then dressed his wounds with ambrosial ointment; and she dunked him into the River Styx, whose waters were said to confer the invulnerability of the gods. However, she gripped him tightly by the foot as she dipped him into the river–so tightly that the water never touched his heel. As a result, Achilles was invulnerable everywhere but there."

Teams can show physical or psychological vulnerability. There's no simple answer, but champions need championship makeup, the will to play through adversity. Adversity will always be an athlete's companion. Mental toughness comes with both experience and training. 

UCONN's women's basketball team scrimmages against a men's team at practice every day. Visualization (imagery) and mindfulness can help. At some point, exceptional teams show up to put a beatdown on opponents and refuse to give up their lunch money. 

Lagniappe. Resilience can be trained. Resilience will define MVB 24.