Coaches and parents have tremendous influence over their players’ behaviors and beliefs on and off the field.  Often, however, the big picture gets lost in young athlete’s minds because there are so many small pictures (details) to remember.

Let’s start here by asking ourselves what is it that we really want our youth athletes to learn by participating in the sport? Hold that thought…

Recently I thought back to my own experiences as a child and young athlete.  What really stood out for me was my mom constantly telling me, “You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.” I can still hear her voice in my head.

Was my mom a perfect parent? Absolutely not, but she put a lot of energy into teaching my brother and I that one big lesson.

This is what you want to do as a coach or parent.  I encourage you to have a big “theme” or statement that you repeat over and over to your child or player that is totally empowering and gives them a big picture lesson that they can carry with them their whole life.  That is the gift of football that keeps on giving.

You should come up with a short statement that I like to call   – Sports Mantras – whether it’s a personal one or a team one. Here are some examples:

“I always figure it out”  (My current motto)

“We go all out or we don’t go at all”

“We win when we go all out”

“Leave it all on the field”

“We love to compete”

“Bring it on”

“I make myself stronger by strengthening the team”

“100% effort, 100% attitude”

“Respect of self, respect of others”

“It’s just chemicals, let’s do this!” (From my Mental Toughness Academy program)

For coaches, this can be a quick statement that reflects the theme about your coaching style. For parents, it’s what you really want your kid to learn from sport.

Repeat that message or theme to your players, often and everywhere. Quiz them on it using different scenarios to get them to say the words out loud in a real life/game context.

Think about this for a second…  Imagine we are 5 or even 10 years down the road from your current football team experience.  Do you think your player is going to remember how he learned to do drills or get in the proper formations or even any particular game for that matter?   Not a chance.

I’ve interviewed countless athletes about their sports history and you know what they remember and carry with them?  They remember their worst chokes, best performances, and something their coach (or parent) taught them.

Use one of my examples or brainstorm with the team or your player and come up with something on your own. The key is to constantly repeat it.

This works just as well for parents at home. I have 2 boys that I have been teaching them since they were young how to be fearless in life. Our family motto is:  “Things always work out for us.”

Make youth sports an amazing learning experience by coming up with and using a powerful motto.