"NEXT PLAY" MENTALITY
The Claddagh Lacrosse program is built on sound fundamentals of positive sport psychology. We firmly believe that focusing on the PROCESS (rather than the Outcome) is an empowering practice that frees the player from stress of things they cannot control (injuries, opponents, officials, weather, field conditions, teammates, etc.) and allows them to merely put into play the work they have done leading up to competition. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy for success. Meanwhile, focusing on the Outcome raises a player's emotional level past the threshold of confidence and forces them into a mentality of "playing not to lose". When you do this (as with any fear), the outcome that was trying to be avoided is the one that actually occurs. Even when we make a great play, or win a game, our players must know that moment is fleeting but can be replicated by having the same mindset. We need to think "NEXT PLAY" not only when we lose, but also when we win.
We view every play and every day of a player's career as part of the process. Mistakes and losses are the seeds that allow players to grow, as long as they till the soil by reflecting on the mistake or loss constructively and learning from it. When we become focuses on uncontrollable external factors or outcomes, we instantly become frustrated because we cannot change these things yet we are trying to. The simple strategy to keep players' confidence high during times of mistakes or losses is reminding them that they are getting better by this struggle, that they have everything in their power they need to succeed despite the existence of uncontrollables, and that is one less time they will ever lose again.
We can't change the past, but only how we react to future opportunities. College recruiters cite this as one of the top three, if not the top indicator of a recruit's viability in the college game. NEXT PLAY body language looks like this: players huddling together in positivity, chins up and shoulder's back, urgently positive tone in players' voices. This shows resilience to opponents instead of empowering them by showing frustrated body language (palms up and arms out, slumped shoulders, looking down, hitting stick on ground and throwing equipment). We tell our boys that confidence is a glass of water. When we lose some, we pour it into our opponents' glass and make them stronger. Keeping our glasses full with the right mindset allows us to successfully rebound from failures and mistakes.
Please join us in telling our boys "NEXT PLAY!" when they fall short. While we politely request that you let all gameday coaching be conducted by the coaching staff, you are encouraged to reiterate our positive mentality from the sidelines in a non-lacrosse specific manner and also on the ride home. Our main goal is to prepare these boys to be able to continue playing lacrosse until they choose not to. Given the power that lacrosse can have on our lives, we hope that end of participation comes on a positive note after many life lessons were learned from the sport. Primary data from sport psychology studies show that most participation ends in a sport when the athlete no longer enjoys the game. This occurs when they feel the balance of challenge versus skills is disproportionate to what they have. Let's remind our boys that the sky is the limit with anything they do, and commitment through action will get them anything they want.
We view every play and every day of a player's career as part of the process. Mistakes and losses are the seeds that allow players to grow, as long as they till the soil by reflecting on the mistake or loss constructively and learning from it. When we become focuses on uncontrollable external factors or outcomes, we instantly become frustrated because we cannot change these things yet we are trying to. The simple strategy to keep players' confidence high during times of mistakes or losses is reminding them that they are getting better by this struggle, that they have everything in their power they need to succeed despite the existence of uncontrollables, and that is one less time they will ever lose again.
We can't change the past, but only how we react to future opportunities. College recruiters cite this as one of the top three, if not the top indicator of a recruit's viability in the college game. NEXT PLAY body language looks like this: players huddling together in positivity, chins up and shoulder's back, urgently positive tone in players' voices. This shows resilience to opponents instead of empowering them by showing frustrated body language (palms up and arms out, slumped shoulders, looking down, hitting stick on ground and throwing equipment). We tell our boys that confidence is a glass of water. When we lose some, we pour it into our opponents' glass and make them stronger. Keeping our glasses full with the right mindset allows us to successfully rebound from failures and mistakes.
Please join us in telling our boys "NEXT PLAY!" when they fall short. While we politely request that you let all gameday coaching be conducted by the coaching staff, you are encouraged to reiterate our positive mentality from the sidelines in a non-lacrosse specific manner and also on the ride home. Our main goal is to prepare these boys to be able to continue playing lacrosse until they choose not to. Given the power that lacrosse can have on our lives, we hope that end of participation comes on a positive note after many life lessons were learned from the sport. Primary data from sport psychology studies show that most participation ends in a sport when the athlete no longer enjoys the game. This occurs when they feel the balance of challenge versus skills is disproportionate to what they have. Let's remind our boys that the sky is the limit with anything they do, and commitment through action will get them anything they want.
