Basketball: Mental Toughness with Serena Williams Notes

Everybody knows what mental toughness is. My definition: "Immersion in doing your best without worrying about results degrading your process." Don't let the moment become a distraction. Everyone won't like you or your best work. And sometimes our best work won't succeed. 

Championship teams and championship players have it. Everyone wants players with it. 

Resilience follows mental and physical preparation as night follows day. Lack of study and understanding spawn mental mistakes. Poor conditioning, fatigue, and lack of repetitions birth underperformance. Mentally tough players like Kawhi Leonard or Steph Curry earned results. 

Coaches want players who stay engaged, possession by possession, playing consistently regardless of the score or the opponent. As Don Meyer said, "It's not who you play, it's how you play." 

Pressure is unavoidable. Improve mental toughness through controlled breathing (mindfulness) and working on COTE skills (confidence, optimism, tenacity, and enthusiasm). That includes an optimistic vocabulary. I can and I will, not I'll try. Mental toughness manages pressure. 

Notes from Serena Williams' MasterClass chapter on Mental Toughness:

"Tennis is 70% mental."

"How are you getting into your opponent's head and make them think they're not going to win today?"

Physical fitness is a prerequisite to mental strength. 

"Practice scenarios" (to build mental toughness). She pretends she's serving 15-30. 

She uses a mental trick, "In ten years, no one's going to remember this match."

"...Realize it's not the end of the world...take it one point at a time." (possession by possesion)

"Take it one moment at a time." ("Next play.")

Because she won a set ONE TIME down 0-5, she knows she could do it again. 

"Move on to the next match." 

Injuries happen...you have to get past it. She plays eleven months a year and knows that injuries and fatigue are part of the process. 

"For me, it's about how you recover when you're down."

She wants to show character and endurance constantly. 

"Someone with nothing to lose can be a very dangerous opponent." 

"What can I do better?"

"If you're angry, you're not going to think clearly." 

"Troubleshoot why you missed the shot. Don't get frustrated. Solve the problem." 

She admires Kobe Bryant and LeBron James for their mental toughness. 

Lagniappe: Which NBA players do you think are mentally tough? Do you gravitate to the stars or the dirt dogs (e.g. Marcus Smart)? 

Mental toughness questionnaire.