Preparation Phase – attributes that affect athlete’s practice habits and development

Grit – the athlete’s perseverance and motivation for attaining long-term goals.  This entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years, despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.  Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Intrinsic Motivation - The motivation driven by an internal reward an athlete experiences for achieving an outcome.

• Persistence - The continued effort put forth to achieve a desire goal or outcome, despite repeated setbacks or failure.

Work Style – the athlete’s attitude and mindset during practice and preparation. This entails an individual’s general attitude about practice, goals and work ethic during practice.  Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Mastery Approach - The goals set by an athlete in the preparation setting, specifically focused on learning and mastering the task at hand.

• Growth Mindset - The belief that anything can be achieved with enough hard work and effort, rather than just talent.

Coachability – the athlete’s style of learning, feedback receptiveness and willingness to accept feedback, their propensity to follow directions, sense of entitlement.  Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Cooperation - A sense of requiring little to no outside help to satisfy one's basic needs as an athlete and the extent to which the athlete is a "rule-follower" and adheres to direction from leaders and coaches.

• Feedback Acceptance - The extent to which an athlete values, listens to, and uses feedback from other people.

• Modesty - A sense of humbleness/humility and tendency to not want attention drawn to oneself.

Competition Phase – attributes that affect athlete’s performance during competition

Drive –the athlete’s short-term motivation to win and compete in performance events. Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Competitiveness - An internal desire to win, outperform others, and achieve success.

• Challenge Approach - The goals set by an athlete in the competition setting, specifically focused on performing at the highest level, as opposed to avoiding failure.

Focus – the athlete’s ability to maintain a positive focus on performing during events, ability to visualize successful execution and the frequency with which the athlete visualizes. Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Concentration - An ability to control one's attention and focus on a given task or action.

• Presence - The continued effort put forth to achieve a desire goal or outcome, despite repeated setbacks or failure.

• Visualization Ability - The ability to form mental images and manipulate them in the mind.

Mental Toughness the athlete’s confidence in their abilities to perform, ability to recover from failure and setback, and remain composed during stressful events. Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Positive Coping Style- The way in which an athlete responds to mistakes or setbacks, in particular the extent to which the athlete reflects upon and learns from mistakes or setbacks.

• Stress Management - The extent to which the athlete can control their level of emotional and mental anxiety, pressure or discomfort when performing their sport.

• Confidence - The athlete's belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations, such as competition or learning a new skill.

Teamwork Phase – attributes that affect athlete’s ability to perform as part of a team

Leadership Potential – the athlete’s innate motivation and ability to raise the performance of others, gain the trust and respect of their teammates. Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Integrity - The level of honesty and ethical standard that an athlete holds their self to.

• Assertiveness - A social forcefulness and willingness to influence other people.

Team Orientation – the athlete’s desire to be part of a team, help the team succeed, propensity to trust others, and help others. Encompasses the following dimensions:

• Team Preference - A preference to engage with team members and the sense of belonging one has with a team.

• Reliance - The general tendency of an athlete to trust their teammates.

• Team Goal Focus - The desire to achieve team goals and put the team's interest before individual goals and needs.

• Sociability – the athlete’s desire to build relationships and be a positive member of a team.

Situational Mindsets– critical situations that athletes have to face in preparation and competition.  How you handle these types of situations is indicative of your overall mental effectiveness.   

Performing Under Pressure: Performing under Pressure is something athletes have to face if they want to be elite in their sport.  The more elite the level of competition, the more pressure there will be to perform.  At the highest levels of competition, all performance is done under pressure.  At lower levels, pressure may be limited to short periods during competition, such as the very end of a game.  Athletes have to be able to remain focused and manage the stress their body experiences from the pressure.

Grind: Athletes will have to Grind through challenges and unpleasant situations at some point in their career.  An athlete's ability to do this is a strong indicator of long-term success.  Athletes who are strong grinders usually excel in their sport because they view challenges as an opportunity to grow, rather than something to avoid.

Team Player: Being a Team Player is important for any athlete who competes on a team.  Even for individual sports like golf, the player is usually going to be a member of a team at some point in their career.  Athletes that are not team players usually hurt their team's performance, as well as their own performance.  Teams require all members to work together toward common goals.

Playing in the Moment: Playing in the Moment is an important indicator of an athlete's overall mental approach to competition.  Ideally, athletes are able to clear their mind of everything except what they have to do to execute their responsibilities and techniques to perform well.

Dealing with Setbacks: Dealing with Setbacks is unavoidable in sports.  Whether it is an injury, big mistake, difficult loss, or rejection from a team, setbacks WILL happen to athletes.  How the athlete deals with and responds to the setback is an important indicator of their overall mental performance.  Athletes have to be able to deal with, learn from, and move on from setbacks to have a successful career.

Team Leader: Being a Team Leader is important even when the athlete is not in a formal leadership role.  All members of a team should be leaders to some extent and be willing to step up and influence their teammates.

Willingness to Learn: Having a Willingness to Learn is essential for any athlete and is an indicator of sustained success.  Athletes should always be improving and learning, either on their own or with the assistance of a coach or instructor.  When working with a coach or instructor, the learning process starts with a willingness to learn.