Tom Brady dismantled the defending champs and Vegas favorites in Super Bowl 55 to become a seven-time champion. Even though he is my guy, I am afraid I picked the Kansas City Chiefs to repeat and defeat Brady’s Buccaneers.
He had no idea I had picked against him, nor would he have cared.
However, he is no stranger to doubters.
It definitely is strange to see so many haters, doubters, and critics of Tom Brady when he is essentially the unquestioned GOAT – greatest of all time.
We as adults definitely don’t deal with doubters and haters as well as we should sometimes, so there is no question that our athletes will struggle with it.
Since the GOAT has haters, we all will have haters and those who doubt us.
But we can’t let them get the better of us. We can’t let them get inside our heads and control us. They don’t get to live rent-free up inside our heads.
As a coach, you can have a huge part in helping your athletes handle their doubters – or “haters”. It might not be a newspaper or respected journalist or broadcaster. It might just be a so-called friend, relative, or even someone on the team. Heck, it could even be you!
Sometimes we can be the worst critic of an athlete.
There are two ways to handle doubters or critics. First, we can ignore them and focus on the job at hand. Number two, we can embrace the hate. We can embrace the doubt and use it as motivation.
“You’ll never start.”
“You’ll never win.”
“You’ll never get a scholarship.”
“You’ll never make the pros.”
“You are too young.”
“You are too slow.”
“You are too short.”
“You aren’t athletic enough.”
“You can’t ______(fill in the blank) ______.”
You get the picture. These statements could all come from us at some point.
However, I would encourage you not to use this stuff as motivation if it’s coming from you. More harm than good can come from coaching negativity.
Be a dealer in hope. Cast a vision. Present what can be for your athletes. Help take them from where they are to where they need to be.
So, with that said and assuming that the doubt and hate aren’t coming from you, what can be done?
It is really hard to get athletes to ignore those haters and stay focused. However, it can be done. We essentially don’t even acknowledge it or at the very least, we acknowledge quickly and then move on to the next stage – focusing on what’s important.
The first quote I ever memorized was “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” You can easily substitute the word distraction for obstacles. Distractions are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.
The best way to keep your team focused on certain goals or targets is by consistently reinforcing what the standards are and what’s most important. You keep that goal so top-of-mind that it’s nearly impossible to think of something else. Maybe It’s a team thing or maybe it’s an individual thing. You keep reminding your athlete or team where their focus should be.
You don’t necessarily say, “don’t worry about x, y, and z” or “pay no attention to x,y, and z”. That gives the situation more power over your athletes. That’s almost like saying don’t think about a pink elephant. Now, you’re going to think about pink elephants.
Refocus their attention.
However, sometimes this is nearly impossible. Also, sometimes, we don’t want to ignore the haters. We want to be strategic and use it to our advantage. If you have a good grasp on your athlete or team, you could use it as motivation.
This makes me think of The Water Boy with Adam Sandler. Bobby Boucher became an amazing player because he used various doubters and critics as “tackling fuel”. He used it as motivation.
Many athletes play the victim card or lose focus when facing criticism. They look for excuses. They get distracted. They worry about things that are not important.
As a coach, find ways to either refocus your athletes or to use this negativity as motivation.
Lots of athletes (and coaches, for that matter) play better or get more dialed in when they have a chip on their shoulder. Encourage them to get in the gym more, hit the weights more, be more efficient with their time, study their scouting report more.
In other words, remind them that the best way to overcome haters is to be better.
Haters and doubters are either jealous of us or just plain negative. Don’t give them the attention they crave. Don’t respond to them.
Too many athletes get distracted by trolls or criticism. They end up proving them absolutely correct by playing worse or falling short of their goals.
As a coach, you must do your best to model the behavior you want from your young men or women. Once you are able to do this, you should be trying to teach them how to stay focused themselves.
Tom Brady was a backup as a 9th grader on a winless team but he would eventually earn a college scholarship.
Tom Brady threw a total of 20 passes his first two years at Michigan yet became an NFL player.
Tom Brady was drafted in the NFL’s sixth-round but became the greatest of all time.
Tom Brady’s Buccaneers were seemingly finished going into the bye week but then rattled off eight straight wins to emerge as Super Bowl Champions.
I don’t know what you or your athletes will encounter, see, or hear but I do know that the best leaders are dealers in hope. The best leaders cast a vision for what your athletes can become and what your team can accomplish.
Help your athletes to believe.
Keep them focused, encouraged, and motivated.