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Teaching Resilience: A Guide to Developing a Winning Attitude
Apr 9, 2025
~3 Minutes
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
– Pele, Soccer Legend
The most successful athletes aren’t necessarily the most gifted—they’re the ones with the best attitude. And as a coach, one of your most important roles is to help your athletes develop a winning attitude, which often boils down to one quality: resilience.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity, to stay strong even in the face of setbacks. It’s what allows athletes to keep pushing forward after a missed shot, a tough loss, or an injury. As a coach, you can cultivate resilience by creating an environment where mistakes are not feared but embraced as opportunities for growth.
Teach your athletes that failure is not an endpoint, but a part of the process. Help them focus on the things they can control: their effort, attitude, and preparation. When you emphasize that resilience is key to long-term success, your players will start to develop a mindset that allows them to thrive under pressure.
Encouraging athletes to set personal goals is another way to foster a resilient attitude. When they set their sights on small, achievable goals, they’ll be motivated to continue improving—even when the path gets tough.