By Coach Jim,
There was one drill that always scared the crap out of me. It would reveal my strengths and weaknesses. I felt the eyes of all my teammates and coaches upon me. There was no escaping the spotlight.
It was the open field tackling drill.
What I hated as a player but now love as a coach is that there is no hiding in this drill. The pressure to perform is palatable. You’re on an island by yourself. As you run up to engage, there is lots of time to talk yourself out of making a tackle. It’s only a second, but a hundred thoughts can cross your mind, usually negative.
As a player, you need not only to have good technique, but a quiet mind. You need to have a quiet confidence that you can make this tackle, even with all the eyes upon you.
As a coach, I think it separates the wheat from the chaff. The drill replicates a hard but common game situation, and if a player can the pressure of this drill, then it gives me confidence that the can make a key play with the pressure of the game.
What do you think? What drill help you gauge your players’ mental toughness?
