​1. Passion– You don’t want to play football, lift weights, eat right, work on your footwork and agility because your friends do it, or because you just want to win. You want to compete because you love it, and you’re passionate about it. If you truly love the game of football, then it’s not going to seem like work for you, it’s going to be enjoyable. Bear Bryant, former University of Alabama head Coach said “Losing doesn’t make me want to quit, it makes me want to FIGHT that much HARDER”. He’s saying that he loves the game so much that if the outcome doesn’t turn out in his favor he is willing to work that much harder to master his craft. He takes pride in every detail and aspect of the game.

2. Courage– Having courage helps you feel comfortable taking risks, which is not always the easiest thing to do because sometimes taking risks leads to failures which can cause criticism and self-doubt. But courageous athletes don’t mind the risk of failure, instead, they take risks anyway and try everything they can to make sure that risk is going to lead to success. Former legendary Dallas cowboys head coach, Tom landry, said, “A CHAMPION is simply someone who did NOT give up when they wanted to.” There is always going to be a seemingly endless list of things that could happen if you were to take a risk. That is why it is a risk, but courage means that you are going to ignore the potential negative outcomes and try your best anyways. You need to have courage to really go for it and do something great! 

3. Vision– This means that you literally have the vision of what you want for the future and how you plan on getting there. You’re able to create a long-term goal for yourself, and then set smaller goals to help you work your way up to the long-term goal. Also, literally using visualization is a great tool to help with this. A lot of the Olympic athletes use visualization right before they compete, and it helps them get focused. Muhammed Ali, the infamous boxer, has a quote saying, “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something deep inside of them: a desire, a dream, a vision.” And he’s right, having the vision for what you want in the future is going to help you develop the mindset you need to make that vision a reality.

4. Resilient– Resilience means that you are able to bounce back after a mistake, or setback, or adversity. And a setback could be something as small as not running your best 40 time or being late for practice because you didn’t set your alarm, it could also be something big like turning the ball over in a crucial situation or letting up a big play for a score. But, being resilient means that you’ll still be able to succeed after you’ve experienced those setbacks. A good way to put this one is to think about the old Japanese Proverb that says, “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” It literally means even if you face a challenge, don’t let it stop you. And, even if you overcome that challenge and then face a new one, don’t let that stop you either. There will always be setbacks and we need to be ready to face them head-on. ​

5. Confident- To stay confident in yourself, just focus on all the good things about you and your abilities. If you dwell on past mistakes or shortcomings, then you won’t feel confidence in yourself. Instead, focus on the positive things. Legendary Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz once said “Your TALENT determines what you can do. Your MOTIVATION determines how much you are willing to do. Your ATTITUDE determines how well you do it.” And that’s very true. You could put in countless of hours in practice and training and know all the skills you need to succeed, but if you don’t have the right attitude and aren’t confident in your skills and abilities, then it’s not going to mean as much and you might not be as successful. Always be confident about your skills and in your ability to improve.

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