Mind Gym

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

The most important attribute a player must have is mental toughness.

—MIA HAMM

Competitive toughness is an acquired skill and not an inherited gift.

—CHRIS EVERT

When Joe Bugel coached the Arizona Cardinals, the highest praise he could bestow upon a player was to call him an “LTG,” short for Legitimate Tough Guy. An LTG is a fierce competitor, a battler, an athlete who looks at pressure as a challenge, who refuses to lose, and never, ever quits. An example of an LTG in another sport is the soccer player who once had the ball stolen during a scrimmage. As the defender turned upfield, the player who lost the ball began yanking on the thief’s jersey and didn’t let go until he fell to the ground, his shirt half off. He lay there, ...