Play Like a Champion Today
by Abby Wilkerson
Some touch a rock, some touch a sign. Some touch a statue, and others touch a picture. Touch traditions have long been a source of pride for college football programs, but it serves as something so much more. For the players, pregame contact not only fires them up and unifies them as a team, it also focuses their minds on the task ahead.
Sports psychologists suggest that this kind of consistent mental preparation and pregame focus leads to greater performance consistency. While fewer than half of the 120 BCS teams have touch traditions, the past six national champions do.
Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz is credited with reviving the “Play Like a Champion Today” sign that serves as the touch tradition for the Fighting Irish.
“Regardless of the won-loss record, regardless of the problems you have, when you walk out on that field you have an obligation to your teammates and the fans to play to the best of your ability – to play like a champion and to think like a champion,” said Holtz.
According to Dr. Patrick J. Cohn, president and founder of Peak Performance Sports, pregame preparation has four purposes: (1) to get physically ready, (2) to focus the mind, (3) to instill confidence, and (4) to help you trust in your abilities.
Since my beloved Dawgs don’t have their own touch tradition, I’m thinking about hanging the “Champion” sign above the door to my office – something to focus my thoughts on the task at hand and create a consistent routine to help get into the mindset for success.
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Great post Abby. It’s a mind set that you must set before you start.
John Maxwell says in “Talent is NEVER enough” that preparation positions your talent.
“What happens when you don’t prepare? Things you hoped won’t happen do happen – and they occur with greater frequency than the things that you hoped would happen. The reason is simple: being unprepared puts you out of position. Ask athletes what happens when they’re out of position. They lose.” –John Maxwell
Posted at 11:53 am on December 7th, 2009
Abby, since we share an office, I’m totally for hanging the sign. And I may have to come up with a touchdown dance for us too! Maybe we can do it as we share our wins in traffic.
Posted at 4:41 pm on December 7th, 2009
We coud all slap the deer head. His name isn’t champ for nothing. Abby can you get Jeff to donate one for the ATL office?
Posted at 6:57 pm on December 7th, 2009
Having a visual reminder that pumps you up is a great idea. I can see using it when I’m working on things that are energy draining vs energy producing. Gee – now what could that be?
Posted at 2:10 pm on December 15th, 2009