Tangibles of Mental Performance
Steve Young, ex 49er QB provides insightful details of the qualities current 49er QB Brock Purdy brings to the position. Young touches on Purdy’s attention to detail which contributes to high performance pressure success.
Key takeaways that any athlete can apply to their sport:
* Purdy isn’t overrun by adrenaline in games. (Ability to self regulate emotions vs. over activate in stressful situations. Purdy has a consistent record of pairing stressful situations with successfully outcomes. Success isn’t guaranteed as there are events that occur in competition that are beyond an athlete’s control. But the ability to self regulate under stress leans towards a higher percentage of success).
* Over preparation. Example from the interview, Sunday morning prior to the Lions game, Jan. 29th, Purdy was alone on the practice field walking through reads looking at the directions of where the throws go. (Visualization)
* Purdy loves to work on plays. He has a drive to grow as a player and fundamentally commits to the pursuit of improving. One would think this is a given at this level of professional play but not all players have the extra commitment. Aside from basic mental practices Purdy’s skill is supported by an engaged and very capable group of offensive and defensive team-mates. You can be superior at what you do but in team sports it takes a co-ordinated team; head coach, & second level coaches to empower the players to succeed.
There are myriad of sport psychology factors that go along with athletic/team success, but this interview with Steve Young is a compact explanation of how Brock Purdy prepares mentally. It is also an example of how any athlete can bring simple mental performance skills into their training routine.
