As I watched CBS’s 60 Minutes on the University of Alabama’s Football program under head coach Nick Saban, there is a reason it is the best in the country.  Having won the national championship 3 out of the last 4 years, it is obvious they put a lot of practice and conditioning during training. One of the unsung heroes of this team has to be their strength and conditioning coach, Scott Cochran.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVFl0j8mwPs]

He makes sure that the Crimson Tide football is beyond ready for the season.  Not only does Scott Cochran get the Tide ready physically, he also gets them ready mentally.  That is especially true in the 4th quarter.  This is where it really counts.  Resilience comes at the end of a hard fought game.  Yes, when the points are high, they it is easy.  That is not what Coach Saban, nor Cochran wants.  They are their to ensure the team is ready at the toughest moments.  That is the truest sign of a champion.

Coach John Wooden of the great UCLA basketball teams he coached were just as resilient.  That was the reason they won 10 championships in a row.

In both cases, Alabama Football under Saban and UCLA Basketball under Wooden, the practice and conditioning were key.  Both programs also developed the mental fortitude to win.  Both programs trained much harder in practice than the effort needed when game time came.  And it showed.

When they practice in such intensity, the pressure of the actual game was nothing.  All they had to do was to implement what they did during practice (making any adjustments during the game) and they are able to succeed.

In any endeavor in life, it is the efforts we put into training ourselves that will help determine the kind of of outcomes when we’re in the arena.  If you practice hard and your mind and body are into it, then you’ll stand a much higher chance of succeeding.  Even if you fall down, you will have the resilience to get back up and keep going.

Leadership lessons from Nick Saban

Just as with both Nick Saban’s Alabama football team and John Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams, conditioning is also key.  Even if you are running a business, the better conditioned you are physically and mentally, the better your efforts will be.  Physical fitness is important for resilience and mindset.  Just as mindset is important in developing physical health.  Both work together.

Start by developing a program of practice and conditioning that will get you ready for success.  Create a “mental map” of what that looks like and then write it down.  Take action on it and then when you are ready through your practice and conditioning, get into the game.  You’ll come out tougher and even develop more know-how on what has worked and what hasn’t.  That is what both Saban and Wooden learned and so can you.

Cheers,

Bob Choat
America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness