Today’s (5/22) Strib features a lengthy, front-page, Jeff Day article about our favorite team, mostly about Coach McCutcheon’s focus on the mental aspect of the game.
Anyone who follows any sport knows that mental strength and mental attitude are hugely important to success, especially at higher levels. A high school athlete might be able to dominate on sheer physical superiority; but eventually, successful athletes find themselves competing against athletes just as big and just as athletic as they are, at which point mental strength and attitude become critical.
I recently posted my thoughts re the differences between Varsity and “Club” Sports, mentioning that Varsity Coaches are paid a lot more, and that Varsity Athletes are generally on scholarship. But I glossed over the implications for coaching the “mental game.”
I’ve long known the importance of the mental aspect of sports, but when I was coaching the Gopher Men’s and Women’s Club Water Polo Teams, I rarely had time to address it. I had a full-time job outside of WPolo; coaching was a “side-hustle” at best (really, just a “hobby”) and the athletes were truly students-first. I “had” (i.e., worked with) my athletes about 6 hours a week (in season); so individual and team skill-development were pretty much my sole focus. Even conditioning was left largely to the students, and except for confidence-building, the occasional pep-talk, or some sort of crisis, I had little time to address the “mental game.”
(I wasn’t a big pep-talker, I probably should have done more of it, but I gave a few. One example was when my City Of Lakes (Mpls) 16-U VBallers lost the first set to a suburban team I thought we should beat. Between sets, I pointed out, to my diverse, somewhat ragged team, that not only was everyone of our opponents blonde, they had matching ponytails and even matching hair-ties. “Are we,” I demanded, “going to lose to a team with matching hair-ties?” We did not.)
Obviously, there is a lot more to helping athletes with mental preparation than the occasional Win-One-For-The-Gipper speech. And Gopher Varsity Coach McCutcheon has his athletes 20 hours a week, including during a lengthy off-season. Strib-writer Day does a nice job of capturing McCutcheon’s approach to the “mental game,” which is clearly an important element of his success, including related quotes from some of the incoming freshmen.
As much as I am thrilled by any and all VBall coverage by our local media, it doesn’t seem as though Day, a “junior” reporter, actually knows much about VBall. And I doubt we would have seen today’s story if the Wild or the Wolves were still alive in the playoffs – but that’s how journalism works.
(I don’t think I’ve shared the story of how I got involved in Water Polo: During the summer before I started college, I worked with this guy already at the U, who offered to show me around, including an introduction to the Sports Editor of the MN Daily. I had brief dreams of interviewing Lou Hudson and Carl Eller, but with zero journalism experience I was assigned to write a story about the Water Polo Team. I had never even heard of Water Polo – so my story had the same mouth-gaping feel as Days’ VBall story in today’s Strib. The Daily, in 1965, had higher standards than the 2022 Strib, so I had to rewrite it 3 times. At which point I decided that playing Water Polo looked more interesting than writing about it.)
GLENN ENTERS PORTAL
Reader D.S. calls our attention to Natalie Glenn entering the transfer portal. I previously described Glenn as a talented athlete, but one who I ranked #5 on the depth chart for one of two left-side hitter positions. So hardly a surprise. We wish Glenn well as she pursues a VBall career somewhere else.