Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness
@coachajkings • 46,573 subscribers
Process Performance | Systems Thinking | Industrial Engineer Obsessively research mental performance - organized 1000+ insights for coaches/athletes.
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![Kalen Deboer said, "One of our maxims is to have a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement." It means eliminating complacency. Complacency erodes your discipline. • It stunts growth. • It undermines progress. [THREAD] 🎥The Winning Difference](https://image.24vids.com/tw-1819130510909603945/amplify_video_thumb/1769812208471683072/img/HEfaDWc4K5YYZ31g.jpg)
Videos
Kenny Dillingham delivers a raw message on excellence and what average really looks like. "It was a really, really bad day on offense. And it all stems from the passion we play with." "Is it okay to not make a play? And if you accept it, then you accept it and that's who you're gonna be." Then he laid out the truth: "Don't be mad going 5-7. It's okay. Don't be mad going 6-6. Don't be mad going 3-9. 'Cause somebody has to go those records. There's gonna be tons of teams who do it. Why not us?" If you accept average, you'll become average. "We didn't practice bad - we didn't practice with passion." "The best teams - it matters all the time. You wanna win everything. And today we didn't have that mindset." They look to compete every single day. They win because they have a winning mindset. "We didn't wanna win. We wanted to practice. And those are 2 different mindsets to me." Then he dropped the line: "It was a good practice for a bad team. It was an average practice for an average team. That's what today was." This is what the mindset of excellence looks like: "We didn't practice with passion." → Good isn't good enough. "It matters all the time." → Standards never take a day off. "It was a good practice for a bad team." → Champions demand more. (🎥Justin LaCertosa)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness206,021 views • 2 days ago
Mike Brown shares a simple but powerful definition of winning in life. "Even if you don't have the quote unquote ultimate success that you think you deserve - if you get knocked down in life and you're able to get back up and keep fighting - that's a fricking win." "Most of our guys have probably had to go through that. But I think most people in the world have to go through it." Success isn't always the result - sometimes it's just refusing to stay down. It's choosing to endure, get back up, and keep fighting. Successful people are relentless. (🎥SNY )
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness942,501 views • 4 months ago
Tom Brady shares the advice that changed his career and his mindset. He was at Michigan - he was only getting 2 practice reps while the starter got 20. He was complaining to sports psychologist Greg Harden: "How can I ever get better? All these guys get all the reps and I only get 2." Greg's response changed everything: "Just go in there and focus with the 2 that you got and make them as perfect as you possibly can." Focus on what you can control. So that's what he did. "They'd put me in for those 2. Man, I'd sprint in there like it was Super Bowl 49. 'Let's go boys! Here we go! What play we got?'" "I did really well with those 2 'cause I brought enthusiasm, I brought some energy, and I had a little more confidence in myself." You don't get what you want in life - you get what you earn. It starts with showing up and earning it every single day. "It went from 2 reps to getting 4 reps because those 2 were pretty good. Then I had 4 good reps. Then I got 10 good reps." You can always try to lead the team in effort, attitude, and perspective because it takes no talent. Then he shared the mindset shift: "Focus on what you can control. Focus on what you're getting, not what anyone else is getting. Whenever you get an opportunity, you take advantage of it. You treat it like it's the Super Bowl." Stop complaining about what you don't have. Dominate what you do. Opportunity doesn't care about fairness - it rewards how ready you are. (🎥PBD Podcast )
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness38,893 views • 5 days ago
Billy Donovan shares a lesson that changed how his players thought about winning. At Florida, he had a manager track how long the ball was in each player's hands during a game. He asked one of his starters: "How many minutes do you think you had the ball in your hands for the game?" The player said 15 minutes when he had played 30. The real numbers? "A backcourt player, for the most part, is probably 92% of the game gonna be played without the ball in their hands. A frontcourt player - 95% of their minutes is gonna be played without the ball in their hands." Think about that. You're playing without the ball almost the entire game. "It's amazing to me how many players focus on points, points, points. That's what goes on ESPN. That's what gets the highlights." "But if you're gonna strictly talk about winning and you're really driven and motivated by winning and competing and being a good teammate, you have to look at the fact is -- what am I doing with my 92, 93, 94, 95%?" "Am I screening? Am I running the floor? Am I on the floor for loose basketballs? Am I rebounding? Am I taking a charge?" "There's so many ways to impact the game with the amount of time you're on the floor when the ball's not in your hands." This is what separates good players from winning players. You control how you show up. You control your attitude. You control your effort. Great teammates master what they do when no one's watching - and when the ball isn't in their hands. Winning isn't about the glamour. It's about the 95%. (🎥Coaching U ) (🎥Brendan Suhr)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness1,435,014 views • 9 months ago
Rick Pitino was asked what stops people from being great. His answer was one word. "Ego stops greatness. I call it edging greatness out." "In a spiritual sense, ego is edging God out. But ego is edging greatness out." And he made a key distinction: "I'm not talking about confidence. You have to be a confident person." "But ego really gets you to where you think you've arrived. You think you know it all. You stop learning. You stop listening." That's the trap. Confidence keeps you hungry. Ego convinces you that you've already made it. You lose your hunger and humility. "Learning and listening are important for great leaders. Great leaders have to listen and they have to continue to learn and surround themselves with people that are better than them." EGO = Edging Greatness Out The moment you think you've arrived is the moment you stop growing. Stay confident. Stay humble. Never stop learning. (🎥Lewis Howes)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness147,677 views • 29 days ago
Nick Saban warns against the biggest enemy to continued success. "Complacency...when you get satisfied - it creates a blatant disregard for doing the right things." "You start to resent the very things that got you where you were." You no longer pride yourself in hard work and earning it. "We pride ourselves in hard work. Then it becomes: 'I resent that. I resent the hard work that you're making us do.'" "'Why do I have to do this? I just had a great month. I just sold however many cars. We won so many games. Why do I have to do this?'" That's the trap. You start questioning the process that built you. Then he dropped the truth: "Success is momentary. It's not continuous. It's right then - this is what you did - that's over and done with." "You better be where your feet are and move on to the next one." "Because when you are successful, you just become the target." Success doesn't protect you - it exposes you. It's a continuous process. You have to keep earning it. This is why people tell you to stay hungry and stay humble because you can't resent the work that got you there. (🎥CBT Automotive )
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness66,004 views • 13 days ago
Kurt Warner shares the lesson that changed his entire career and it applies to everything. He sat on the bench for 4 years in college. When a friend asked the coaches why he wasn't playing, the answer wasn't what he expected: "The reason I wasn't playing was because I was not very good in practice." His first reaction? Allen Iverson mode. "Practice? What're you talking about, practice?" But then he did the math. "In college we play 12 games in 365 days. In the NFL we play 16 games in 365 days." That's less than 5% of your year. "95% of our lives are lived in practice. And the biggest impression we make on people, the way people can understand and really realize who we are, is what we do every day in practice." This is the 95% Rule. And it applies to everything - sports, business, relationships, life. 1: Show Up With Your Best Effort - Compete and give your best every single day. People can't question how you show up - your effort, attitude, and actions. Consistency removes doubt. 2: Trust Is Built In Practice, Not Games - Trust is earned in the thousands of moments before it's given. Before you can be trusted, people want to know you're dependable. Every day. Not just when it matters. 3: Master Daily Consistency - Success isn't about intensity - it's about consistency. Your habits compound. What you do daily defines who you become. 4: Big Moments Are Earned In Small Moments - The little details make the biggest difference. Greatness starts with preparation - it's earned in the boredom of doing the work when no one's watching. Excellence isn't an event - It's a habit. Practice is where trust is built. How you show up daily is who you really are. (🎥 Passing the Torch Podcast) (🎥 Kurt Warner)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness1,272,119 views • 9 months ago
Tom Brady shares the advice that changed his career and his mindset. He was at Michigan - he was only getting 2 practice reps while the starter got 20. He was complaining to sports psychologist Greg Harden: "How can I ever get better? All these guys get all the reps and I only get 2." Greg's response changed everything: "Just go in there and focus with the 2 that you got and make them as perfect as you possibly can." Focus on what you can control. So that's what he did. "They'd put me in for those 2. Man, I'd sprint in there like it was Super Bowl 49. 'Let's go boys! Here we go! What play we got?'" "I did really well with those 2 'cause I brought enthusiasm, I brought some energy, and I had a little more confidence in myself." You don't get what you want in life - you get what you earn. It starts with showing up and earning it every single day. "It went from 2 reps to getting 4 reps because those 2 were pretty good. Then I had 4 good reps. Then I got 10 good reps." You can always try to lead the team in effort, attitude, and perspective because it takes no talent. Then he shared the mindset shift: "Focus on what you can control. Focus on what you're getting, not what anyone else is getting. Whenever you get an opportunity, you take advantage of it. You treat it like it's the Super Bowl." Stop complaining about what you don't have. Dominate what you do. Opportunity doesn't care about fairness - it rewards how ready you are. (🎥PBD Podcast )
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness759,389 views • 6 months ago
Maxx Crosby (Maxx Crosby) shares the framework that changed how he approaches his career and his life. "One of the greatest coaches I've ever been around is Rob Marinelli and Rich Bisaccia. They helped me grow as a person and as a player probably more than anybody I've ever been around in the NFL." They taught him the microscope and the telescope. "The microscope is the day-to-day. That's the most important. Over 90% of the time, you're focused on the microscope." "The telescope is the future - 2 to 3 years from now. What's your ultimate goal? What do you see yourself becoming? How am I gonna get to that point?" "You just peek at that from time to time. You think about it at night a little bit, you think about it in the morning, think about it after a workout. Like, 'That's why I did that. That's why I push myself 'cause I'm getting to that.'" "But majority of the time, I'm in the microscope." The telescope gives you direction. The microscope gives you progress. Then he connected it to something deeper: "That's another big thing I learned in sobriety. It's cliché, but at the end of the day, it's how I live my life. One day at a time. All that matters is being here and being where my feet are." "I'm not worried about the future. I'm not worried about the past. I'm just worried about right now." Don't get caught up in the past or worry about the future because the present moment is the only place where we can truly make a difference. "I've learned and realized that I can be so much more productive just by being present instead of worrying about, 'Oh shit, where do I go next?' Just be where you're at." 90% microscope. 10% telescope. It comes down to focus and where we focus that energy. (🎥 Ultimate Human Podcast with Gary Brecka)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness143,277 views • 1 month ago
Bill Belichick shares the 3 things he saw in Tom Brady that made him great. "His talent was okay. But he was very smart, he loved football, and he worked extremely hard." "Day after day after day after day, he just kept improving." Brady came in as the 4th string quarterback - but talent wasn't what separated him. It was love for the game. Intelligence. And relentless work ethic. Talent gets you noticed. But these three things make you great: 1. Love what you do - Make it more than a job. Make it your calling. 2. Be a student of your craft - The smartest players see what others miss. 3. Outwork everyone - Day after day after day. No shortcuts. No days off. "That's where he was, but he became great." (🎥 The Deal Podcast with Alex Rodriguez)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness1,077,020 views • 9 months ago
Bill Parcells shares the difference between winners and losers. "Losers assemble in little groups and complain about the coaches and the players in other little groups." "But winners assemble as a team." Winners don't point fingers and they don't make excuses. They dedicate themselves to personal excellence and team excellence. They commit to the team, bringing a positive attitude, and doing the work. (Quote referenced from Emlen Tunnell)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness265,558 views • 2 months ago
Ben McCollum shares what it feels like to be around first-place people and a first-place culture. "I went to Northwest Missouri State, and my first practice with Steve Tapmeyer - best coach I've ever been around - I sat there and I'm like, 'This is what first place feels like. This is what a first-place culture feels like. This is what first-place people feel like.'" That was the wake-up call. He realized what first-place people have: "They've got an extreme work ethic. They've got an edge to 'em that other people don't - a competitive spirit." Then he quoted John Thompson: "You can tame a fool a lot quicker than you can resurrect a corpse...We want guys with a little edge to 'em." You can coach skills, but you can't coach competitive spirit. You don't want to consistently coach their effort and attitude. The last thing they look for: Energy givers. "Over the years, we found that guys that are moody don't make it in our program." "If you're moody, if you have low energy, if you suck the life out of the building - you don't make it." Talent isn't enough. Your energy matters. Your attitude matters. Successful people have a competitive edge, they bring energy, and they look to consistently get better. They raise the standard through what they do. (🎥 Watts Happening Podcast)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness732,373 views • 6 months ago
Darren Sproles shares the moment they laughed at him and how he answered with a successful 14-year NFL career. He was an All-American at Kansas State. Their all-time leading rusher. Then came the NFL Combine. "They called his name and he stood up there. They said, '5'6".' Step on the scale. 170. They laughed at me." "They told me if I was 5'8" or 5'9", I would have been a top five pick...The hardest part was seeing running backs go that you knew you were better than." They laughed. But he got drafted in the 4th round and went to work. "Got to start from the bottom again. And he carved out a niche in the NFL." "Whenever someone tells me that I can't do something, I'm gonna work extremely hard to prove to you that I can." He showed up every day doing the work and choosing to earn it. "I want to be remembered as declaring that I gave everything." Here's the thing about doubt: it only has power if you give it power. They can measure your height, weight, and 40 time, but they can't measure your heart, belief or commitment. Your belief in yourself has to be stronger than their doubt in you. (🎥Philadelphia Eagles | Darren Sproles)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness805,719 views • 7 months ago
Kobe Bryant explains why self-negotiation is the enemy of greatness. "You just got to say: I'm not negotiating with myself. The deal was already made." "The deal was made when I set out at the beginning of the summer and said this is the training plan I'm doing. I signed that contract with myself. I'm doing it." Commitment is a choice. And the voice in your head will always try to give you an out. You have to be greater than your self-talk and your excuses. "Throughout that process you'll start talking to yourself like: man, I think I need to maybe... Nope. No. It's non-negotiable." Make the commitment. Honor the commitment. No exceptions. (🎥Jay Shetty Podcast)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness849,884 views • 9 months ago
Kobe Bryant shares why most teams get practice wrong and what Phil Jackson taught him about preparation. "Practices are meant to be competitive. If your practices aren't more competitive than the games themselves, you're doing the wrong thing." That's the standard. How you prepare is how you are going to play. "Most of these teams and coaches have gotten into a mindset of resting players. 'Oh, it's too much. We're not gonna practice.' Light day, light day, light day." "Phil never gave us a light day. There was no days off. You show up and you work. You practice." You show up and do the work. No excuses or shortcuts. "Practices are going to be worse. They're gonna be more physical. There's gonna be more trash talking." "And I'm gonna let you know. If you didn't show up today, I'm gonna let you know. And it's gonna be embarrassing, and you're gonna hate it." Then he explained why it all mattered: "But when Game 7 rolls around in the NBA Finals, you will be prepared." That's the tradeoff. Hard now, easy later - or easy now, hard later. You don't rise to the moment. You fall to the level of your preparation. (🎥 The Corp)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness71,298 views • 23 days ago
Rick Pitino was asked what stops people from being great. His answer was one word. "Ego stops greatness. I call it edging greatness out." "In a spiritual sense, ego is edging God out. But ego is edging greatness out." And he made a key distinction: "I'm not talking about confidence. You have to be a confident person." "But ego really gets you to where you think you've arrived. You think you know it all. You stop learning. You stop listening." That's the trap. Confidence keeps you hungry. Ego convinces you that you've already made it. You lose your hunger and humility. "Learning and listening are important for great leaders. Great leaders have to listen and they have to continue to learn and surround themselves with people that are better than them." EGO = Edging Greatness Out The moment you think you've arrived is the moment you stop growing. Stay confident. Stay humble. Never stop learning. (🎥Lewis Howes )
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness611,182 views • 7 months ago
Everyone remembers MJ’s shot... But the timeout before it - that's when Dean Smith won the game. Roy Williams called it the "greatest timeout in the history of sports." Here’s exactly what Dean Smith told his team. It's the 1982 national title game and UNC trailed Georgetown by 1. Dean Smith called timeout. As the players walked to the bench, Roy Williams saw fear in their eyes. For the first time all year, he thought: "Oh my gosh… we might lose." But Coach Smith didn’t flinch. He knelt down and calmly said: "This is exactly where we want to be." Then he laid out each scenario - confident, clear, composed: Look for the lob. If it’s not there, drive and kick. Miss? We’ll get the rebound. If they rebound, we foul and they won’t make the FTs. In less than 60 seconds, Smith had shifted the energy. • Fear turned to focus. • Panic turned to poise. • Doubt turned to belief. The players left the huddle locked in. Then Coach Smith turned to MJ and said: "Michael…if you get it, knock it in." You know the rest...Jordan got it, pulled up, and drained it. UNC took the lead. Then James Worthy sealed it with a steal, and UNC won the national title. MJ's legend began - but it wasn't just the shot. It was the belief before the shot. This is a masterclass in pressure leadership. Your team will mirror your body language, your tone, and your belief. 1: Your team feels your energy. 2: Confidence comes from clarity. 3: Great leaders steady the room. Dean Smith didn’t just draw up a play - he passed them poise. 📌The quotes from this post come from Roy Williams' interview on the Way of Champions podcast. A must-listen for all coaches, leaders, and athletes out there.
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness32,188 views • 10 days ago
Dawn Staley shares the question every recruit should ask and almost none of them do. "Everybody's good on the good days. It is who you can trust, who you can talk to and communicate with on your worst day." Then she explained what she tells every recruit: "We're gonna make you feel good during the recruiting process. You're gonna come here, we're gonna roll out the red carpet, we're gonna give you our best. Everybody's gonna do that." Every program shows you their best - that's the easy part. But it comes down to trust. "I want you to think about if it's 2 or 3 years down the line, when you in a slump, or when you lost a parent, or you broke up with a boyfriend, or whatever - Who's gonna get you back on course to be your talented self?" That's the real question. Not who recruits you the hardest, but who do you trust? And who do you believe will commit to you and your future? Everyone looks good when things are easy. The real test is who shows up when things get hard. (🎥TheOldManAndTheThree )
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness511,394 views • 6 months ago
Rick Pitino shares how a Wall Street legend changed the way he recruits. When Pitino asked Mario Gabelli where he found his best talent...University of Chicago? Harvard? Wharton? - Gabelli's answer surprised him: "No. I look for PhDs - Poor, Hungry, and Driven people." Pitino adapted it for his players: Passionate. Hungry. Driven. 1. Passionate - They love the work, not just the results. You can't teach passion - it's either there or it isn't. 2. Hungry - They show up and do the work consistently - they're never satisfied. They outwork, outprepare, and outlast. 3. Driven - They have direction. They don't wait to be pushed - they take ownership of themselves, their actions, and their attitude. Three three traits that compound over time. (🎥 ISSA/INTERCLEAN Conference 2014)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness723,472 views • 9 months ago
Tom Brady shares what he tells every college athlete he meets and it's not what they expect. "I hope this experience is hard for you. I hope it's not easy." "I hope today in this game you're losing in the 4th quarter and you look at each other in the eye and try to figure out solutions to how you're gonna win the game." "That's how you're gonna find out what you're made of." You find out who you are when you are challenged. Expect adversity. Expect tough moments. "Life is hard. The challenges of life are hard." "This program is hard. It's built on toughness. It's built on resilience. And that's what I wanna see from this team." You can't wish for easy or hope for easy. Adversity is a gift if you let it be. (🎥 Fox)
Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness337,652 views • 4 months ago