By: Chad Wilson – Editor – Gridiron Studs Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds
Have you ever seen the four touchdown underdog storm into a game vs. a bigger and better opponent and take the game over? Have you seen them shock the favorite early on and jump out to an incredible lead? If you have been watching sports for any amount of time, you have certainly witnessed this situation. If you’ve seen it happen then you have undoubtedly witnessed what I am about to unfold next.
The majority of the situations I just described end in this fashion: Underdog comes out fired up and gets the early lead. Some hold it or increase it into the the mid to late stages of the game and at some point it happens. The underdog starts thinking about their history. We aren’t winners they start saying to themselves. We aren’t supposed to be in this position. There’s no way we can beat this team and enjoy this success. Right about that time, the favorite starts making their move. The momentum starts to swing, the underdog begins to fulfill the self doubt despite all of the success they have been having and they get overcome with the adversity. Game, set, match. The underdog did not believe in their future as a winner, they did not feel comfortable being in their position on top despite all of their success and so they fell into their familiar role as the loser.
Have you ever wondered why talented athletes from a clouded circumstance make unbelievably bad choices and derail their futures despite all that they have at stake? The answer may lie in the study of the failed underdog losing a big lead to the favorite. The same factors at work on the underdog team with the big lead are the same factors at work on the talented athlete from the inner city who seemingly has it all. Both of the subjects don’t believe in their future success despite the richness of their current circumstance. I mean really, how do you lose a 28 point lead in the second half? I’ll tell you how. Every year that favorite beats you and does so soundly. Many times in the past you have played teams like this and have been run off the field of play. Once before you even had a lead and gave it away to this team or a team like it. Every year we have a losing record, just like we have this year. Those factors plague the mind of the underdog and do so with more intensity as their lead grows. Why does this happen? The bigger the lead, the more you have to lose. The more you have to lose, the more you think about how you have lost in the past. This type of psychological Russian roulette is played at warp speed and gets you to the chamber with the bullet in it with the quickness. You come from losing, you are not supposed to be successful and so you drop the pass, fumble the ball, miss the tackle and fulfill the prophesy. It didn’t matter that you were successful at all of these tasks for the last two or three quarters.
How do you go breaking into cars one week before leaving to play college football? Or how is it that you commit any assortment of felonies or code of conduct infractions when it is widely known that you have the talent to become a professional athlete or at the very least obtain a college scholarship at no cost? I’ll tell you how. Most everyone in your neighborhood is experiencing some type of obvious failure. You witnessed this failure on daily basis. You may have a large portion of your family members that have fumbled the ball in life. Those that you keep company with have slipped off of the road of life more than a few times. Some of the folks in your day to day life have even had success sitting right in their hands and now they are spending their days sitting on the crate in front of Circle K food store trying to tell people about it. Losing is all around you. It seems to be what happens to people who come from where you come from. In your mind, everyone in your neighborhood, in your circle, wears the same jersey that you do. You are all on the same team and your team just doesn’t win the big game.
I have observed this phenomenon over and over during my 42 years on Earth. It saddens me every time. However, the underdog doesn’t always lose. Sometimes, the underdog gets that lead, keeps that lead and wins the game. Sometimes that inner city athlete goes to college, makes it through, earns his degree or goes pro and never has to pose for the judicial photoshoot. In both cases, there is one overriding factor always and that is belief. A true belief in your future success, in your ability to win, in your right to achieve will beat down the seeds of doubt when they try to sprout a gigantic shade tree. This is true for every team that pulls an Appalachain St. over Michigan type upset and in every athlete from an impoverished background that acquires the American dream.
You want athletes to succeed, get them to believe in their future. Do not assume that because they are highly touted that they are immune to the underdog mentality. In fact, assume quite the opposite. A kid with much to lose is often the one that is most fragile. Dig deep into any upset and you’ll find that someone got that team to believe. It could have been one player on the team, an inspirational speaker, the head coach, a psycho strength coach in tight polyester pants screaming the word believe in their ears with each rep a player took in the weight room that week. You read the biography of any athlete that overcame their circumstance and there was always someone that encouraged them and believed in them. It might be a grandma, an uncle, a coach or believe it or not their parents. How about that?
You want the best for your athletes, first believe in them. Second, get them to believe in themselves. The history of their team is that of being in the losing locker room. Show them and make them believe that there’s a place in the winner’s circle for them too. Developing their physical prowess is nice and necessary but ignore the power of belief and you will be forced to recognize the ramifications of the lack of it.
Chad Wilson is a college football recruiting expert and creator of the GridironStudsApp which allows high school football players to gain exposure to college football coaches and fans. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a former youth and high school football coach for over 15 years most recently for 5-A State of Florida Champs American Heritage. He runs All Eyes DB Camp a defensive back training company located in South Florida IG: @alleyesdbcamp. Wilson’s oldest son Quincy plays in the NFL for the New York Giants and his younger son plays cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals.