building a winning mentality

German people have for long carried the reputation of efficiency and doing things the right way. it also appears that this is not accidental, and is intentionally inculcated in them while still in their youth. if you are so inclined, you could read the following article about how the German youth football (soccer if you will) teams have turned things around since the early part of this decade.

the point i am trying to convey is aptly driven home in this excerpt - (the coach mentioned here, Matthias Sammer, had a distinguished career as a German international footballer playing 74 games for the national team and captaining the team to the Euro 96 title. his playing career as a midfielder ended soon after with a serious knee injury. he is widely acknowledged as having an insightful and analytical vision and a knack for tactical brilliance.)

The final push probably came in April of 2006, when Matthias Sammer was made the DFB's director of football. He spent large parts of the next years demanding a stronger winning mentality of the junior sides. It seemed to run counter to the prevailing notion that youth football should be about development, not winning, but Sammer felt differently.

"We have explicitly stated that winning titles is our aim in youth football," he said, "because certain character traits are part of the learning curve as well. We cannot just concentrate on conditioning, technical skills and tactics - we have to intensify our focus on a player's personality. Players can build a winning mentality only through experience. Once you've had the experience of winning in youth football, you want to have it again."

this thing about building winners - it goes beyond sport. everyone blanches when you mention competitive kids, because every one of us ran into a couple of them in their own schooling lives and beyond. however, i see a distinct difference between being competitive and being a winner. competitors are people who fight tooth and nail and always give everything they have, and only go down kicking and screaming. winners, however, are an elite level, who always seem to have something more. that little extra splash of gas in the tank for the afterburners on the home stretch. that 'finisher' mentality to seal the deal when doubt starts creeping in.

i think it's important that people win in their lives - this gets the bug in your brain as Sammer notes. character traits are not rigid and can be molded over time, more easily so for the youth. what's best about this is that it's never too late though - you can start changing things right now. however, you need to want this, because if there is any one characteristic that sets winners apart from any other half-witted clowns is the desire for success.