Coach to Coach: Turning Up the Heat – Eight Suggestions for Creating Your Best Summer Ever

While often a challenge, the elements of summer (extreme heat, players not being in school, having too much free time, not having transportation to activities) provide a great opportunity to create a mentally and physically stronger team. Mental toughness is only built when conditions are difficult, and extreme weather, such as summer heat, creates a great opportunity to build mental toughness. Here are some tips for creating strong minds, bodies, and team chemistry this summer.Set Motivational ExpectationsGoing into the summer is a great time for individual meetings. Feel free to spread the responsibility among position coaches. Start with an open ended conversation about a player’s own goals before honestly sharing your own expectations for him. If you set goals for him that are higher or different from what he set himself, that’s not a problem at all. Simply explain why you have