Dominate with the E.A.T Philosophy: Effort-Attitude-Toughness

We talk a lot with our kids about “dominating the controllables”. Regardless of situation, there are 3 things we can ALWAYS control- our attitude, our effort, and our toughness.  This is a very simple TEAM philosophy that applies to not just our players, but to all of our coaches as well. Everything we do is with effort, attitude, and toughness. I heard about this philosophy a long time ago when I attended a football clinic in New York. Unfortunately, I can’t remember who the speaker was. I didn’t come up with this philosophy, I just adopted it and altered it slightly to fit my beliefs.

These points apply to all coaches and players P

Effort

• Every time we step onto the football field we give great effort. Our effort will stand out on the film.
• Everything we do is with 100% effort. We will always maintain a high compete level. We will also be committed (get to practice).
• No team will work harder than us today.
• We will attack until the whistle is blown. Never quit, be relentless.
• Effort is something we can control. A high effort level is something that clearly stands out.

Attitude

• Every time we step onto the football field we will have a positive attitude.
• We will have a competitive attitude every time we step onto the football field. We do nothing to lose. However, we will be gracious in defeat. We will always play within the rules of the game.
• We will play football with enthusiasm. We will have fun!
• We will have a team-first attitude, nothing comes before the team.
• We will be coachable. Players will listen to their coaches and coaches will listen to their players.

Toughness

• We will be physically tough.
• We will be mentally tough. We will be able to bounce back from difficult situations and RELOAD.
• Many times a person’s thoughts will control their actions. We will have a resilient mindset. This will allow us to bounce back from any set back.
• We will pride ourselves on performing our best when things are at their worst. We will always try to win tough situations.
• There’s no easy way to success, we will not be afraid of hard work.

See Also: The 5 Concepts in Developing a Winning Mentality 

The great thing about this “EAT” philosophy is that it is focused on three mental aspects that we can control. Regardless of knowledge, physical ability, and/or talent level, our effort, attitude, and toughness are all characteristics that we can control. This is a philosophy that applies not to just football, but it applies to life as well. Every single successful person I know does everything with great effort, a positive attitude, and mental & physical toughness.