Prior to game time an interesting question to ask yourself and the team would be, why are we going to win?We spend a lot of time preparing for matches, talking strategy and preparing but spend very little time discussing why we are going to be triumphant. Asking your players why they think they will be the victors will lead to many different responses and can help the team get into amore competitive and ready to compete mindset. This exercisecan be useful to teams prior to the match either the night before or pregame.

This can be useful for a couple reasons. First and foremost it can help you see what your players are thinking prior to the match. If it is a positive thought it can be any number of things. They could be thinking that we have put more effort in during practice than anyone else or we are a more tight knit group than they are. These thoughts can help the team come together as a collective prior to the match. It can also work to better motivate some players.

For some players they might not have a good reasonor they might not be in fully motivated. By asking players what their beliefs are as it can help these players get more focusedand feel more confident.

For coaches this can also be usefully in a couple ways. It can show them what their players believeis going well for the team. By knowing this coach’s can then refocus their efforts during practice to better address topics which might need more attentionwhich they might not have previously considered.

Taking time to talk to the team about this can be nothing but beneficial to everyone involved.