BIG
RED HEAD ZONE
Maine Game: September 3, 2005
Hello,
My name is Jim Meier, long
time Big Red fan, native Nebraskan and lover and player of numerous
sports. Also, one of my professional specialities is serving as a
Sports Psychology Coach. In that spirit, HuskerPedia™ has asked
me to offer a thought or two following each Husker game. These observations,
impressions, tips come are not first hand insights based on discussions
with Husker coaches, players or staff.
My intent is to assist you, as a Husker fan, glean an idea or two
about how you can best assist the team. That said, I've decided to
organize my ideas into four pieces:
THE CRUX: The essential point from the game as I
see it
THE QUOTE: Could be from a player, coach, fan, broadcaster,
Socrates, etc.
MENTAL MUSCLE: Building strength form each game
A HOW TO: A sports psyche tip to better KEEP YOUR
HEAD IN THE GAME
THE CRUX:
Steve Octavien...In my work I teach that three core ingredients must
exist in order to perform very well and be successful: 1) Believe
in Yourself 2) Really, really want it and 3) Do the work! In yesterday's
first quarter Mr. Octavien was THE MAN. He showed passion, intensity,
fury and bounce-back-ability (did you see him get up and team up on
that one tackle). In short he performed like a Husker with Heart with
all three core ingredients. He was HIGH OCTANE. The crux of the crux
is this: Honor Steve by using his energy. If we use his great spirit,
his enthusiasm and his grit as coaches, fellow players and fans ALL
season you'll see some great Husker football. Put Steve Octavien's
picture front and center in your head folks!
THE QUOTE:
"We said all week that we had a ton of respect for Nebraska,
but we came here to win. That was our mind-set."
Ron Whitcomb, Maine quarterback
A question...do you think TCU went into Norman to beat the 3+ touchdown
spread or beat the Sooners?
MENTAL MUSCLE:
Considering the quote above, it seemed clear to me the Maine players
that they carried that mind-set throughout the game. Their body language
spoke volumes. An underdog that doesn't know it is an underdog can
be pesky and prickly as a pugnacious porcupine. It is always useful
to learn from your opponent. I believe the Black Bears believed in
themselves and that is the mental lesson to carry onto Wake Forest
etc. etc.Your job...my job as fans? Chose faith, not doubt...ASSIST
THE BIG RED TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES.
A HOW TO:
In his pre-game interview, Coach Callahan said "...we as coaches
have to help the players trust in the system, trust in their skills
and trust the team..." I agree with him. One way to do this is
to review mistakes only once, see what you did wrong, learn from it
and then get rid of that mental tape...don't store it, don't save
it!
Review what you did well! Go over it time and time again, cross-file
it in your minds many active file and bring it to practices and game
day. I asked myself this hard Husker Fan question..."Was my talk
about the team encouraging and supportive or much less?" I give
myself a "B" vs. the Black Bears. How about you?
Remember you can be a spectator fan or a playing fan. That the beauty
of your brain. And that's why the BIG RED
HEAD ZONE exists.