The Athlete's Inner Game
Somebody said something about you. Or about this team. Maybe publicly. Maybe it was a media take, a social media comment, a conversation that got back to you. Maybe it was a scout or a coach from another program or just someone who thinks they know more than they do.
And it’s in your head now. Which means we need to talk about it.
Read this passage slowly.
Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.
Proverbs 15:31–32 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
Life-giving correction. That’s the category worth paying attention to. Not all correction is life-giving. Some of it is self-serving. Some of it is inaccurate. Some of it is just noise from people who aren’t close enough to the situation to have a real view.
The skill is sorting. Every piece of criticism that comes your way goes through two filters.
Filter one: who is saying it and do they have standing? The coach who has watched every rep of your preparation has standing. The fan who watched a highlight clip does not. The teammate who has competed alongside you and is naming something real has standing. The anonymous voice on the internet almost never does.
Filter two: is there something true in it, regardless of the source? Sometimes a person with no standing accidentally gets something right. The bias of dismissing all criticism from all sources means you miss those moments. So even when the source is unreliable, check the content.
If something passes both filters — credible source, something true in it — receive it. Apply it. That’s life-giving correction. If it fails both filters, dismiss it entirely and protect your attention.
The athlete who applies this framework stops giving critics power they haven’t earned while staying open to the feedback that actually helps them grow.
The skill isn’t ignoring all criticism. It’s sorting — extracting the signal from the noise.
What’s a piece of criticism you’ve received recently? Run it through both filters. What do you keep and what do you let go?
Apply the framework to a real situation. The specificity makes it useful rather than theoretical.
Filter the criticism. Keep what’s true. Let the rest go.
Best when external voices — media, fans, other coaches — are getting into the team’s head. This gives them a practical tool rather than just permission to ignore it.