Our Team's Mental Acuity and Resilience: Perhaps Look at improving the Sports Psychology staff?

Enhance said:
I feel like it's kind of tough to say that about the newer guys at this point.

I may be mistaken, but despite the massive roster turnover, a majority (or at least a significant portion) of our starters and team leaders the last two seasons were Riley guys. Now, to be clear, I don't think it's much of an excuse. They should be and need to be better. But, we haven't seen a lot of those younger guys really make a significant impact yet. And then ones we have seen (Robinson, Cam Taylor, AM) appear to have a ton of potential still. Even AM.

I think we need to see more of Frost's guys in action and in leadership positions before we start making sweeping generalizations.
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Maybe- but could we have weeded out guys like Legone, Hunt, and Wan’Dale if we were able to take the pick of litter rather then settle for the left overs? Maybe these guys slip through anyway, but that’s 3 (that we know of) guys in one class. 

 
krc1995 said:
Maybe- but could we have weeded out guys like Legone, Hunt, and Wan’Dale if we were able to take the pick of litter rather then settle for the left overs? Maybe these guys slip through anyway, but that’s 3 (that we know of) guys in one class. 
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Wut?  Why would we have weeded out Wan'dale? 

 
krc1995 said:
Maybe- but could we have weeded out guys like Legone, Hunt, and Wan’Dale if we were able to take the pick of litter rather then settle for the left overs? Maybe these guys slip through anyway, but that’s 3 (that we know of) guys in one class. 
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I'm not sure I follow - what do you mean by "weeded out" in this context? Did you mean to put Wan'Dale's name in there?

 
Enhance said:
The mental aspect of sports can be just as important as the physical, and perhaps even more important in a lot of cases.

My problem is - I don't know if an 'expanded sports psychology' department is the answer at the moment. Maybe it is. I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth, but are we speculating whether this is the difference between winning five games vs. 10? It doesn't feel like this is the answer for me.

I guess part of the problem is that Frost has been really damn good at saying the right things so far. We've heard some speeches to the team, we know what he says to us the fans. It has always felt like he gets 'it.' So, perhaps my brain is just having a tough time figuring out why it hasn't clicked for the team. The other problem is that I see a team that just doesn't have a lot of dudes right now - physical, over-powering dudes. It's tough to say whether that's a recruiting issue, an individual talent issue, a development issue, a mental issue, or some combination of everything.
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I don't think anyone is suggesting this is the difference between a 5-win and an 10-win season, nor was the argument to expand, but to look at replacement (especially with a proven commodity that's right up the road in Lincoln). Not sure where these came from. 

Strawmen aside, it's a valid topic, especially since this is the same staff since the Riley days. I don't think this will translate into a 5-win swing (nor do I believe anyone even equated as such), but it does provide the coaches with a stable mental and emotional base to which they can build their program from.

 
Enhance said:
I'm not sure I follow - what do you mean by "weeded out" in this context? Did you mean to put Wan'Dale's name in there?
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I mean not recruited them. And I meant Mo Wash. looks like we need to assess our recruits behavior/emotional domains a little better

Surely having guys like this takes an  motivational toll on the entire team. It’s like being in constant disarray. 

 
VectorVictor said:
I don't think anyone is suggesting this is the difference between a 5-win and an 10-win season, nor was the argument to expand, but to look at replacement (especially with a proven commodity that's right up the road in Lincoln). Not sure where these came from. 

Strawmen aside, it's a valid topic, especially since this is the same staff since the Riley days. I don't think this will translate into a 5-win swing (nor do I believe anyone even equated as such), but it does provide the coaches with a stable mental and emotional base to which they can build their program from.
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Sorry, I should have been more clear - nobody here suggested it would mean a '5-win swing.' That's what I was trying to get across by saying "I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth." I was just trying to gain a better understanding of the discussion and the context for my own benefit.

 
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krc1995 said:
I mean not recruited them. And I meant Mo Wash. looks like we need to assess our recruits behavior/emotional domains a little better

Surely having guys like this takes an  motivational toll on the entire team. It’s like being in constant disarray. 
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It's certainly possible, but some of the best teams in college football history had players who found themselves in trouble with the law. Nebraska has its own history with that. Coaches who want to win will often take risks on players and this isn't just exclusive to Nebraska. It happens at every level.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just not sure I personally can make that leap yet.

 
Enhance said:
It's certainly possible, but some of the best teams in college football history had players who found themselves in trouble with the law. Nebraska has its own history with that. Coaches who want to win will often take risks on players and this isn't just exclusive to Nebraska. It happens at every level.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just not sure I personally can make that leap yet.
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I know it, but 3 from one class is not good and there also is an allegation of an assault by a fourth, although who knows what recruiting class he was in.  Maybe just an statistical outlier.  Recruiting Juco's for awhile might be a is a good deal for us.  More background information on guys and more emotional development without the intense attention and expectation.

And can a team ever be mentally sound when the fan misery index is so high? But the anecdote is only to reduce our expectations, so that's not a great solution.  

 
Maybe it would help if every football player - maybe every athlete - had to attend a moral resonance / reconation class.  Everyone can use a little moral compass development 'the Nebraska way'.

 
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madrat said:
Maybe it would help if every football player - maybe every athlete - had to attend a moral resonance / reconation class.  Everyone can use a little moral compass development 'the Nebraska way'.
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Depends on the subject matter and what one defines as the "Nebraska way". 

 
It's a good opportunity to define that.  The four entrances to Memorial along the cardinal directions are a good start.

 
Once the players have a majority who are mission oriented as to the season as a whole, and feel that way for each play of each game, the Huskers will resemble those of the T.O. era.  It is psychological in nature, yes.  Whether or not some psyche doc brought that about then is subject to question.  Whether or not he allowed for it as he did his job of watching for other things that can creep into the minds of kids that age is more likely, in my opinion. 

I feel it was about the staff and a certain immeasurable quality therein. 

 
Bumping this thread because it’s an aspect of our team and game that needs to be taken seriously—when we have kids that are not disciplined, making mental mistakes, committing penalties time and again, and generally have a poor attitude about playing, sports psychology needs to be included in the discussion. 
 

Is it a singular magic bullet? Hell to the No. But improvements here could help in all facets of the game. And that killer instinct we like to discuss from the 90s? A lot of that was honed by the staff we had (prior to their dismissal before Pelini’s regime). 

 
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