Mental toughness drills: 10 you can run at practice tomorrow

What mental toughness drills actually train

The honest version first: no drill makes a kid tough in a week, and the research is younger than most coaching folklore. A 2020 meta-analysis in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine found a large average effect for programs built to train mental toughness, but rated most of the studies (75%) at high risk of bias. The two studies that used physical training alone didn’t build it. The psychology-based programs did better.

So think of toughness as a set of small, trainable habits: reset after a miss, stay on your job under a score, keep skill clean when tired, ignore noise. Each drill below targets one habit. Every one uses gear you already have and fits inside a normal practice.

Four rules before you add pressure

These drills are a form of pressure training: practice with the stakes turned up. A 2026 position statement from Exercise and Sports Science Australia lays out how to do it well. Here’s the coach version.

1. 01

   Teach the tool first

   ESSA says athletes should get a chance to build strategies before pressure training starts. Spend one practice teaching a three-second reset: breath, cue word, ready position. Then test it.

2. 02

   Turn pressure up slowly

   Start with a scoreboard, then add a consequence, then a distraction. Don’t stack all three on day one, and don’t use pressure drills while kids are still learning a new skill.

3. 03

   Explain why and get buy-in

   Tell players what the drill trains. In a 2025 field hockey study, the staff asked athletes beforehand which rewards would motivate them and which consequences would make them anxious, then built the drills from those answers.

4. 04

   Debrief every time

   Two minutes, three questions. ESSA lists debriefing as a core step, and it’s where the habit gets named.

Drills 1 to 4: bounce back after a mistake

1. 01

   1. Next-ball reset

   Setup: any repetition drill (serves, ground balls, shots). After every miss, the athlete does the reset before the next rep. Reps: 3 sets of 10. Cue: “Next ball.” Score: a partner counts seconds from miss to ready position. Goal is under three. Track how many misses are followed by a clean rep.

2. 02

   2. Start-down scrimmage

   Setup: every game starts with your group trailing, such as down 0–3 in volleyball or down 4 with two minutes left in basketball. Reps: 4 short games. Cue: “One point.” Score: points won in the first three plays after the start. Watch body language on the first play.

3. 03

   3. Bad-call scrimmage

   Setup: tell the team you’ll make two or three wrong calls in a 10-minute scrimmage. Then make them. Reps: one scrimmage per week. Cue: “Ref’s call, my job.” Score: a point for every player back in position within three seconds, minus one for any complaint.

4. 04

   4. Win two in a row

   Setup: a team only scores by winning two straight reps or rallies. Lose the second and the count resets. Reps: first to 3 points. Cue: “Again.” Score: count how often a team wins the rep right after losing one. That number is the drill.

For the full method behind drill 1, see how to reset after a mistake and our coach guide to helping an athlete reset after a mistake.

Drills 5 to 7: perform when it counts

ESSA’s examples of ways to create pressure include simulating competitive scenarios, rewards, consequences, distractions and limiting the number of chances. These three drills use them.

1. 01

   5. One shot

   Setup: one attempt per player, whole team watching, with a small team consequence on the result: a free throw, a penalty kick, a first serve, a two-strike at-bat. Reps: 5 rounds spread through practice. Cue: “My routine.” Score: one-shot make rate versus normal practice make rate. The gap is your pressure gap.

2. 02

   6. Scoreboard scenarios

   Setup: put a game situation on a whiteboard. Down 1, 90 seconds left, your ball. Reps: 3 scenarios, two minutes each. Cue: “What’s my job?” Score: a three-item checklist per scenario (right formation, right first action, talked). One point each.

3. 03

   7. Noise reps

   Setup: run a closed skill while teammates make noise, music blares or a coach counts down out loud. No personal insults, ever. Reps: 2 sets of 10 with noise, 1 without. Cue: “Eyes, target.” Score: make rate with noise versus without.

If one-shot reps keep falling apart, the athlete may need a repeatable routine more than more pressure. Build one with the pregame mental routine guide, then read choking under pressure.

Drills 8 to 10: focus and effort when it’s hard

1. 01

   8. Tired finish

   Setup: a short sprint or conditioning burst, then straight into a skill rep: a layup, a cross, a throw to first. Reps: 6. Cue: “Finish clean.” Score: rate each skill rep 1 (sloppy), 2 (OK) or 3 (game-ready). Compare with the same rep fresh.

2. 02

   9. Say your job

   Setup: before each rep, the athlete says their one job out loud: “Hit the seam,” “Eyes on the hip.” Reps: through a full drill block. Cue: the job itself. Score: at random, ask “What was your job?” right after a rep. Correct answer, one point.

3. 03

   10. Hard-rep streak

   Setup: pick a demanding drill and count consecutive reps done at full effort, as judged by a teammate. Reps: one streak per practice. Cue: “This one.” Score: the longest streak. Post the team record and chase it weekly.

All 10 drills at a glance, plus a weekly plan

Don’t run all 10 at once. ESSA warns against pressure training too often. Pick two per week, keep them for two to three weeks, and track the score. The 2020 review found more consistent results from programs that ran longer, so a small habit kept all season beats a one-day toughness camp. For a ready template, use the team mental skills session plan.

Keep the habit going between practices

Drills build the habit at practice. Athletes still need reps on their own. Watch for the athlete whose distress lasts long after practice ends, or who starts dreading the sport. That’s not a toughness problem. Read when a coach should refer an athlete, and point the family to a doctor or licensed mental health professional. In a crisis in the US, call or text 988.

That’s what reset is built for. It’s the mental training app for athletes: short lessons, recorded guidance and an AI Coach, two minutes at a time. Notice. Name. Return. Try a 2-minute reset, or join the waitlist.