How To Practice The Mental Fortitude
1. Imagery exercises: Spend 5–10 minutes daily 
visualizing sport-specific skills. Mentally rehearsing 
the sport before actually stepping back on the field. 
Athletes can picture themselves cutting, jumping, or 
sprinting successfully without pain or hesitation. 
Engage all senses—what you see, hear, feel under-
foot, and even smell (grass, gym, locker room).
2. Controlled exposure: Revisit the field, gym, or 
part of the court where the injury occurred. Start with 
walking, then light drills, and progress toward 
game-like movements. Athletes can revisit the exact 
spot where the injury occurred, to reduce the emo-
tional charge tied to that moment.
3. Journaling: Track emotional highs and lows 
during rehab to recognize progress and spot negative 
patterns early. Reviewing the emotions helps the 
athletes reframe negative self talk into positive self 
talk. 
4. Breathing and grounding techniques: Use 
before practices or rehab sessions to lower perfor-
mance anxiety. These grounding techniques are often 
used as the athlete as the athlete returns back to their 
sport specific drills
5. Goal setting: Break recovery into small, measur-
able steps. Celebrate milestones—first jog, first cut, 
first scrimmage. Coaches are encouraged to celebrate 
milestones with the athlete as a form of positive 
recognition
Signs Your Athlete Is Ready To Return
While medical clearance is essential, true readiness 
blends physical and psychological markers:
Confidence: You can perform sport-specific skills in 
practice without hesitation or constant fear.
Trust in the knee: No longer bracing excessively or 
avoiding certain moves.
Positive imagery: When you picture playing, the 
scene feels exciting—not threatening.
Emotional stability: Anxiety and low mood don’t 
dominate thoughts of returning.
Coach and clinician feedback: External validation 
that both performance and mindset are aligned for 
return.
Conclusion And Resources For Parent And 
Coaches
• National Federation of State High School Associa-
tions
• CIAC 
Medical Care Resources
• UConn's Institute for Sports Medicine
ACL prevention resources
• ACL Prevention for All
• ACL Injury Prevention Tips and Exercises
Mental performance Counseling
• Deep Breaths Counseling
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