Which Mental Game Library Book Is Right for Your Player?

I get some version of this question every time someone new finds the Mental Game Library: “which one should I start with?” Fair question — there are three now, and they’re not interchangeable. Here’s how I’d point you, depending on what’s actually going on.

If you’re dealing with a big mistake you can’t shake

The Short Memory is built for the player who drops the pass, throws the pick, misses the tackle — and then can’t stop replaying it for the next three series. It’s the most tactical of the three books: a specific reset process you can actually use between plays, not just an idea about forgetting mistakes. If your problem is one bad rep turning into a bad quarter, start here.

If you’re building a player from the ground up

Mental Toughness for the Football Player is the foundation book — toughness, discipline, playing through discomfort the right way, and the difference between grinding it out and ignoring an actual injury. If you’re handing a book to a player who’s new to competitive football, or a parent who wants their kid’s mental approach built the right way from day one, this is the starting point.

If you’re in the middle of something hard right now

How to Deal With Adversity On and Off the Field is the one for a player going through it in real time — getting cut, getting hurt, a coach relationship that isn’t working, a season that’s gone sideways. It doesn’t ask you to avoid hard moments. It’s about what you actually do the day after one hits.

Coaches: you don’t have to pick just one

Several coaches have told me they hand different books to different players based on what each kid is actually dealing with — the sophomore who just lost his starting job gets a different book than the senior who’s mentally checked out after three losses in a row. That’s exactly how the series was built to be used. All three follow the same format: reflection questions and a weekly challenge after every chapter, so it’s built to be worked through, not just read once.

Every book in the Mental Game Library is a $7.99 instant PDF download.

— Coach Fern