The Creation of The Grit Book

When I first sat down to write The Grit Book, my initial goal was to create a detailed version of a training journal. Simply put, a place to track daily practices with the ability to reflect on developed skills and lessons learned. Although I still plan to do at some point (in a new and improved way), the purpose of The Grit Book felt bigger than that. When opening this journal, I imagined high school and college-aged athletes not just keeping records of their training, but finding useful takeaways applicable to their athletic and personal lives each time they did. I reminisced on some of the exercises and “homework” my college coach had given me, as well as the ones I asked my athletes to complete throughout my coaching career.

The more exercises I gathered for the book, the more I wanted to share the mental aspect of training and competition and how closely it ties to an athlete's physical skill development. I presumed journaling to be an incredibly powerful and hands-on way to teach some of the more complex, abstract skills in sports psychology. A flood of personal experiences around the lessons I was putting together started to jog my memory. Ultimately, the idea for The Grit Book was born from this moment of realization: by telling my story (the good, the bad, and the ugly), I could teach these concepts in a much more effective manner. It hoped that my experiences would trigger relatability to athletes' personal situations and further convey the necessity of a solid base of psychological skills training.

So, I set out to create the tool I never had but desperately needed. Loose papers my coaches had given to me that I clutched tightly before track meets, the books I stashed away in travel bags to reference on trips, the journals I should have kept but never did, all culminating into one guided journaling book. I pictured athletes of all sports, regardless of experience level and expertise, having a comfort companion and competition buddy that assisted in their peak performance.

It is my hope that The Grit Book gives coaches the ability to provide accessibility and guidance for their athletes in mental skills training, at the same time, arming athletes with the mental mastery necessary to be a top performer. Whether The Grit Book is used in groups or individually, the lessons within have the potential to improve confidence, teach emotional resilience, and increase mental toughness.

-Tiana Wood

ACES Nation VP, Operations & Sport Performance