Navy SEALs push CIAA athletes to get mentally tough
Navy SEALs push CIAA athletes
to get mentally tough
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Five teams
of Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association athletes hit the
water and scaled walls as part of their training in April at the
U.S. Navy SEALs’ Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in
Virginia Beach, Va.
Chowan University, St. Paul’s College, Bowie State
University, St. Augustine’s College and Virginia State
University players all got a taste of the rigors of training with
the SEALs in a 12-foot-deep, Olympic-size pool and on the Naval
Special Warfare Group 2 Confidence Course, a 17-station land
obstacle course.
The training—part of a “Mental Toughness, Never
Quit” campaign conducted by the SEALs for CIAA
schools—occurred April 16-17. The event was a follow-up to
on-campus seminars at the CIAA schools in February and March.
The “Mental Toughness, Never Quit” program, focusing
on schools in the CIAA—the nation’s oldest black
athletic conference, established in 1912—was developed as
part of the Naval Special Warfare’s effort to attract top
minority talent. More than 1,000 athletes from 11 schools attended
the on-campus “Mental Toughness” seminars.
The goal of “Mental Toughness, Never Quit”—which
includes goal-setting, visualization, positive self talk and 4x4x4
breathing skills—is to provide valuable training to athletes
while making them aware of potential career opportunities within
the SEAL Teams. The SEALs provided players with a unique look into
how mental preparation is essential to winning.
Navy SEALs are a special breed of warrior who conduct special
operations in any environment, but who are uniquely trained and
equipped to operate from, around and in maritime areas. SEALs take
their name from the environments in which they are trained to
operate: sea, air and land. Their small highly trained teams
usually work quietly at night conducting some of the nation's most
important missions. SEALs are constantly deployed throughout the
world to protect U.S. national interests.
