Scobel Wiggins Photography

Team
Both of my college teams had a very strong sense of team. Players knew that they were a part of something bigger than just themselves as individuals. At the beginning of last spring, I had everyone on my team pass around a sheet of paper with their name on it and every person wrote down one thing they valued about that person as a teammate. Whenever I felt down last season, that piece of paper reminded me to push through because of the 22 other people I was playing for.

Define Goals
Define specific personal and team goals, with at least one goal being something measurable (E.g. "Complete 90% of my forehands to the open side" v. "improve my forehand"). Having these goals on paper helped the captains and coaches to shape a plan for the season and kept people focused over the course of a long season.

Lead By Example
Don't underestimate how important it is to lead by example. Most of the time, it won't seem like anyone notices the hard work you put in but if you're giving 100% to your team day in and day out, your teammates will want to do the same. Be the first one to practice, the last one to leave, and be the captain who goes the extra mile both on and off the field. If you are your teammates' biggest support, I guarantee that they will want to play harder for YOU.

Adversity
Losing in the game-to-go against Truman State in 2007 was probably the biggest motivator for Texas last year. When you lose a game of that magnitude, you never want to feel that way again, which pushes you to do everything within your power to ensure that. Last season, there were several losses that made me feel that way to a lesser degree (St. Louis at Throwdown, UBC and UW at Stanford, and Oregon at Centex). I think losing games is a part of the development process, but it's important to take something away from those games and use them as motivation.