If strength, speed and endurance are the foundation for high performance then focus, confidence and your mental game is the cement firmly holding it together.
Athletes know why they ought to follow a specific training model, the best strategy to improve performance, and the plan to put it ... Views: 1361
Anything can happen and everything does happen during the NBA Playoffs. The Miami Heat are hot! They have prepared for the worst and are pulling out all the stops. The winning determination of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James is scoring points on the court.
The Heat’s dream team was originally a ... Views: 1571
Stepping out of your comfort zone is the norm for competitive athletes. Highly motivated athletes are expected to train harder, perform better for optimal results. High performance is easiest under ideal conditions.
If you’ve been competing for any length of time, you know conditions are not ... Views: 1303
Brainstorming is the popular approach to discover creative new ideas. We’ve all been in team meetings where you’ve been encouraged to share your thoughts, no matter how trivial they might seem, without any judgment from others. Just get your idea out uncensored, share it with the group, because ... Views: 1646
Too frequently triathletes are told by their coaches to ignore what is going on around them. The coaches who tell you to just not do it are unaware of the power of habit. Following the crowd, going out too fast because of the other athletes around you, is a symptom of a habit. Under pressure, ... Views: 1294
"While this is tough, I am a whole lot tougher." James Loehr
How fast you go out at the beginning of a race is a personal decision. Some athletes end up giving away that control without even realizing what they’re doing. Quickly you are caught up in the energy of those around you. When you ... Views: 1355
Pre-race jitters are brutal. The confidence gained during practice quickly disappears. It’s replaced by all sorts of crazy thoughts along with feeling out of sorts.
Athletes from all sports are prone to pre-performance anxiety during their competitive career. The anxiety cycle prior to the ... Views: 2244
What if failure and winning go hand in hand similar to peanut butter and chocolate? At first glance it appears to be an odd match. So many highly talented athletes needed to experience failure in order to become great. Whether it is in sports, business or life, failure is necessary for the ... Views: 1569
Serious competitive athletes realize there is no room for distraction if they want to win events. Developing laser focus is possible, can be done and is necessary for reaching your BIG goals. When you are training for high performance unbreakable concentration is required. Consciously training ... Views: 1449
Most athletes who train to compete spend most of their time preparing for ideal situations. Well if you have been competing long enough you know that eventually you will hit a perfect storm. I’m not talking about where everything works out just as you expected. What I mean is you are going to ... Views: 2225
You are the average of the people you spend the most time with. As an athlete how do you feel when you think about the other players on your team? Notice how it feels in your body when you think that thought. Are you sensing tightness or expansion in your body? The feeling you are having is an ... Views: 1226
When you remove all the fluff and get down to the nitty gritty, coaching is primarily about feedback. How you get coached, the quality and quantity of feedback, is important. Too much feedback, or criticism without corrective suggestions, eventually backfires.
Frequently athletes can’t ... Views: 1455
You have trained long and hard for this event. Today’s the big day. Your moment of truth. Will it all come together as you have dreamed?
Or will those doubtful nagging thoughts begin to appear, slowly chipping away at your confidence. Your anxiety rises as the time for your event approaches. ... Views: 1236
Where does your focus stray when competing? You can be completely focused, totally distracted or somewhere in-between. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like you have a choice, when your head is swimming with all the “what-ifs” and last minute details. Not being laser focused, however, is usually due to ... Views: 1324
I love it when someone accuses me of playing like a girl because these days’ girls play a lot tougher than when I was growing up. Title IX was just making an impact on athletic programs when I was in school. In 1972 when Title IX, a federal law requiring high schools and colleges that receive ... Views: 1603
In school sports athletes are sometimes put in positions which are new to them. They have been playing among peers for a long time, become comfortable, and then they move up to a new level of play. Some athletes love change and the challenges associated with it. Other athletes, however, have a ... Views: 1622
Why do some athletes succeed where other’s fail? Although it sounds like an easy question the answer is not always obvious. Athletes prone to failure are likely to get caught up in a trap where they cycle through periods in their career where progress grinds to a screeching halt. When you are ... Views: 1233
Can an athlete think too much? Well, yes and no. It depends on the time and place. Talk to any athlete whose under-performing. They will admit too many thoughts interfere with sports performance.
During high pressure moments of a competition, racing thoughts, critical thoughts or too many ... Views: 3696
No two coaches are alike. There is the good, the bad and everything in between. It takes more than knowledge, skills and experience to coach effectively. A coach’s style develops with time. Some are excellent at motivating their athletes. And others can turn into an athlete’s worst nightmare. ... Views: 1406
Focus. For elite athletes that is the name of the game. Focus is the biggest gap among competitors. The test appears during the most stressful conditions, during competition. Why? Well, it is easier to focus when you are practicing. The situation is a lot more relaxed with reduced pressure. It ... Views: 1459
Let’s face it, beginning something new is one of the toughest things to do. The routine is not established yet and you have to deal with the learning curve, figuring out what works and what does not work.
A common New Year resolution is to begin an exercise routine at the gym. Usually when ... Views: 1466
Athletes and rituals go hand in hand. They offer familiarity and comfort. Rituals go the whole gamut from unusual to bizarre. Dunking a hockey stick blade in the locker room toilet before a game, wearing the same shorts under a uniform, bouncing the ball a specific number of times or chewing ... Views: 1518
What’s the downside to being an athlete? Should athletes be educated about the possible long term impact their sport could have on their body as well as quality of life down the road? And whose responsibility is it anyway?
The fact is that many athletes, regardless of the level they are ... Views: 1379
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it”. Michael Jordan
Getting sick is never convenient. Athletes pride themselves on being healthy and fit. Aside from injury, dealing with the flu ... Views: 1457
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
Henry Ford
Albert Pujols is BIG news right now. His declaration as a free agent led to a lucrative contract. He will be moving west to join the Los Angeles Angels ball club.
The St. Louis ... Views: 1335
"Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it." - Stan Smith
As athletes strive toward high performance, setbacks and failures occur. It is part of the process. Some athletes are easily able to put the failures into perspective. Other athletes hold onto them longer than ... Views: 1175
Sometimes we get in our own way. Do you know what I mean? Recently I have been working with one of the contestants for Dancing with the Rogue Valley Stars.
A BIG part of our focus was transforming her perfectionist tendencies. She knew it was preventing her from fully relaxing and allowing ... Views: 1132
Peak performance. A buzz word used by coaches, trainers and athletes. What if that was only a small part of a bigger picture? By solely seeking peak performance athletes might be missing an even greater endeavor. High performance.
Sounds similar, but different in quality and approach. Peak ... Views: 1396
Where is your focus, past, present or future?
At this very moment in time where are you? Are you thinking about a past event, wondering about the other athletes in the competition or tuned into what is going on here and now? Where you are now, whether past, future or present, makes a ... Views: 1103
Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are - Forbes
Performance is the best measure of an athlete’s mental game. Let’s face it as athletes move up in rankings some unexpected circumstances will appear. At that moment, athletes will be faced with a decision on how ... Views: 2068
With all things being equal, what is different about winning athletes? When elite athletes are competing, the gap in abilities between the first and last place athlete is relatively small. You’ll need to dig a little deeper to understand what separates the top 1% of elite athletes from all the ... Views: 1299
"An athlete is a normal person with the gift of an undying passion to be the best and achieve greatness." Amanda Ring
Over time most athletes are going to suffer injury. It is a given. In an ideal world if you knew you were going to be injured, it would be great to schedule the injury at the ... Views: 2005
“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.”General George Patton
Let’s face it, endurance events are painful. When it catches athletes off guard, their performance falters. The solution is to get beyond the pain, and to maintain focus in the present with the goal in mind.
On ... Views: 1854
Can you tell when an athlete is faking an injury? As they get older, moving up to pros, do they become more sophisticated at bluffing an injury than grade school athletes? Possibly, but not necessarily. Athletes have a larger stage, but lack the skill set as thespians.
The N.Y. Giants, Deon ... Views: 1794
If everything you needed for success was already available to you, how would that change things for you? Your future success is determined by your present actions. Reaching your performance goal requires partnering with the right resources. It is not a passive activity.
Instead of looking ... Views: 1848
The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are but in what directiom we are moving. Oliver Wendall Holmes
How old is too old, when athletes are over the hill and ought to begin considering retirement? Each individual is unique. Some athletes keep going, like the energizer bunny, ... Views: 1923
The U.S. Open has begun. Tennis fans anticipating upsets are waiting to see how it will all play out in the finals on the stadium courts.
For the first time Mardy Fish, seeded eighth, is the highest-placed American in a major championship. Renewed commitment to fitness and strength are ... Views: 1192
Any time an athlete commits suicide is a tragedy. The sporting community is mourning the loss of four gifted athletes. Rick Rypien, 27, who recently signed with the Winnipeg Jets in the National Hockey League, is the most recent athlete to have committed suicide. Derek Boogaard, 28, another NHL ... Views: 3096
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. Ronald E. Osborn
Do you know of an athlete who “knows it all?” For each suggestion there is a response. Primarily to position them, in their eyes, as “been there, done that.” Those are the uncoachable ... Views: 2500
“When you trust yourself you can make it.” Geoffrey Mutai
What was once impossible is now possible. History has shown that to be true over and over again. The imagination sparks new ideas. Grab hold of an idea then continue to believe it is possible. Gradually the steps to achieve a goal ... Views: 1442
“A warrior…feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks knowledge, he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in his strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul. David Gemmell
So much anticipation has been building all week long toward last Sunday’s soccer ... Views: 1528
Sports doping has now crossed over into Hollywood as Charlie Sheen admits steroid use for his movie role in Major League. Baseball, football, cycling, track and field and MMA to name a few are plagued with steroid use. Those are just the newsworthy sports currently facing this issue.
The Tour ... Views: 1323
There were many battles on the field during the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. One of the closest contests was between Michelle Carter and Jillian Camarena-Williams in the women’s Shot Put on the opening day.
For a few moments Camarena-Williams held the No. 2 performer in U.S. ... Views: 1580
“The heart of a champion has to do with the depth of our Commitment.” Bill Russell
The championship crown, winning the playoff title, eluded LeBron James once again. He is in a league of his own when it comes to basketball. When LeBron is focused, he plays a brilliant game of basketball. When ... Views: 2864
A man who suffers before it is necessary suffers more than is necessary. ~ Seneca
Deserving is an interesting concept. For some it is seen as a right and something positive. Others view it as something negative, experiencing guilt. When you think about deserving what are some of the thoughts ... Views: 1446
“Do what you fear and fear disappears." David Schwartz
When I first started rowing my coach told me I was going to learn to love competing. I just chuckled. He had no idea what I thought about team sports, competing or racing. Sports were not part of my childhood. I never viewed myself as a ... Views: 1366
This ability to conquer oneself is no doubt the most precious of all things sports bestows. ~ Oga Korbut
Is Tiger Woods status as a golf icon over and done with? Many predict his days of grandeur are behind him. For the first time in 14 years he has slipped from the top ten list of best ... Views: 3218
There is a duel currently going on in tennis. Novak Djokovic is pushing Rafael Nadal out of the spotlight. Rafael Nadal is the current world champion, holding the French Open Title for the past five years. Up until now Nadal has been the one to watch. Simply put, Djokovic has been amazing on the ... Views: 1367
"You must love what you do. Your heart must be in it. Without enthusiasm, you cannot work up to your fullest ability and potential; you're just going through the motions. And just going through the motions won't bring you to the level of competitive greatness we seek whether in basketball, ... Views: 1274
Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives. Anthony Robbins
What is really happening when an all-star athlete is not playing to his potential? Derek Jeter, captain and infielder for the ... Views: 1826