Mental Game
About Motivation
No aspect of coaching is as misunderstood as motivation is.
Too many coaches think of motivation as a magic wand to be waved over their team before the big game.
Great coaches know that isn’t the case. A perfect example is Mike Pope, who coaches the tight ends on the New York Giants. Pope uses motivation all [...]
The Opinions of Others
Groundhog Day fascinates me. Not the movie, but the fable of what a groundhog can tell us about the weather.
No one I know uses the prediction of Punxsutawney Phil to decide how much salt to buy for the driveway or when to buy spring clothes.
But lots of people live their lives according to something much [...]
Winning the Battle of Thoughts
How do you even begin to talk about Novak Djokovic’s epic victory over Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final?
It lasted five hours, 53 minutes, nearly as long as the marriage between Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian.
Both Djokovic and Nadal gave everything they had. At one point, after losing a 31-stroke rally, Djokovic lay prone [...]
The Secret of Feedback
One day Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams watched a teammate return to the dugout after striking out.
“Tell me,” Williams said. “When you swung and missed that ball, did your bat go over the ball or under it?”
“What difference does it make,” the teammate wanted to know. “Either way, I struck out.”
It makes all [...]
Keeping Your Eyes on the Dream
“If you have only two pennies left in the world, with the first penny, you should buy rice to feed your family. With the second penny, say the wise Japanese, you should buy a lily. The Japanese understand the importance of dreaming.”
We all love to dream. But we also need to make a living.
It takes [...]
Knowledge and Wisdom
My friend Ken Smith just sent out this quote:
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”
It really struck me because recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between knowledge and wisdom as it applies to coaching.
At a recent coaching clinic, a colleague pointed out [...]
Practice and Mindfulness
Martina Navratilova, perhaps the best female tennis player who ever lived, once said, “I just try to concentrate on concentrating.”
Her phrase comes to mind as I digest a recent post on Larry O’Connor’s blog, Run4yr life. Larry is a marathoner preparing for Boston in April. From the sound of this post, he has reached a [...]
Wayne Gretzky and Practice
On Wayne Gretzky’s birthday — he turns 51 today — I always think of practice and of Gretzky’s father, Walter.
One day, when Wayne Gretzky was already the greatest hockey player in the world, he was practicing with his team, the Edmonton Oilers. Walter watched from the stands.
Afterwards, the two drove home together.
“You just wasted two [...]
Team Culture
Let’s start with a trick question.
Does your team have a culture?
Remember, it’s a trick question. And the answer is yes.
Whether in sports, in business or even in your family, your group has a culture.
It may be weak or it may be strong, but it’s a culture.
It may be positive or it may be negative, but [...]
Daily Motivation
A few days ago, a coached reach out to me, said that her team was going through a rough stretch, and asked if I had any wisdom to offer.
I told her I had no wisdom of my own, but that there was plenty in this article from the Gold Medal Squared Web site.
Written by Loyola-Marymount [...]
