Peak Performance
Set Yourself on Fire
Years after his retirement, Hall of Fame baseball player Ty Cobb attended an Old Timers’ Day celebration at Yankee Stadium.
A reporter approached Cobb and asked him, “If you were playing in the modern era, what do you suppose your batting average would be?”
Cobb replied, “About .300.”
“Only .300?” said the startled reporter. “You have the highest [...]
What Successful Coaches Saw as Kids
Over the weekend I had the chance to hear a talk by sports psychologist Dr. Gloria Balague.
Among her remarks was a look at successful coaches and how they were shaped by their childhood experiences.
Dr. Balague said that when these successful were young:
* Their youth coaches were passionate about sport.
* Their coaches were positive [...]
Capt. Sullenberger’s Withdrawal
In a town where Babe Ruth, Joe Namath and Willis Reed won championships, no one has ever performed with as much skill under pressure as Sully Sullenberger did three years ago today.
In command of an airliner disabled shortly after taking off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Sullenberger put the craft safely into the Hudson River, [...]
Five Things Great Coaches Know
The mood at a coaches clinic always excites me. People are there because they want to be, not because they have to be. They want to learn. They talk shop.
Right now I’m in Elmhurst, Ill., speaking to the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association. While here I’ve already met great coaches. One of them [...]
Is Today Your Lucky Day?
A wise man once described the difference between superstition and ritual.
Superstition is doing things to avoid something bad. Rituals mean doing certain things to make something good happen.
Superstition involves belief in things beyond your understanding and control. Rituals are a way to organize the things that you can control.
All this comes to mind on Friday [...]
How the 49ers Turned It Around
In his first year as coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Coach Jim Harbaugh led the team to its first playoff berth since 2002. On Saturday the 49ers host the New Orleans Saints, another franchise that has prospered after decades of futility.
How? How do turnaround artists show people how to win?
Harbaugh said something that really [...]
The First Men to See Barry Larkin
Getting drafted by a pro team guarantees nothing. History is filled with people who are picked high but who never live up to their potential. No one can ever say that about Barry Larkin. If anything, he went beyond expectations. Taken as the fourth overall pick in the 1985 draft, Larkin has landed in the [...]
Tim Tebow and Deep Belief
Now comes another story about Tim Tebow and faith.
No, not Tebow’s religious faith. This time, it’s the belief that Tebow’s teammates have in him.
In beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in overtime on Wild-Card Sunday, the Denver Broncos looked like a team with great belief in each other and in their quarterback, Tebow.
“He showed he’s a [...]
Mariano Rivera in Person
It’s a scene played out all over the country — and even outside the country — during baseball’s off-season.
Big-league players make appearances, either for money, as a favor or out of a sense of gratitude.
Whatever the reason, you never know what effect these visits can have. It’s like a stone thrown into a pond. No [...]
How J.J. Watt Did It
Not long ago, J.J. Watt was delivering pizzas for a living. Yesterday he delivered one of the biggest plays of Wild Card Saturday.
Watt intercepted an Andy Dalton pass and returned it for a touchdown, leading the Houston Texans past the Cincinnati Bengals in the first game of the NFL playolffs.
Watt’s, play according to Houston defensive [...]
