Slump-Busting
Clubhouse Chemistry
No matter what they major in during college years, coaches need some sense of chemistry. Not molecular chemistry, but human chemistry.
Relationships mean everything to sports teams. Bad chemistry has doomed many a dream. Great chemistry can produce what seems to be an overachieving team.
This subject comes up because of a report from ESPNBoston.com that Rajon [...]
Losing Streak Ends
Good news has come just in time for Christmas.
The Dallas Academy girls basketball team, which made national news last year when it lost a game 100-0, broke an eight-year losing streak recently with a 34-33 victory over Johnson County. Her is another account.
Meanwhile, players at Wrenshall (Minn.) High School were trying to fathom a 65-0 [...]
You Can Choose to be Great
My friend Jim recently told the story of a service station attendant in Watertown, N.Y., where summer lasts about two weeks and the winters are brutally cold.
This particular attendant offered full service — windshield, oil check, etc., no matter what the weather. Most people would have filled the tank, collected the money and then retreated [...]
Results or Reasons
Yesterday I forgot to include the link to Dave Cross’ article on “No Surprises.” It’s here for the reading.
Dave is the National Director of “Yes, I Can!” volleyball, and his article led me to think about about some definite “no’s” for your program. For instance, there should definitely be no excuses on your team.
This comes [...]
Hating the Yankees for Their Money
Every time a fan rises to cheer the Yankees, you can bet there’s someone somewhere who doesn’t feel the love.
Yankee-hating goes to another level in these tough economic times, when multi-millionaires win the World Series as millions of people look for work.
Dr. John Tauer, a psychologist blogging for Psychology Today, examines Yankee-hating, using his normally [...]
Victory and Adversity
By the time we see them, players in the World Series are already wearing the trappings of a big-leaguer.
But it wasn’t always that way for them. David Eckstein, named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Fall Classic, was a college walk-on who earned his scholarship only through persistent work. Cole Hamels, who won the [...]
Becoming an Expert
As Melanie Oudin enjoys her status as tennis’ newest sensation, a few paragraphs tucked into the bottom of an Associated Press story tell her secret.
According to the story, Oudin, who has reached the quarterfinals of the U.S.Open, has followed the classic pattern for achieving expert performance.
“Melanie and (her twin sister) Katherine began hitting tennis balls [...]
The Role of Mistakes
Imagine a sports landscape in which there were no mistakes.
Dave Johnson has done so, and what he sees isn’t pretty. The rallies go on forever, the score is endlessly tied, and there is no game. No sport. No thrill.
Johnson, president-elect of the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association, has written a thoughtful piece on the [...]
Miracles Do Happen
Today marks an astonishing anniversary in baseball history. On this date in 1951, the New York Giants lost a game, and fell 13 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers with only seven weeks to go in the season.
In baseball, being 13 games behind with only seven weeks to play usually means only one thing: Wait til next [...]
Using Humor
Last night comedian Don Rickles was a guest on Craig Ferguson’s talk show.
Rickles is a legend who gained fame through his good-natured insults. Sure enough, the minute he got on the stage, he jabbed everyone in sight: the host, the audience, everyone.
Pretty soon everyone in the building was in stitches. Rickles’ comedy is a perfect [...]
