Controlling Your Destiny

Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson once said, “As long as you have a bat in your hand, you can write the story.”
Jackson certainly did that in the 1971 All-Star Game, when he smashed a ball off a transformer on the right field roof. He also wrote many a story in the World Series, [...]

Who Can Be Excellent?

If you’re like most people, you enjoy hearing stories of greatness. You like to learn about people who overcame adversity and who, against all odds, created success for themselves.
What you may not realize is that those stories need not be about others. They can be about you. And — this is the amazing part — [...]

Managing Mistakes

The more I coach, the more I believe that mistakes hold the key to your destiny.
Mistakes represent a fork in the road. At this fork, you decide whether to be frustrated or fascinated. You decide whether you will lose or learn. You decide whether you will quit or grow.
A blog from the Positive Coaching Alliance [...]

Developing Practice Focus

If you were in the gym and someone asked you, “What are you working on?” what would you say?
Perhaps you would reply, “I’m just trying to get better.”
That answer, of course, if not good enough. To really improve at something, you must have a specific focus.
This idea comes to mind as I read “The Game [...]

Where Do Great Athletes Come From?

Where do great athletes come from?
The question comes up because of a passage in the book, “Munson — The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain” by Marty Appel. In it, former Yankee broadcaster Bill White described Thurman Munson’s birthplace and how it shaped him.
“I think there is something about growing up in that industrial [...]

How to Work Hard

“A free lunch is only found in mousetraps.” ~ John Capuzzi

Yesterday over lunch, some coaches were praising the work done by a colleague. They said that his team was working very hard.

But here’s a question: What exactly does it mean to work hard? It’s got to mean more than just working up a sweat. Anyone can do that.

Two Powerful Coaching Tools

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” ~ Albert Einstein

This is Day Two of the Gold Medal Squared coaching clinic in Catonsville, Md.

Though the sport is volleyball, the principles and ideas apply to coaching any sport. Two such ideas came across powerfully yesterday.

Getting Ready for the Big Game

If there’s one thing that every coach and athlete wants to know, it’s how to get primed for the big game.
There’s really only one answer to that question: There are no big games. There are only big moments, and the biggest moment is right now.
Here’s how it works: Most people have no trouble at all [...]

Get Rejected by the Right Person

Yesterday a sports psychologist visited our team and, of all the things he said, the one that really stuck involved rejection.
He said, “Make sure you get rejected by the right person.
“If you’re thinking of attending a certain college, make sure you get rejected by the admissions department, not by yourself.
“If you’re thinking of trying out [...]

Three Qualities of a Big-Leaguer

“In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept destructive criticism. Without 100 percent dedication, you won’t be able to do this.” ~ Willie Mays
A few days from now, big-league baseball teams will be selecting the top high [...]