Just as everyone has different levels of physical skill, so it is with mental skills like confidence and focus. You can’t use a one-size-fits-all approach to mental training.
Malcolm Butler, unlikely hero of the Super Bowl, just kept getting better. It’s harder than it sounds. Improvement takes focus, persistence and the mental toughness to work outside your comfort zone, all without any guarantees.
No matter who you pick in the upcoming NCAA tournaments, you can be sure of one thing: The winner will have to overcome adversity. Injuries, bad calls and momentum swings will test the will of all teams, and the one that responds best will win. It will take mental toughness to survive, which raises a […]
Three factors — the NHL’s recent Winter Classic, the cold wave in the Northeast, and a conversation with mental toughness guru Craig Sigl — made me think of the Canadian game of shinny. Shinny is a simple variation of ice hockey in which one player tries to keep the puck, and all the others try […]
This weekend big-league baseball is marking the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut. All players are wearing Robinson’s No. 42 to honor the man who broke the color line on April 15, 1947, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson helped change the world back then. But as a coach I wonder what he can change today. What […]
What are your standards? Jay Bilas, ESPN basketball commentator, raised the question yesterday in an energetic talk at the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association coaches clinic in Des Moines. Bilas said he has visited several college practices recently, and the common theme is work hard and compete. Trouble is, most athletes don’t even know what that […]
“No pressure, no diamonds.” ~ Mary Case A few days ago, Kobe Bryant was discussing his team’s situation after it lost Game 1 of its playoff series against Houston. “To win a championship, you’re going to have to face some adversity,” said the Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar, shrugging off the results of the first game. […]