Years ago, Aesop warned about the dangers of getting complacent. He told the story of the hare and the tortoise, in which the hare raced out to a big lead over the plodding tortoise, decided to take a nap, and woke up just in time to see the tortoise cross the finish line first. Aesop […]
In just one day, the Winter Olympics have given us breath-taking glimpses into the mental game, from snowboarder Jessika Jenson’s reframing to single skater Jeremy Abbott’s defeated body language. Abbott fell on his first jump in the team competition, finished seventh, and put his head between his knees and covered it with his hands. Jenson […]
You’ve heard a lot of people tell you that if you work hard, you will be successful. And that is true. Kind of. Maybe you’ve asked yourself, “What if I do all this work and I still don’t win?” Fair question. There are real situations where two people work very hard toward a goal, compete […]
Now Tim Thomas can tell the truth. Now that’s he has led the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup, and now that he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, he can admit it: he was petrified. But he never let it show. He used a technique that everyone can use. He Acted […]
Marge Schott, former owner of the Cincinnati Reds, once fired some of her scouts, famously saying that “all they do is watch baseball games.” Yes, and once they watch those games, they must answer this question: Which young players have the best chance of becoming a big-league star? It’s a tricky question in which scouts […]
Beware the player who performs best when either far behind or far ahead. Someone gave me that advice years ago, and it comes to mind as the season unfolds for New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk. A high-scoring winger acquired last year, Kovalchuk thrived when his team seemed to be out of contention. Then, with […]
Here comes the next frontier in training. It’s the brain. Evidence suggests that an athlete’s gray matter is fundamentally different from another person’s. And if this is the case, then the brain — more than ever — controls all three aspects of performance: physical, mental and emotional. In the April issue of Discover magazine, author […]
This time of year brings to mind one of my favorite stories from my days of covering pro hockey. The New York Islanders were deep into the playoffs, and one of their top players, Bryan Trottier, was being interviewed after a victory. Someone asked Trottier how he felt about the way things were going. “Scared,” […]
“Forget perfect on the first try. In the face of frustration, your best tool is a few deep breaths, and remembering that you can do anything once you’ve practiced two hundred times. Seriously.” — Andrea Buchanan, author, the Daring Book for Girls Do you have to lose in order to learn how to win? That’s […]
“A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skill of the others.” – Norman S. Hidle What makes the difference between one successful season …and a successful program? The answer is culture. What are the shared values in your locker room? The standards? Is the […]