When you play the lottery, do you get the feeling that you’re going to win? Of course! Otherwise, why would you play? Here’s the hard reality: The odds can range from 18 million to 1 to as much as 120 million to 1. Not very good. But this is not really about the lottery. It’s […]
Yesterday I read a very interesting article on how little tryouts really tell us. The author, Jonah Lehrer, used the NFL combine as an example. The combine, for those who don’t know, is an audition in which players run and perform other physical skills while being evaluated by all of the NFL teams. Here are […]
This year’s Washington Redskins camp offers a textbook study of a coach’s attempt to motivate and shape a player. As detailed in this Sports Illustrated article, defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth has drawn the attention of his coach and teammates for his attitude, particularly by boycotting the team’s off-season workouts. Haynesworth failed a conditioning test yesterday, […]
Today’s post will be brief and come in the form of quote sent by my friend and co-author, Gary Pritchard. It says, “A word of encouragement during failure … is worth more than a dictionary of praise after success.” Sometimes people quit when they are so close to success. As a coach, you never know when just […]
Motivational speaker Tom Hughes is celebrating a milestone. He has just offered the 300th edition of his newsletter, “Motivational Moments.” Hughes gathered his material in his years as a basketball coach. Among the gems is the story of the bluebird: An early winter freeze descended on the land, and the little bluebird decided he would […]
Yesterday we spoke about attitudes. Winners have a winning attitude. But what exactly does that mean? Years ago, Dr. Ron Gilbert, a sports psychology professor at Montclair State University in northern New Jersey, invited me to attend his classes. His message on Day One tells you all you need to know about becoming a winner. […]
You know the old saying, “You’re known by the company you keep.” It’s only partially true. What’s closer to the truth is: “You’re DEFINED by the company you keep.” There is another saying: “You are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time.” For instance, if you hang around a […]
How would you like to go to Mars? A Russian research group has just wound up a 105-day experiment to test the ability of the crew to get along on such a trip. Here’s the reality of traveling to another planet: It takes time. And one of the concerns of scientists is whether people can […]
Today’s post comes in the form of a poem offered by the Coaching Toolbox web site. Many thanks to Kevin Reilly for sending it along. The poem portrays a young athlete learning how to handle praise; it would make great material to put on a gym wall. It also raises the issue of deliberate practice, […]
Suppose you could hire an official team composer to write motivational and inspirational songs for your team. Who would it be? You certainly couldn’t go wrong with Richard Rodgers, who was born 107 years ago today. His collaborations include “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “Climb Every Mountain” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Of course, you […]