Control what can, not what you can’t! Be Smart. Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Small steps lead to big steps.Pressure - Pressure is what you make it! Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.Belief – Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in [...]

Relax and win? Only if you know you are ready to compete. Training requires the athlete to emotionally know they are ready. I like testing daily and measuring elements in an audit to see if the athlete is ready to compete. Many times they will not test well even if the training is going great just because they are not in competition mode. Time trials, invited guests, cameras, and surprise testing [...]

Talk about winningTalk about innovationTalk about changeTalk about cursesThe proof is in the pudding as they say. Talk is cheap; it is about action and results, getting the job done. Everyone that I have ever been around in any endeavor that has been successful finds a way to get it done. There is no talk of we did it that before and it did not work. That just means it was a lesson learned and it [...]

Dreams are an odd animal. Everybody has them. Some want to be a CEO of a large business, others want to find the cure for cancer, and (likely more relevant to this site) others want to be Olympic medalists in their respective disciplines. The problem is that most people don't achieve their dreams. Take a second to think about your dreams, and write them down on a sheet of paper. Once the eas [...]

I was rereading Presentation Zen this weekend, just like any good book it has proved valuable on several levels, first it stimulated me to improve my presentations, second it has proved to be a very good coaching book. After all, what is coaching? It is communicating ideas and concepts. The secret to good coaching is to get the athlete in the proper state of mind, that state is no mind. The athlet [...]

Don't Just Stand There, ThinkNew research suggests that we think not just with our brains, but with our bodiesBy Drake Bennett | January 13, 2008, Boston GlobeWHEN YOU READ something confusing, or work a crossword puzzle, or try to remember where you put your keys, what do you do with your body? Do you sit? Do you stand? Do you pace? Do you do anything with your hands? Do you move your eyes in a [...]

Can a genius be satisfied with themundane and the status quo? I was watching a documentary on movieproducer and director Sam Peckinpah. His approach made me thing aboutthis. He was always dancing on the edge, pushing the envelope on whatcould be done in film. It got me thinking that this was also true inhuman athletic performance. To be the absolute best, you have to pushthe envelope; you must dan [...]

This is notabout doping; this is about those athletes and coaches that because oftheir behavior or attitude can kill a team or an organization. I wasinspired to write this by reading Seth Godin’s post yesterday on toxicemployees. Much of what we have been reading about in the sport pagesthe past few weeks has been about toxic athletes. They are athleteswhose talent fools us, we tolerate aber [...]

When an athlete says they cannot do something that is very final. They can’t do it! When they say they say they won’t do it that implies a choice. They can do it but they have chosen not to do it at this time. I try to educate athletes and coaches on the distinction. I think it is an important distinction that we should all understand. [...]

Try this...Super Hero Quiz [...]