Two Critical Questions

"Am I Here?" & "Why Am I Here?"

Two Critical Questions

for Athletes Wanting to Maximize Practice

As athletes and coaches, you know the grind and discipline it takes to get better. Many of you, however, do not maximize your practice time or perform in competition as you would like. This lack of focus in both training and competition creates less than optimal performance. In other words, you do not practice with effectiveness and do not execute when it matters most. The two questions that title this piece are simplistic, yet critical, to improving your success.

"Am I Here?"
Even though you train almost every day of the week, how often are you 100% present and focused in practice? How many times are you only 80% focused because you are thinking about matters off the field? If you are like most athletes, the answer is "too often". How you practice is how you perform, so if you are only 80% focused in practice that will be the case in competition as well. Regardless of setting, most failure is due to a lack of being present and focused, so make certain you are before and during every practice. Some actions to help increase presence:
• Make a commitment to be present and rate (1-5) your success after every practice

•Take 10 minutes before practice to "let go" of all matters not relevant to practice

•Journal - write all irrelevant thoughts before practice, leave them in your locker

"Why Am I Here?"
Answering this question can make certain you are practicing with a purpose. How many times do you go to practice without knowing what you want or need to accomplish? You need to be clear on what you are going to accomplish that day - this will make your skills more sharp and effective. And even though your coach may have a different plan, you can still have your own objectives. For example, you can always accomplish mental objectives regardless of the type of practice (like being present and practicing with a purpose). Some things to improve your ability to practice with a purpose:
• Make it a habit to define 1-3 three objectives before every practice

•Evaluate your success in accomplishing those objectives after each practice

•Use a cue word to remind you of your objectives, especially since practice can be long and tiring

Play Smart, Play Hard, Play Well!

Are You Ready to Jump Off the Cliff?

Many athletes train for weeks, even months, only to come to competition and not execute. This is painfully frustrating. They train hard, do all of the right things, but don't perform like they know how. WHY? The problem is the way they mentally view competition.

Athletes train - look at it like running along a high, steep cliff. This is hard, grueling and sometimes tedious work. However, instead of continuing this flow and jumping with exhilaration off the cliff - actual competition - they slow, stutter, hesitate and sometimes stop right before the edge. The exciting part is jumping off the cliff (competition) and running to the edge is the hard work (training and practice). Why do all of the hard work and then not enjoy the jump? Athletes pay too much attention to outcomes, fears, and worries when it comes to competition and let their mental demons ruin it. If you want to perform your best, allow yourself to enjoy and embrace competition, not fear it. The hard part is training; the wonderful part is competition. So begin taking the following steps:

1.Competition is the Reward
It is important to view competition as reward for all of the hard work and training. This is the time to enjoy and trust your skills and training. Many athletes train hard - the real grind - and then are not able to enjoy competing. They allow fear, worry, and focus on outcomes to "rain on the parade". Practice is the hard part; competing is the reward. When you have fun with competition, you perform your best!

2.Stay Focused on the Process
It is easier to stay focused on the process when practicing. As competition approaches, however, numerous athletes turn their focus from process to outcome. They think about winning or losing, ramifications of losing, and the potential reactions of fans and coaches. This focus on outcomes and the resulting anxiety prevents athletes from performing their best. Clear process goals can get you to the edge of the cliff, and maintaining focus on these process goals is what allows great performance in competition - the exhilarating jump from the cliff!


3.Be Task-Oriented in Competition
When competition arrives, athletes' focus needs to be simple. The training and hard work have been done and now it is only a matter of focusing on the task at hand, letting their body do what they have trained it to do. If athletes do start feeling fear and worry, however, they need to use their "go to" keywords to return to the task at hand. These keywords need to be simple, such as "Just compete", "Relax" or "Have fun." Remember, at the point of competition, your skills are in place and are not going to change; it is only a matter of whether you mentally allow your skills to come out and play!

Play Smart, Play Hard, Play Well!

Mental Jumping Jacks

Athletes are familiar with warming up before a game or competition. They run, stretch and perform drills to get their physical bodies ready. Most mistakes, however, are mental and are a direct result of mental tightness before game time. While it is important to physically warm up, failing to prepare your mind results in mental mistakes during competition, especially in the beginning. Athletes and coaches must learn and perform "mental calisthenics" before games to make certain their mental motors are as primed as their bodies.

Get Off to a Great Start
Every athlete and coach knows that getting off to a quick start in competition means a rapid increase in confidence and an edge over opponents. It does not always guarantee success, but it dramatically improves the likelihood of it. If you look at sport statistics, there is a higher win percentage among athletes and teams who take a quick lead. Don't ever underestimate the importance of getting off to a great start - it sets the tone for the rest of the game, week, season and year.

Mentally Stretch Before Bedtime & On the Morning of Competition
Although mental training must be performed throughout the week, the night before and morning of competition is a critical time for mental preparation. Athletes must practice visualization during these times and get their minds in the right place to compete. They may see themselves executing skills, implementing the game plan, or remaining relaxed when under pressure. For example, a tennis player will see great serves right from the beginning; a quarterback will imagine perfect passes in the first series; or a basketball player will picture being an aggressive defender. Athletes' skills are set the day before competition; the only remaining factor is mental. Make sure it is ready.

Perform Mental Jumping Jacks During Physical Warm-UpWhen athletes are going through physical warm-up before games, they should be mentally preparing as well. The mental warm-up needs to be just as efficient and routine as the physical one. Yet many athletes fail to warm up their minds and forget that the majority of their mistakes will be mental ones. Athletes must be thinking about their role, visualizing success, and simplifying the thought process for competition. They need to write their cue word and begin to hone their mental state. For example, baseball players must think about their first at bat, basketball players their first five minutes of defense, golfers must play the first three holes on the range, and tennis players serve out the first game during warm up. These mental calisthenics make certain that athletes' minds are as ready as their bodies.

Play Smart, Play Hard, Play Well!

Book of the Month

According to The Power of Story: Change Your Story, Change Your Destiny in Business and in Life , each person has a story they tell themselves about themselves, which is often flawed and misunderstood by the conscious mind telling it. Loehr shows how these stories define our reality and shows us how to rewrite them and fix ours stories gone awry.

Athletes Have Mental Health Issues Too!

Because we see athletes in the media as bigger than life, we also tend to view them as super human and devoid of problems. Just recently, illegal behaviors have surfaced among some high-profile athletes. Athletes in trouble with the law is certainly not breaking news, but it is important to understand that many times mental health issues drive these behaviors. Although criminal activity may be recent, mental health issues have been there all along, sometimes for many years.


High-level athletes – professional, college, high school and youth - are viewed with such god-like qualities that we often forget they are human beings. This does not excuse their illegal and/or inappropriate behaviors, but it is important to realize that athletes and coaches – no matter how talented – possess mental health issues. The field of sport psychology has been expanding its focus in the "clinical" area, in which mental health and personal problems among athletes and coaches are being addressed. Some of the issues include depression, anxiety, burnout, career transition, marital and family problems, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse and anger management just to name a few. As one can notice, however, these are common problems faced by millions of people throughout the world every day, not just athletes. Thus, because athletes possess incredible physical skill does not make them immune to depression, anxiety or a host of other emotionally-related challenges.

Mental health issues are frequently ignored by athletes and coaches because of the stigma being attached to "having a problem" or "seeing a shrink." "Having issues" is viewed as a sign of weakness, and weakness has no place in sports. Although greater acceptance of emotional problems exists in society today, it is not so in athletics. Sports are about winning, success, and not showing weakness. The problem with this mentality, however, is that athletes and coaches ignore mental health issues, and as a result, they grow like bacteria and become worse. Their mental health issues do not go away, and only continue to become worse in most cases. Anytime an emotional difficulty worsens, problematic behaviors resulting from that issue can become more severe. But it is the same with non-athletes – if they struggle with depression or anger management and do not address it, the problem only grows worse and can result in more severe and frequent inappropriate and/or illegal behaviors.

Thus, coaches, athletes and society need to realize that mental health issues are common and not a sign of weakness. In fact, it takes far more courage to address emotional issues than it does to ignore them – talk about strength in athletics! We all need to realize the mental health issues have always been and will always be a part of the human condition, including high-level athletes.

Are You Committed?

The level of commitment you possess and display as an athlete is directly related to your amount of success. All athletes like to think of themselves as committed, dedicated, and willing to do what it takes to succeed. The fact is, however, most athletes are not as committed as they would like to believe. In this article, is it your job to honestly assess whether you are truly showing commitment when it comes to your sport.

"Committed" athletes are willing to do whatever it takes to be successful despite the obstacles. They are dedicated to success above all else and are not deterred in the face of adversity. You may think this is you, but keep reading...Another type of athlete is the "committed until" athlete. They usually do not go to all lengths to be successful, especially where their ego is involved. These athletes show intense dedication, but back down when things do not go their way. They are committed "until" they do not getting the starting position; committed "until" they do not get the minutes they think they deserve; committed "until" one of their teammates calls them out; committed "until" their role on the team is not what they want. Get the picture?

Now that you know the difference, right now, are you a "committed" athlete or "committed until" athlete? It is critical to be honest. Without honesty you will not improve.

It is hard to be a "committed" athlete and we all fall short at times, but you can take the first step today to make the commitment to be committed. This is difficult in the same way that marriage is difficult - you pledge "commitment" no matter what you might face. Unfortunately, many marriages fail because individuals are "committed until" people - committed "until" the pain is too great; committed "until" their partner is not who they thought; committed "until" their partner does not make enough money; committed "until" their partner is not as neat as they want. The list of "untils" goes on and on. 

To be successful, make the commitment to be committed. End of story. To help you remember what commitment looks like, here is a breakdown of what to look for:

Committed Athlete

Dedicated at all costs

Commit to team mission

Commit even when ego bruised

Commit despite pain

Committed Until

Dedicated until not getting what they want

Committed to self over team

Commit only on their terms

Commit only when convenient

Play Smart, Play Hard, Play Well!

What is Your Athletic Vision?

Successful athletes and coaches have a clear vision. This statement is probably not surprising. However, there is a special distinction in the vision of the most elite performers - their vision is not only clear, but they take ownership of it. Anyone can have a dream, but most are afraid to own it because there is a real risk involved in doing so. In owning your goal, you are declaring and acting in a manner in which you are accepting responsibility for the outcome of your goal - for better or worse. You are willing to make mistakes and look the fool, and yes, even in the end, not achieve your vision. But it is inevitable that if you do not take ownership of your vision, you will never accomplish it.
Now is that time of year when many coaches and athletes begin think hard about their goals, and it is now that you have the opportunity to ensure you are not one of those individuals, who, at this time next year sits in regret thinking of what you did not do. So get off your butt and make it happen! Here are some important keys to remember:

1. Find and prioritize your vision - reflect and decide the vision most important to you, the dream or goal that makes your heart beat.

2. Take ownership of your vision - make it clear and vivid. Write it down and share it with important others. If you vision is like a 55-inch High Definition Plasma TV, then you got it. If not, get back to the drawing board and make it clear.

3. Address self-doubts or fears about your vision. Do not run from fear and doubts - bring them into the light and embrace them.

4. Act and behave in ways required to achieve your vision. There are certain things you must do even though they involve risk.

5. Enjoy the ride!

Play Smart, Play Hard, Play Well!