Why is it so many athletes fall short of their pre-season resolutions to achieve? In the beginning of the season, the “motivation tank” is full and you are raring to go… But goals are merely dreams without a targeted goal plan. The First Step in Goal Setting No different than a New Year’s resolution, you […]
Sports Parenting: The Benefits of Letting Your Kids Fail
Parenting a young athlete, in many cases, may be more mentally grueling than competing… As sports parents, we don’t want our children to fail. We invest a lot of time, money, effort, emotion and energy to surround our “young athlete” with all the resources to be successful in their sport. When you see your young […]
Self-Doubt Equals Self-Destruction for Tennis Performance
Matches are, often, won or lost even before you set foot on the court. Mental demons, such as self-doubt, can be devastating to a tennis player’s confidence. Take a minute to review a match where self-doubt caused you to tank… During warm-ups, you may have noticed how talented your opponent was… Your anxiety steadily increased […]
Great Expectations: The Sports Performance Dilemma
Expecting the worst is a recipe for getting the worst. Expecting bad athletic performance and mistake-ridden competitions become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Does that mean the opposite end of the continuum, the highest expectations are the optimal strategy for eliciting top sports performance? Actually, contrary to popular belief, excessively high expectations are just as counter-productive and […]
Alex Rodriguez: The Drive to Perform Through Adversity
In sports, the key to long-term success is resilience. Resilience is the ability to perform, bounce back and achieve positive outcomes despite adversity. Resiliency is the drive to perform despite the challenges or obstacles. Resiliency asks the question: “Do you have what it takes to stay motivated, withstand the challenge, move forward, stay steadfast while […]