Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Book of the Month

Learn how you can unlock your full potential and bring your talents to light. Coyle discusses three keys: coaching, motivation and practice. Great stories and examples of how we can apply these components in our daily life. He presents these concepts in unique ways. A must read for any athlete or coach!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Hey Corey - How About Asking Tiger?

Should Tiger be on the Ryder Cup Team? This is the big question in golf. All of the pressure seems to be focused on Corey Pavin. How about this - how about we ask Tiger if he even wants or feels he can be competitive on the team? If he truly wants the best for the United States, he would answer honestly, much like an athlete when he or she is injured. Make the best decision for the team. Now does Tiger have a small enough ego to say no, I am not sure. 

I personally feel he should not be on the team, not only for his recent play, but more for the fact that he has not played that well in past Ryder Cups and more importantly, I think the team will jell better without him, especially with all of the events of this past year. Thus, step up Tiger and do the right thing, whatever that might be.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Reds - Cardinals: Learn to Manage Emotions

These past couple of days, the Reds and Cardinals have been in the forefront of MLB. Not because of baseball skill per say, but rather because of a 'good ole' brawl and 'them fightin' words of Brandon Phillips. Always great events for media. But the real issue is learning how to manage emotions. Athletes are continually trying to control their emotions in a way that helps performance, not hinder it. Because there is so many emotions involved in sport - whether it be the intensity of excitement or the pressure to perform when it really counts - athletes must learn to manage emotions. Baseball is and has always been ridiculous in how they permit bench clearings. Obviously all due to emotional control issues. And then Brandon Phillips - although I love his passion - did not control his emotions and gave the Cardinals good locker room motivation. He lost control of his emotions - Cardinals used this and gained control of theirs - and soundly beat the Reds. Thus, athletes need to learn to control their emotions - both on and off the field - their paychecks will be affected if they don't!

If you want to learn how to manage your emotions in sports, pick up a copy of Sport Psychology for Dummies and read Chapter 11: Handling Pressure: Playing in the Fire Without Getting Burned and Chapter 12: Staying Strong: The Importance of Managing Energy Levels.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Will College Basketball Be Stupid or Take a Lesson from Recent College Football Events?

With the recent news of Isiah Thomas being a college coach and also a consultant to an NBA team, are they realizing how much closer the connection becomes between professional sports, agents, coaches and college sports? Have the individuals in basketball personnel been in a hole recently and not seen the problems recently in college football programs and agents? Why create more potential problems! If you are in the professional ranks, be there; if you are in the college ranks, then be there.