The Craft of Mental Conditioning

6 Components to Gaining the Competitive Edge

1. Clarity

    Do you have a clear idea and vision of your goals?

2. Concentration

Do you know how to focus and give your undivided attention 

to the task at hand?

3. Composure

Have you learned how to remain centered, calm

 and collected during the competition?

4. Confidence

Do you believe in yourself and your abilities?

5. Character

Do you know the difference between what is right and wrong 

in playing the game?

6. Courage

Have you learned to face your fears and play with perseverance?  

The Mental Game of Nick Foles

Yesterday, in the Thursday, December 12th edition of the Philadelphia Daily News, John Murrow wrote an article about Eagles quarterback Nick Foles being placed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In reading the article, you see how Foles has been mastering the mental aspect of playing football. He not only is focused on how best to serve his team but also has learned to focus on what's most important when he is on field. According to Murrow, Foles has been able to zone out the "noise from all the extra attention, accolades and honors", and simply focus on the game of football. 

In my work with athletes, I have several mental skills which Nick Foles successfully utilizes as a professional athlete...

Circle of Control - Identifying and understanding the difference between what you control and don't control. To be a successful athlete, it is essential that you always focus only on what you do control: your attitude, your actions on and off the field, the time you put into practice, physical conditioning and studying game films. 

Avoid The Minefields - An athlete has to be careful not to step on the mental minefields of complaining, blaming, doubting, resigning or questioning yourself or your teammates. Concentrate on what you want to accomplish and achieve to make yourself a better player, and focus on the positive and productive thoughts or images of what you are currently doing or capable of doing.

Tune In/Tune Out - As an athlete, you need to learn how to tune into those things that are beneficial and essential to your performance while, at the same time, tuning out whatever will distract you or take you away from your game. You tune into your strengths, what you control, positive thoughts, serving the team, the present moment, and learning from your mistakes. You tune out negative judgments about yourself, questionable calls from the officials, any frustrations from the previous play, and wondering who will win the game.

Gratitude

(Being Grounded)

Sometimes I wonder
 if the most grateful athletes
 are the ones 
who are most grounded. 

When a player comes 
from a place of gratitude, 
he brings a sense of enjoyment
 and enthusiasm 
to every moment in a game. 
 Being thankful for the ability
 to play the game he loves, 
he can not hold himself back 
from wanting to give 
and serve the greater good.

  Being grounded, 
the roots
 of his character 
run deep.
The desire to play
with heart
fuels his courage 
and compassion.

To give thanks
for his teammates,
for all the trainings and practices
for every moment in the games,
for being healthy,
for each memorable play,
for the support of his coaches,
for his strengths,
and for the people he will 
meet along the way. 

Reading The Court

Mastering The Moment

"The key is seeing and doing. If you're focusing on anything other than reading the court and doing what needs to be done, the moment will pass you by."

Phil Jackson

Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior

"To win, you must stay in the moment because that moment can change everything."

Augie Garrido

Life Is Yours To Win: Lessons Forged from the Purpose, Passion and Magic of Basketball

"You look for opportunities - moments some call risks - and you figure out how to manage those moments to create big moments."

Rex Ryan

Play Like You Mean It

"Greatness in sports is born in the moment."

Sam Sheridan

The Fighter's Mind
  

According to Anthony Robbins, author of "Awaken The Giant Within", you will make three decisions at any given moment of the day that will determine your future - deciding what to focus on, deciding what things mean to you and deciding what to do to create the results you want. So, in sports, and especially in a game-time situation, it is important that you are mentally prepared to make the right decisions. It is knowing how to mentally manage any moment to create a bigger moment for yourself and your team. And it begins with how you think.

Making the best decisions as a basketball player on the court is all about learning how to assimilate, anticipate and act. It is the "Triple A" formula to building a sharper mind, and knowing how to cut through anything that is a distraction, and destroys your concentration, composure and confidence. It's training your mind to continuously ask yourself - what do I see? - what do I expect? - what do I want? When you do this, you will be able to focus, put things in a positive frame of reference and be a proactive player. It's all about reading the court and mastering the moment.

You are learning how to take in, on a visual and cognitive level, what the moment is offering you, and then translating that into identifying your options and opportunities. It's mentally conditioning yourself to be present and proactive. Positioning yourself to respond to what's happening right in front of you and playing a pivotal role to help your team. To set the screen, make the backdoor cut, block and rebound, initiate the fast break or go for the layup. It's being in the right place at the right time with the right move. And all five players on your team who are on the court as playing pivotal roles.

If you want to successfully read the court, and therefore master the moment, here are a few things that you shouldn't do and actually want to refrain from doing - think about what you can't control, the mistake you just made, looking bad to others, what others say about you, how you compare to other players, why you didn't get more playing time, only yourself, your weaknesses, what you don't want to happen, the last game, the scoreboard, how good the other team is, and what is wrong.

When you think about any of these things, you can't be in the moment and you can't read the court. In fact, you are in many different places except on the court at that moment. You are essentially out of place. And you have definitely lost your opportunity to make the most of the moment in front of you.

Therefore, if you want to read the court, master the moment and become the best player you can be, then you will want to practice these mental strategies on a regular basis - think about your strengths, your purpose, what you control, why you love the game, how you can serve your teammates, what you are grateful for, what you want, what you are learning, what is right, what brings you joy, what inspires you, playing within yourself, and taking a deep breath.

It simply involves being in the moment, seeing the opportunity in that moment and believing that the moment belongs to you.  

Game Time Vows

"Alertness is a measure of how many nows you are alert to in a given period. The result is simple: you become more aware of what is going on as you learn to keep your attention in the now."
W. Timothy Gallwey
The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance


"One of the best ways to create desire in yourself is to learn to really enjoy your own performance of skills well done."
Kirk Mango
Becoming A True Champion: Achieving Athletic Excellence From The Inside Out


"...if you stay focused on the immediate and realistic options that are open to you, you can transform even the most extreme situations in to meaningful experiences."
Ron Brafman
Succeeding When You're Suppose To Fail: The 6 Enduring Principles Of High Achievement



When the game begins, make three mental vows to yourself.

Now - Be Present 
Have the presence of mind to be aware of what is happening at every moment.

Wow - Be Positive
Continuously remind yourself why you are enjoying playing this game and what you admire about yourself as a player.

Pow - Be Proactive
Always focus on your task or responsibility at each moment, and decide how you can make the greatest impact. 

Mountain Climbing
(Part 1)

According to Ed Viesturs, the author of "No Shortcuts To The Top: 
Climbing The World's 14 Highest Peaks", the most important piece of equipment
 is the ice ax. In fact, he refers to it as his "most treasured tool in the mountains".
 This ax can be used to keep your balance on slopes, successfully climb 
steep terrain and stop a fall on snow or ice. 

Think about this.
 To be an exceptional athlete, you want to be mentally strong. 
So, what is your "mental ice ax"? 

 What do you do when you are faced with a difficult or challenging situation?
When you are trying to keep your head in the game and, 
at the same time, keep yourself from emotionally 
or mentally slipping backwards or falling down.

Maybe it's a certain word, phrase, affirmation, 
piece of music, scene from a movie, 
remembering a successful performance 
from the past or simply taking a deep breath. 

Find it. Use it. And keep it ready at all times.

Firing On All Cylinders

"There were times before a game when I would spend an hour with my eyes closed, visualizing all seventy of the plays we were going to run that day. I would picture every detail of the situation - the down, the distance, what hash mark we were on, everything. This really helped me play with confidence, feeling like I knew what was going to happen before it happened."

Drew Brees

Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity

The impact of your performance during the game will be defined by the intensity of your mental imagery before the game begins. Given the physical and mental demands of competition, it is imperative that you condition and prepare your mind to perform at the highest level. It's using all your senses in order to develop full impact imagery or what is called "firing on all cylinders".

Close your eyes and take yourself through one situation or play from the game. In your mind, slowly take yourself through every move and step that you are making from the beginning to the end. Use all your senses, and self-talk, in developing this picture of your performance. See how you are positioned. Feel the uniform and equipment you are wearing or holding. Feel the ground or floor below your feet. See yourself making the first and second moves. Feel the sense of accomplishment as you successfully execute your moves. Listen to yourself as you talk yourself through the series of moves.

See it. Feel it. Hear it. Say it. Replay it.

"The Redmen reread their scouting reports and then closed their eyes and focused on how the game might unfold and how each of them would execute. Coach Barta had taught them to visualize a victory. 'See it, feel it, believe' was the mantra.

Joe Drape

Our Boys: A Perfect Season On The Plains With The Smith Center Redmen   

The 2013 World Series

With the St. Louis Cardinals playing in the 2013 World Series, I found myself returning to a great book about the Cardinals, baseball and the importance of being mentally prepared to play your best. In "One Last Strike", Tony LaRussa writes about the 2011 season as manager with the Cardinals, and how the team came back from ten and a half games with little more than a month to play to make the playoffs and go on to win the World Series.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from his book:

"Gutty. Clutch. Whatever you want to call it, the guys just narrowed their vision and disciplined their minds to focus on the immediate task at hand and produce great results by not thinking about the results." 

"...part of toughness and character is continuing to play when everything is not 

falling into place."

"....'mental toughness' is something they can acquire. If they decide to make something important, then they can make it happen. It's all about making a choice - you can be tough, you can play through a minor injury, you can get through a slump. It's all about control and knowing that you possess it, but it's your choice whether or not you activate it. Players also have to recognize that if they choose not to activate it, 

they aren't going to play for the Cardinals."

"Part of a winner's philosophy is that there's a win somewhere in every loss 

if you search for it."

"We had a meeting in the clubhouse afterward, and my words were 'We're not going to allow anybody who's not in this clubhouse to dictate our attitude and determination to compete in Game 6 and Game 7. We control our minds." 

What Are You Looking At? 

"Schuman had caught himself lying awake in bed the previous night dreaming about making the cut and playing on the weekend. He could sense that those dreams were fading quickly. 'It's funny how a couple of bad swings can get you going in the wrong direction, and then you have a lot of trouble getting it back,' he said. 'There's just no margin for error at this level. Those guys at the top of the leader board look at the golf course and they see flags to fire at. I look at it and all I see is rough I want to stay out of."

John Feinstein

The Majors

In sports, it's very important that you know what you are looking at. 
Are you looking for the "flags" or the "rough"?


Look at what you want.
Look at what you control.
Look at where you want to go with your game. 
Look at your strengths.
Look at the lesson in each mistake.
Look at what inspires you.
Look at what you love about playing.
Look at what you are grateful for.
Look at how you can serve the team.
Look at the positive in any situation.
Look at the present moment.
Look at what you want to learn to become a better player.
Look at the opportunities in any situation. 

PLAY BIG

BELIEVE IN GREATNESS

Very often, I will meet an athlete who plays a team sport and because he believes 

that he is not the star of the team he feels as if he has nothing to offer to the team. 

And what happens is that he begins to hold back and "play small". 

It may start with not giving his best in practice, stop asking questions, 

show up late, and sometimes think about quitting.

  This athlete doesn't realize that it takes every member of that team contributing 

to the team for that team to become successful. It's important that the athlete step back 

and think about all the different roles  an athlete can play in helping the team be successful. Not only is it about what happens during a game on the field or court but just as important what happens outside of the game. It could be through mentoring, 
teaching, motivating, coaching, encouraging or inspiring that one athlete
 can have a major impact upon the team's development.

To "play big" is for the athlete to look for every opportunity to serve and support his team...whether it's in a game, practice or one-on-one with another teammate. To believe in greatness is to believe in the potential and power of any moment...and in that moment he may be given a unique opportunity to help his team succeed. The athlete needs to remember that his team's success depends upon his desire and determination to step up,

 seize the moment and serve the greater good.

"For basketball demanded that though the players be talented, 

they also subordinate their individual talents to the idea of team 
and to each other. A truly great basketball player was not necessarily someone 
who scored a lot of points; a truly great basketball player was 
someone of exceptional talent and self-discipline 

who could make his teammates better."

David Halberstam

The Breaks Of The Game

"Gotta Love The Game"

Earlier today, I attended a soccer combine for high school students. 
As the soccer players were going through some opening drills, 
David Janezic, the assistant men's soccer coach at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, kept encouraging his players by stating..."gotta love the game". 

It was great advice.

In working with athletes, I often talk about the "hook".

 It fuels your desire to play and your devotion to the game. 

It directly impacts every facet of your preparation and performance.

 It will set the tone for how you approach your training and conditioning. 

The "hook" is the one thing that will hold you up when you are feeling down or 

when you simply feel like quitting. It is at the core of who you are as a player 

and how you choose to play in practice or a game.

The "hook" is your answer to the question..."why?" or "what hooks you?"

 Why do you love playing? Why is this game important to you? 

Why do you want to learn how to play? 

Without the why, there is no what, where, how or when.

"Game On"

Being Mentally Tough

When It Really Matters

"The proper mind-set and mental conditioning can make anyone tougher than when they started."
Jay Bilas
TOUGHNESS: Developing True Strength On And Off the Court 

"...the mentally tough athlete...who has learned to harness the strength of the mind wins every time."

Craig Manning

The Fearless Mind: 5 Essential Steps To Higher Performance

You become a tough competitor by harnessing the mental strength to successfully manage those game-time situations which will challenge your concentration, composure and confidence. It's having the necessary skills to play with focus and intensity, and staying mentally sharp and steady - especially during those critical moments of a game.

So, when does it really matter?

The moment you are outplayed by the opponent.
The moment you see you're behind on the scoreboard.
The moment you are called for a foul or penalty.
The moment you are verbally challenged by the opponent.
The moment you feel overwhelmed.
The moment you question yourself.
The moment you make a mistake.

You must condition your mind to take a negative experience in that critical moment, and respond with a positive and productive approach...allowing you to play up to your potential and not to play down to your fears and worries.

So, what can you do?
(here's a few suggestions)

"Flip The Switch"

After making a mistake on the field or court, a player immediately tells himself that he screwed up or failed. This negative self-talk will create negative feelings (anger,guilt) and often leads to a negative physical reaction (lowering the head, kicking the ground). Then the player begins to label himself as a loser or failure. And these negative thoughts and feelings after the first mistake will then trigger a second mistake. By making a negative judgment call about himself, the player is "kept in the dark". He has lost an opportunity to think clearly and objectively about what just happened and thereby, learn from that experience and make the necessary adjustments to improve his game.

The next time you make a mistake, immediately visualize yourself "flipping a light switch on the wall" and take a deep breath. As you inhale, ask yourself what did you see, and while exhaling, ask yourself what did you learn. The message is that if you can see clearly, you can learn, and if you can learn, you will become a smarter and better player.

"Avoid The Minefields"

Too often, before or during a game, and especially when the game is not going as planned or your team is losing, you step on the "mental minefields" of complaining, blaming, doubting, resigning or questioning yourself or others. And once you step on one of these minefields, the mental part of your game has blown up. You have become mentally wounded and disabled. You have raised the white flag and surrendered. This mental approach to playing does nothing to empower you and will not help you elevate your performance. It will take your mind out of the game, and leave you with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

If you see yourself getting ready to step on one of these mental minefields, turn around and walk the other way. Keep your focus on more positive and productive thoughts or images of what you are currently doing or capable of doing. It's about taking ownership of yourself and focusing on what you are going to do at any moment of the game. Concentrate on what you want to accomplish and achieve to make you a better player. You will be thinking clearer...with more composure and confidence.

"Smile"

During a game, when a player from the other team tries to intimidate or scare you by trash-talking, you look straight in his eyes, take a deep breath, smile (keep your mouth closed), and say to yourself..."he's worried or scared". Then you briefly nod your head, turn around and as you are walking away you tell yourself..."I'm having a great time" or "this is fun".

Or, if during that same game, an official makes a call that you don't agree with...then you look straight at the official, take another deep breath, smile (keep your mouth closed again), and say to yourself..."no problem" or "it's ok". Then you briefly nod your head, turn around, and as you are walking away you tell yourself..."we need these officials to maintain and manage this game" or "they're just doing their job".    

To Imagine

"That summer, as a follow-up to the conversation, I called Shane and asked him, 'Shane, this morning while you were shaving, did you look in the mirror and imagine that you were looking at next year's conference player of the year?' He chuckled and began to respond, 'Coach, c'mon, I didn't...' Click, I hung up the phone. The next day, I called him again and this time asked, 'When you were on your way to your internship this morning, did you picture yourself going for 30 points against Virginia?' Again, Shane responded with a cautious laugh. I hung up on him again. A few seconds later, my phone rang and it was Shane. 'Coach, don't hang up on me!'...'I won't hang up on you if you won't hang up on you. We made a deal that you would imagine those things.' Shane needed to imagine because, by doing so, when the time came and he actually found himself in those situations, he would feel as if he had already been there."

Mike Krzyzeski

Beyond Basketball: Coach K's Keywords For Success

Are you not making the time to imagine

 and visualize how you want to perform

 and what you want to accomplish? 

Are you hanging up on yourself?

Find the moments in your day

when you can visualize in your mind

 the player you want to be

 and the places you want to go

 with your game.

The Mental Tune-Up

Essential Questions

 for the

Exceptional Athlete

"At any moment, the questions that we ask ourselves can shape our perception of who we are, what we're capable of, and what we're willing to do to achieve our dreams."

Anthony Robbins

Awaken The Giant Within

Reaching your mental peak and playing your best game
 requires that you ask yourself specific questions, on a regular basis,
as part of your mental preparation and conditioning for the season. The more you ask these questions, the sharper and stronger 
your mind becomes. Each question helps tune-up your mind
so that you can build up your concentration, composure and confidence to play at the highest level.

What do I want?

"The mind works most effectively when you're telling it what to do rather than what not to do."

Gary Mack

Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide To Inner Excellence

 What are my goals?

"Mental focus is paramount when it comes to achieving your goals. And the key is to keep setting those goals."

Luca Caioli

RONALDO: The Obsession For Perfection

 What are my strengths?

"...what most people don't realize is that growth accelerates at a greater rate when we attend to the things we do well...growth is always more rapid when we train our minds to learn from our strengths first and then our weaknesses."

Craig Manning

The Fearless Mind: 5 Essential Steps To Higher Performance 

 What do I control?

"I try to teach our players to focus on the things they can control and to let go of whatever is beyond their reach. Being prepared, fit, and focused in the moment are things we can control."

Augie Garrido

Life Is Yours To Win: Lessons Forged From The Purpose, Passion, And Magic Of Baseball  

Inside Out

"The better you are within yourself, the better your chances of playing well."

Rafael Nadal

RAFA

"Achieving inner excellence is a process. Building mental muscle, like building physical muscle, requires time and effort. The more you work on the inside, the more it will show on the outside."

Gary Mack

Mind Gym

Successful athletes play from the inside out. 
Their success comes from mentally shifting 
into one of six different gears 
which allow them to perform with 
greater concentration, composure 
and confidence. 
They are internally driven to play 
at a very competitive level. 
These athletes gain the inside track by being...

* Inquisitive
* Intentional
* Inspired
* Intuitive
* Insightful
* Influential 

The X-Factor

The X-Factor

"...you see in any situation what you expect to see."

Daniel J. Schwartz

The Magic of Thinking Big

"For the first time since his arrival, Pitino could look at his roster and see more than slivers of hope. At last he saw expectations. Every ingredient for success was in place. Kentucky had the making of a college superstar in Mashburn. It had four seniors - Pelphrey, Farmer, Feldhaus, and Woods - who would start or get massive minutes. It had experience (a total of seven juniors and seniors and ten lettermen). It had motivation. And it had Pitino and his driven staff."

Gene Wojciechowski

The Last Great Game: Duke vs Kentucky  

"The more you expect from a situation, the more you will give...Any time we expect something good, we will he successful. It changes our attitude, it changes our whole mind-set, posture, breathing - everything."

Ken Baum

Mind Over Business 

As an athlete, what do you expect? Are you expecting success? Do you expect good things to happen? What are your expectations for today and tomorrow? Your expectations about yourself, your abilities, your opportunities, your future...they are the "X-Factor". If you want or desire to excel as an athlete but you expect to fail, the expectation wins out.

Expectations are more powerful that wants or desires. So, if you truly want to raise your game, then you must work on creating and cultivating positive and productive expectations about yourself and your opportunities as an athlete. It's about believing in yourself, and anticipating that everything that happens to you has a lesson and is leading you to a more successful future.