To Be Unpresent

"I'm wholly unprepared, so I become unpresent."
Andre Agassi 
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As an athlete, to be "unpresent" on the field or court is probably the most significant indication that you are not mentally prepared to play your best game. To be unpresent means that you are not focused, are probably not concentrating on what you control, and are thinking or worrying about past events or future expectations. Your mind is anywhere or everywhere but where it should be; which is with what is happening right now and right in front of you.    

To be unpresent means that you can not tune out all of the irrelevant distractions surrounding you, and are unable to tune into what you clearly see and are doing at any given moment or game-time situation. Being unpresent means that you have mentally and emotionally pulled yourself out of the game. Your head and thoughts are simply not in the game.

You become unpresent when you start playing in a game and are still thinking about the last game that you lost. You become unpresent when you are thinking about a bad call that the refs made five minutes ago. You become unpresent when you are wondering if you will win the game and it's still the first half. You become unpresent when you are looking for who's on the sidelines or stands watching your game. You become unpresent when you keep looking at the scoreboard. You become unpresent when you focus on how you feel instead of what you see.

Do you have any problems with being unpresent? Do coaches or teammates talk to you, and then you ask them to repeat themselves because you weren't listening? Do you look away from the field or court and miss something that happened in the game? Do you get called for a foul or penalty because you didn't hear the ref blow his whistle to stop the game?

If you are one of those athletes who is often unpresent in practice or a game, then you need to step back and take a serious look at what you are not doing in your mental preparation to be present, and think about what could be taking you away from your mental game.

If you would like to figure out how to do this, drop me at email at risson1954@gmail.com.

Playing From The Inside Out 

"If you want to be truly successful, you can't be content with 'pretty good'. You need to find an extra gear."   Tim S. Grover -  Relentless
 

Exceptional athletes play from the inside out. They know that how they play and perform comes from their state of mind, and the time and effort that they put into their mental preparation. They are willing to take the initiative to develop their mental skills. These athletes are internally driven and directed to play at a very competitive level. They have learned how to mentally shift into three different gears which makes them mentally stronger and sharper.

You must use all of these gears throughout all of your training, practice and workout sessions in order to play and perform at a higher level at game time.

1st Gear - "Inquisitive"
An athlete must take the initiative to keep asking questions that focus on his or her development and progress. These questions are asked everyday and should be especially addressed when you are practicing or working out. Keep asking yourself..."What can I do today to become a better player?...How can I develop or improve a particular skill that I use in the game?...Where can I use my strengths and skills to help the team succeed?...What can I learn from watching the game films?"

2nd Gear - "Intentional"
An athlete needs to know what he or she is doing at any given moment of a practice or in a game. You want to know the purpose of the different drills and exercises in practice, as well as having a goal for the overall practice on any given day. It's important that you know where you are going whether it's for one practice or the whole season. You can set goals for training or practice that focus on the development and use of specific skills. 

3rd Gear - "Inspired"
An athlete needs to take ownership and responsibility for figuring out or finding what inspires and motivates himself or herself. Maybe, it's a quote, piece or music, moment in a film,  or playing for another person or athlete. Identify what inspires you and incorporate it into every training and practice session.


Tone Lanzillo
Mental Skills Coach
risson1954@gmail.com