HEADS UP
Being Mentally Prepared to Play Your Best Game

"If your head is not in the game before it begins, then you are already behind when the whistle blows."
                                                                                            Anthony B. Lanzillo



When you are watching a game, how often will you hear a coach yell out to one of his players "what were you thinking?" or "get your head back in the game!" Other times, you will hear that same coach tell another player that he is thinking too much and just needs to play his game. The coach is trying to help his players not make mistakes or miss opportunities to make a great play. The problem is that he is unintentionally confusing his players because they probably understand what the coach is saying but are still unsure of how to mentally approach their performance and get their heads into that game.

Either way, players like yourself, are going to be thinking and thinking throughout the game. The issue is whether or not your thoughts and mindset are elevating your performance or bringing it down. Being mentally prepared to play your best game is something that you should work on at every practice and training session. It's making a commitment to work on your mental conditioning and "building your mental muscles" every day of the season. You will develop the mental skills to play with greater concentration, composure and confidence.

Here are seven steps that you can take to get and keep your head in the game, and play with a presence of mind, sense of purpose, the right perspective, passion, poise and perseverance.


Honor Yourself
Acknowledge and celebrate your strengths.

Envison Yourself
Visualize how you want to play and perform.

Ask The Right Questions 
Ask questions about things you control and will put you in a positive and proactive mindset.

Deposit Your Positive Experiences
Hold onto your positive experiences in practice and games. and create a highlights film.

Serve The Greater Good 
Look for opportunities to use your talents and gifts to support your team.

Use What You Control 
Focus on what you control and make it work for you.  

Play On Purpose
Find the purpose to everything you do as an athlete.


If you would like more information on the HEADS UP approach to mental skills training, email me at risson1954@gmail.com.

What Is Your Commitment?

"Alexakos' greatest contribution came in the form of the white index cards that De La Salle players carry. The commitment cards Alexakos introduced became a staple of the program. Ladoceur was accustomed to setting team and offensive and defensive goals, but it was Alexakos who demanded that each of his linemen set individual goals before each game...Ladocuer expanded the concept until every player was required to make a least one weight-lifting goal, one practice goal, and one game goal, which are then written on index cards. Players give the cards to a teammate or coach who is responsible for determining whether the goals have been fulfilled. The findings are reported to the team the next week...Commitment cards fit Ladoceur's program perfectly. They teach goal-setting and accountability and keep nonstarters from giving up on their seasons."

Neil Hayes
When The Game Stands Tall: The Story Of The De La Salle Spartans And Football's Longest Winning Streak  

What Are You Doing Off The Field?

"He was the only Springbok to have sat down with Mandela one-on-one, and he was particularly anxious that his team project an image that would please Mandela. But he was also thinking, as he did always with relentless detail, what the team did off the field might improve their performance on it. And as he heard himself and his teammates singing, his rugby brain clicked into action. He understood that victory in a top-class rugby game was 50 percent psychology, and saw a sporting value in the song, beyond the politics. 'I made up my mind right there and then that this was an unexpected plus that Morne had given us; that it could give us something special going into the game, if we respected it and felt the energy of it,' Pineaar said, before adding, with a smile and a shake of the head, 'but...it's amazing to think about the Afrikaan boys singing that anthem!"

John Carlin
INVICTUS: Nelson Mandela And The Game That Made A Nation 

The Mental Tenacity of Larry Bird

"Riley poured over tapes of Bird, pointing out specific tendencies to his team, such as Bird's preference to bring the ball up left-handed and his ability to split the double teams by positioning his feet in between the trap. Yet, all the technical tips, Riley knew, would not offset the true strength of Bird's game: his mental tenacity. 'You had to deal with his psyche before you could even discuss the basketball aspect of it,' Riley explained. 'I always told my guys, you will never be able to beat Bird until you understand how much he wants to win and what he'll do to make sure he wins. We had to be above and beyond him mentally, and I wasn't always sure it was possible." 
Larry Bird and Earvin Magic Johnson
When The Game Was Ours 


How mentally determined are you? 
Have you measured your mental stamina?
How are you developing your mental endurance?

Spectator or Player ?

As a coach, have you ever noticed the players on your team who are stepping back, away from the action, and are standing there...watching the game as it takes place right in front of them. It appears as if they are holding back or pulling themselves away from being proactive and actively participating in different game-time situations. The teammates and coaches will remind them of their roles and responsibilities in those situations but they continue to refrain or refuse to step up and into the action.  It looks like they are spectators.

Is their decision to pull back in certain game-time situations based upon negative thoughts or judgments that they have made about themselves or what they perceive as no-win situations? Are they acting like spectators, and not stepping into the action, because they are concerned or afraid of making a mistake, being embarrassed by a better player or looking bad to their teammates or parents who are watching the game? Are they worried more about what they don't want to see happen and have also convinced themselves that they will only make matters worse for their team if they try to do something?

The following are a series of steps that you can take to help these athletes stop being a spectator and become a player:

* Identify their personal strengths as a player and how they can support the team
* Mentally focus on what they want to do or achieve, and not what they fear will happen
* Understand that mistakes will happen and that they can learn from each mistake  
* Create a compelling story about why they want to play this particular sport
* Know what they control and not worry about what they don't control
* Ask questions that put them in a positive and proactive state of mind
* Play in the now and only focus on the present moment

What Do You Believe?

At the 2014 Winter X Games, Colten Moore wins the gold medal for the Snowmobile Freestyle. In a statement on ESPN.com and the Bleacher Report, Colten talks about his brother who died the previous year in the winter games because of a fatal accident during the competition. 

"This is the greatest moment ever, to be able to come back and ride for my brother. And not just for him, but with him, because I know he was out here with me all night. To be able to come out here and get gold is unbelievable. I just give it all to him. I know he was the one helping me do everything I was doing...It's what me and Caleb grew up doing, pushing each other to go for it. I just knew that he'd be riding with me." 

As an athlete, you need to check your beliefs. Are your beliefs engaging and empowering? Do your beliefs make you emotionally stronger and fuel your competitive spirit? 

Map It Out

The Mental Approach to Practicing

"Those key coaching points for managing the mental and emotional aspects of performance include: 1. Creating a statement of purpose that includes why you play the game, what you hope to accomplish, and what sort of person you hope to become. 

This is the map..."

Augie Garrido

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

An athlete can ask these three simple questions in order to create within himself an empowering and compelling picture of attending and participating in practice:

* Why am I here?

* What do I bring?

* Where can I go? 

"Each practice is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to get better, and an opportunity to make a breakthrough and reach a new level."

Jay Bilas

TOUGHNESS: Developing True Strength On And Off The Court

What aspect of your game do you want to work on today? In what area of your game do you want to step up and reach a new level? Where is the breakthrough?

"I wanted every drill to have a mental purpose to it. I made it mandatory for the players to have a clear objective and a plan to achieve the objective before every match."

Craig Manning

The Fearless Mind: 5 Essential Steps to Higher Performance

A player can find the purpose for any drill by creating a full-impact image of how that drill will help him successfully execute a play in a game-time situation. You develop a picture in your mind of your performance on the field or court. In fact, you want to use all of your senses in your visualization...see it, feel it, hear it, say it, then replay it.