MESSAGE #1520 THIS IS WHO WINS
Going into the Mercer County Tournament, my Princeton Day School girls tennis team was not the favorite. We weren’t even the second or third favorite. But we were still optimistic.
So how did we win the championship?
1. We went all-out.
2. We focused on the process, not the outcome.
3. We supported each other.
4. We never gave up.
5. We stayed positive.
We were tied with Princeton High School going into the final day and this is what I told my team:
“Day 1 was great, but it’s now in the past. Somebody’s gotta win this, why not us? It’s not the best team that wins, it’s the team that plays best. Play to win, not to ‘not lose.’ ”
And we are now the 2011 Mercer County Champions.
MESSAGE #1502 THE WINNER OF THE US OPEN WILL BE…
I am going to make a prediction.
I know who is going to win the US Open this year.
Here it is:
The winner of the 2011 US Open will be…
The player who plays best.
Let me explain.
The best player does not win the US Open, the player that plays best wins the US Open.
It’s not about rankings, it’s about how well you play. Anything can happen in sports. There have already been several upsets in both the men’s and women’s draws.
So the next time you get ready for a competition, forget about who you’re up against. Instead, focus on your strategy and giving your full effort. If you do things that will help put you in a good position to win, you will win more often.
Leave your comments below.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
ed@edtseng.com
MESSAGE #1412 LESSONS FROM AN NCAA CHAMP
Recently, Lauren Embree clinched the NCAA title for the University of Florida Gators women’s tennis team. She beat Mallory Burdette, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) after losing a 5-1 lead in the first set and overcoming a 0-4 deficit in the final set.
I caught up with Embree after her incredible win.
“I had different thoughts racing through my mind when I was down 4-0 in the third. I kept fighting. I knew I still had a chance no matter what the score was.”
“I just told myself, ‘one point at a time,’ ”
“I kept telling myself positive thoughts.”
Embree’s goal was to fight her way back and instead of focusing on the situation, she focused on the process and just tried to get the ball back deeper.
So what did Embree do?
1. She went all-out.
2. She played in the present moment (not the past or the future).
3. She told herself affirmations to keep her performance, focus and energy levels high.
She could have easily fallen apart after losing the lead in the first set, but she didn’t—she fought back. Even when she was down 0-4 in the final set, she went all-out until the very end.
And we can all do that…it’s a choice.
You may not be an NCAA champion, but you can use Embree’s strategies to succeed in sports, sales or school. And you can begin today.
Thank you Lauren and congrats again.
MESSAGE #1245
“The first and best victory is to conquer self.”
-PLATO
Recently, I worked with a young girl and she hated serving. She avoided it. Every time she practiced her serve, she would inevitably expect the worst.
I told her I was optimistic about her serve and that she should be as well. “You get what you focus on,” I told her.
Instead of focusing on how much she hated serving, I just told her to think about her technique and adjustments.
She stuck with it and started getting her serves in. And guess what?
She started smiling.
Had she given up or avoided serving, her serves would still be the same.
She conquered herself and began getting the results she wanted.
My student came up to me after class and said, “Thank you, coach. Today I learned a very important lesson.”
Conquer yourself and the sky is the limit.
MESSAGE #1242 FOCUS
We choose what we focus on.
Suppose you are winning a tennis match by a score of 5-0, and your opponent then wins the next three games. You start to think that the momentum has switched and that the person on the other side of the net has a chance to win.
STOP!
This type of thinking is normal, however, many people end up losing that set by focusing on the possible loss instead of focusing on HOW they can close it out.
The key is acknowledging that negative little voice inside your head and then moving on. Focusing on the next point. Your strategy. Your footwork.
Is this easier said than done?
Yes and no. Simple…yes. Easy…no. Mental training is just like physical training. You have to work at it.
Here’s an example of how you can shift your focus at any time.
Look around you and find three things that are blue.
Now quickly close your eyes and find something green.
Isn’t it hard to do?
Why?
Because it’s hard to focus on two things at the same time.
You can’t get green when focusing on blue.
You can’t get a win from focusing on a loss.
MESSAGE #1216 ACTION
Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the great basketball/tennis players, coaches and parents that attended my “Mental Edge” seminar.
In my seminar today, in conjunction with the great Micah Lancaster’s basketball session, I talked about how to get the mental edge in sports and life. I shared some of the mental secrets of the world’s greatest athletes.
One of the keys I stressed was that knowing the mental secrets was not good enough–you need to APPLY them.
Information is nothing without implementation.
Everyone knows what they need to do, but most people don’t do it.
And here’s the secret…
A real champion does what they need to do, when they need to do it, whether they feel like it or not.
You don’t have to feel like a champion to act like a champion. It’s a choice, and it can begin right now.
A special thanks to Brian Klatsky for making “The Mental Edge” possible today.
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