MESSAGE #1300 A VALENTINE’S DAY STORY

/0 Comments/in , /by

One day, an old man found himself sitting next to a young man on the local bus. It was February 14th, Valentines’ Day and the old man was holding a bouquet of flowers. They got to talking and the young man said, “Those are beautiful flowers.”

“Thank you, I’m going to go bring them to my wife,” the old man said. “Do you have a girlfriend?” the old man asked back.

“Yes, she is wonderful and we are very happy, but I don’t have any money to buy her a gift for Valentine’s Day.”

The old man gave a sympathetic smile and the two men were silent for a moment.

Then, the bus stopped and the old man stood up to get off. He faced the young man, handed him the bouquet of flowers and said, “Here, my wife would want you to have these,” as he walked off the bus.

The young man, stunned and grateful, looked out the window as the old man slowly walked across the street, and entered the cemetery.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Remember, it’s about others.

Today, and every day, strive to be a better teammate, coach, son, daughter, mother, father, husband, wife, student and person, by focusing less on yourself and more on making a difference in others’ lives.

MESSAGE #1299 PERSPECTIVE

/0 Comments/in /by

Today I was coaching some high school tennis players. I talked about how their perception was more important than what happens to them. Bad line calls, the weather, spectators, loud noises and other distractions are inevitable, but very often winning and losing is determined by our perspective.

I then had them stare at a disk as I rotated it for ten seconds. After staring at the disc, they were told to stare at my face. Because of the special effect, my head appeared to shrink. Everyone was in shock.

Did my head really shrink?

No, it was their perception from staring at the disc.

I then talked about how we can change our perceptions by focusing by thinking about what else the situation could mean, namely, how it could be used to our advantage.

When you are facing a supposed better player/team, you can look at it as a potential loss or as a great experience.

It’s your choice.

MESSAGE #1298 CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Recently, I put this quote on my facebook wall:

‎”Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.” -LAO TZU

It was very well-received, but what does it mean?

As an athlete, we have many potential external distractions. Common ones include: spectators, coaches, parents, friends, weather, fans, media, etc.

If we care what everyone thinks, we will be their prisoner and will not be able to perform to our potential.

These external distractions are out of our control.

We should not worry about things that are out of our control.

Instead, we need to focus on the things we can control, and all of those things are within us. That is where the true power is.

Inside.

Control yourself and you can control your destiny.

Let others control you and your destiny is in their hands.

MESSAGE #1297 SLOW THE GAME DOWN

/0 Comments/in , , /by

“Never hurry when it counts.”
-JOANNE CARNER

When things are not going your way, time goes by very quickly.

When things are going your way, time goes by very slowly.

The greatest athletes in the world slow the game down to their speed.

How do they do it?

1. They focus on taking deep diaphragmatic breaths.
2. They focus on playing one point at a time.
3. They focus on the process, not the result.
4. They focus on things they can control.
5. They focus on having fun.

And you can do the same.

MESSAGE #1296 A MESSAGE FROM TED WILLIAMS

/0 Comments/in /by

“All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street folks will say, ‘There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived.’ ”
-TED WILLIAMS

What do you want to be said about you?

MESSAGE #1295

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

Gandhi said:

“Full effort is full victory.”

What does this mean?

Here’s how I see it:

1. Go all-out.
2. Focus more on your effort.
3. Focus less on your results.
4. Most people don’t give it their all.
5. When you focus on the “process,” (effort) you get the “product” (winning) that you want.

MESSAGE #1294 DO THE RIGHT THING

/0 Comments/in /by


In 2008, during the Rome Masters, Andy Roddick was the #1 seed. He had match point and was about to win. The umpire called his opponent’s second serve out, resulting in a double-fault. Roddick had won the match. As Roddick walked up to the net to shake his opponent’s hand, he noticed a mark on the clay. It was touching the line, which meant the serve was actually in. Roddick brought this to the umpire’s attention and the match continued. Roddick ended up losing the match.

Did Andy Roddick do the right thing?

MESSAGE #1293 ARE YOU HELPING OR ARE YOU HURTING?

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

The other day I was coaching on a court next to another pro. This pro used to be a top junior and collegiate player, so he obviously can play the game. But just because someone can play doesn’t mean they can coach, does it?

In education, there are many intelligent individuals, but does that mean they are great teachers? The answer is no.

From my court, I heard a mis-hit, a ball off the frame of the racquet, by one of this coach’s students. There’s nothing wrong with that. But then I heard the coach yell, “Great shot!”

I looked over to see who he was talking to, and sure enough, he was talking to the boy who made the error.

It’s important to be positive, but it has to be real. You can’t just say “Great shot!” for the sake of saying it. That doesn’t help the student. As coaches, perhaps we can change that and say, “Great swing, but make sure you watch the ball longer next time,” to maximize our students’ improvement.

I have a business partner who tells me how it is, regarding our projects, whether I want to hear it or not. Most people don’t like hearing the truth, especially if it hurts. But guess what? I love hearing the truth. I would rather hear it and learn from it than have someone just telling me what I want to hear in order to make me feel good.

And parents, focus less on telling your children how beautiful they are and start telling them how proud you are of their effort and constant improvement.

That’s how winners are made.

But that’s just my opinion.

Leave your comments below.

MESSAGE #1292 SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

/0 Comments/in , , /by

I have a special talent.

I can predict who will win a sporting event 100% of the time.

Here is my Super Bowl prediction:

The team that will win the Super Bowl tonight is…

The team that plays best.

The Green Bay Packers are the favorites, but not by much. So the game is up for grabs.

Which team will perform best under the pressure? Which team will do their best when it matters the most? And which team will go all-out?

Time will tell.

MESSAGE #1291 WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

/0 Comments/in , /by

The difference between winning and losing is between your ears.