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MESSAGE #1319 MORE ON FOCUS

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Try this exercise:

1. Find three red things in the room you are in.
2. Close your eyes and quickly think of something green in the room.

If you are like most people, it was difficult to think of something green. This is because you were focused on the red items in the room. How does this affect you?

You get what you focus on.

During peak performances, athletes focus on the right things: their target, strategy or game plan.

During poor performances, athletes focus on the wrong things: results, bad calls, bad conditions, spectators or the score.

Focus is important, but make sure you focus on the right things.

 

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MESSAGE #1318 WOW! POW!

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Take a moment and think about a wonderful event in your life. Where were you? How did you feel? What was the weather like? What smells were in the air? Who else was there?

You just practiced visualization, or imagery.

It doesn’t matter if you visualized a vacation, a great performance in your sport, a delicious meal, your wedding, etc.

Many top athletes use the power of visualization to help them perform at their peak during competition.

I recently heard a powerful example of visualization.

There was a POW, Prisoner of War. While he was held in custody, he visualized himself playing 36 holes of golf, every day. He never physically played a game of golf in his life, but he did this to help pass the time by. This lasted years. And after he became free, he instantly became a great golfer.

You can visualize playing your best game, or your worst game and making adjustments. You can visualize potential challenges and how you would want to react to them. You can visualize when you get into bed at night and you can visualize just before a pitch/point/play/down.

You CAN do all of these things, but WILL YOU?

The mind is a powerful thing, use it to your advantage to play your best game.

MESSAGE #1317 FIFTY OUT OF SEVENTY-THREE

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Greg Maddux was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.

Maddux once left a game with a 2-1 lead, in the seventh inning. The reliever gave up a run to tie the game, which ruined Maddux’ chances of getting the win; frustration for any pitcher. But when Maddux was asked after the game, “How did it go out there tonight?” his reply was, “Fifty out of seventy-three.”

What does this mean?

It means he threw fifty strikes out of seventy-three pitches.

Maddux knows the secret. The key to being a successful is to focus on your execution, not the results. If you stick with your plan and execute properly, your job is done. The beauty of this is, you will get better results. On the other hand, if you focus on things out of your control, like results, the media, or the approval of others, you will decrease your chances of getting the results you want.

What was Maddux’ mantra?

“One at a time.”

How can you argue with someone who won 355 games in his career?

*BONUS FACT*
Greg Maddux faced 20,421 batters in his career and only 310 of them saw a 3-0 count (approximately one in every three starts).

MESSAGE #1314 HERE’S TO YOU, BOB RYLAND

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Speaking with Bob Ryland at Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education in Philadelphia

As we close out Black History Month, my thoughts are with a good friend of mine, Bob Ryland, the first black professional tennis player.

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that Bob was Arthur Ashe’s hero. In fact, when Arthur Ashe was 14, he said, “I only want to be good enough to be able to beat Bob Ryland.”

Bob has taught tennis to the Williams sisters, Barbra Streisand, Bill Cosby and many others in his career. I recently had lunch in New York City with the living legend and every time is like the first time. What impresses me about Ryland is that even though he lived through segregation, he stays one of the most optimistic people I know.

You think it’s hard to play tournament tennis nowadays?

I remember when Bob told me about a time when he got accepted into a tournament in California because of his high ranking. But once he arrived, and the tournament director saw that he was black, Ryland was told to “Go get some lunch and come back.”

When he returned, the tournament director said that his opponent showed up and Ryland wasn’t here, so he was disqualified. Of course, this was intentional because of the color of his skin.

Ryland also frequently was pulled over by the police for no reason. There were blacks strung up on trees and also dragged down the street when he was a young boy. He lived through hell.

Bob Ryland could easily be bitter and angry at those situations, but he isn’t. According to him, “It is what it is.”

Much of life is not what happens to us, but how we react.

I am proud to say that Bob Ryland is a dear friend, hero and role model. Bob will be 91 years young this June 16th and you can be sure he will be around the Central Park Tennis Courts once the weather warms up.

Many people say, “Be like Mike.” Today, I say, “Be like Bob.”

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #1313 LEARN FROM THE DUKE

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‎”What a player does best, he should practice least. Practice is for problems.”
-DUKE SNIDER

I love the quote above by the late, baseball great, Duke Snider. Most athletes practice what they are already good at—because it’s more fun. The key is to have fun while focusing on constant improvement. Practice your weaknesses, instead of running away from them.

Recently, someone was looking through my new mental skills workbook and found some errors. I said, “Here’s a pen, please give me your suggestions.” He said, “But I don’t want you to feel bad.”

I then responded, “You’re not going to make me feel bad, you’re making me BETTER.”

It’s all in your head.

MESSAGE #1311 HOW TO WIN

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I have a feeling someone reading this wants to win more. Here’s how you do it…

Look at the letters of “WIN”…

What’s Important Now.

When you are competing, giving a presentation, or taking a test, focus on what is important. Focus on what will help you win. This is not the time to focus on the results. You can’t control results anyway.

So what’s important now?

Your effort, your attitude, and your reactions.

Give a full effort and trust your game.

That’s it.

MESSAGE #1309 NEVER USE THESE THREE WORDS

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If you want to become successful (which I know you do because you’re reading this blog), cut these three words out of your vocabulary.

CAN’T

NEVER

IMPOSSIBLE

You CAN’T win if you use the word CAN’T.

You will NEVER succeed if you use the word NEVER.

It will be IMPOSSIBLE to reach your goals if you use the word IMPOSSIBLE.

Homework: Today, use words and phrases that will motivate you, not words and phrases that will de-motivate you.

MESSAGE #1304 MIND GAMES

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A fellow coach recently told me a story. When he was younger, he faced a young phenom seven times. Going into his final match, his record was   6-0 against this young player. In their final match, however, this coach was losing 2-5 in the third set. It was then that he approached this young phenom and said, “Listen, I’m telling you right now that I’m going to beat you and this will be the last time we face each other.”

You know what?

He DID come back and win, and it WAS the last time they played each other.

Yes, this coach got into his opponent’s head, but his opponent let him.

Do you want someone else to control your mind, or do you want to control your mind?

MESSAGE #1303 YANKEE TIPS FOR SPRING TRAINING

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Pitchers and catchers have already reported to spring training camp and position players report in a couple of days. Baseball is in the air again, and players are getting ready for their upcoming season. Some are  trying to get in shape and others are trying to make an impression.

At the professional level, everyone has the physical skills, but part of what sets the minor league players and the major league players apart, is the mental side.

I know some baseball players in the Yankees organization who will be trying to make an impression down in Tampa this spring. You know who you are, and if you’re reading this, here’s my advice to you:

1. Go all-out—Be the most energetic player on the field. If you hustle on and off the field, not only will the coaches notice, you will actually FEEL more energetic and your performance will increase.

2. Ignore that little voice inside your head—There will be times that your inner voice will speak negatively to you. That’s normal. But you don’t have to believe that voice. Accept it, let it go, and act like the most confident player on the field.

3. Just do it—The great philosopher, Yogi Berra said, “A full mind is an empty bat. You can’t think and hit at the same time.” Trust your game and all the hard work you’ve put in.

4. Visualize—The more you visualize how you want to perform, the more likely you will perform at a high level. Most athletes leave their performance to chance—something YOU don’t want to do.

5. Focus on the process—Don’t worry about results, you can’t control that. Worry, instead about the things you can control, like your effort, your attitude, your energy level and your reactions to situations. When you do this, you will get better results. Oh, and have fun!

That’s it. See you in Tampa on March 9th.

MESSAGE #1302 DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS

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One of my favorite sayings is:

“Doubt your doubts.”

We all have a little negative voice inside our heads that shows up every once in a while (more often for some people).

Recently, I was coaching some tennis players and I introduced topspin to them. Before they even hit one ball, one of the players said, “Oh, I can’t do that.”

I was in shock.

This was a grown woman and she was counting herself out before she even started.

Fortunately, I was able to help her re-frame her negative voice and she actually performed quite well, but it could have been ugly. This type of limiting attitude is quite common, but we can choose to believe it, or doubt it.

Choose wisely.

Thanks for reading.