Posts Tagged "golf"
Apr17

Morals in Sports, Part 1

Posted at 10:53 AM • No Comments
Thanks for coming back! I appreciate your viewing.

Anytime you get away from writing regularly you are going to miss major stories.  A lot of happened since my last post.  Many interesting stories that involve positive uses of psychology, troublesome off field issues for athletes, and general situations that at the time can always benefit from some added analysis.  While I would like to put more time into writing my schedule currently doesn’t allow for it. What does interest me and the reason why I am writing again is the issue of morals in athletes. I hope to have a  few posts on different aspects of this.

Morality in sports is very difficult situation.  The easy answer is that the player is off the field is not related to the person who’s on the field.  While there is some truth to that when it comes to performance, the line is a lot more blurry in reference to being a fan of someone or believing they are a role model.  Most obvious example was last week’s Masters tournament where the more “family and wholesome” Phil Mickelson beat out the now “vilified” Tiger Woods.  From the surface the situation seemed like a perfect outcome for what many believe to be good triumphing over evil.  Clearly though, it is not that simple and is incorrect to make these assumptions.  While we know a good amount about the Mickelson and his family life, including the struggles that he’s dealing with his involving his wife and mother, we just don’t know really who he is and what he thinks about or does.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing but it’s important to understand that just because an athlete does multiple interviews and makes themselves accessible to the public it doesn’t mean we know who they are.  Not too long ago everybody thought they knew who Tiger Woods was but clearly people’s perceptions were wrong.

Photograph: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Photograph: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

I would encourage fans to look into why they cheer for individual athletes.  Is it about with athlete performs or is it more about who that athlete is?  I think in some sports and in some individual cases it might be either/or for different fans.  As youth athletes we often encourage the life skills that we can learn sports but then as we get a little bit older it becomes much more about performance.  This dynamic going from focusing on learning to competition but the definitive change in perspective of how we view sports and what they do for individuals.

I don’t think there is a right answer when considering whether to cheer for in athletes performance or for who they are as a person.  I just think it is important to reflect and look critically at why, as a fan, we are rooting for individual players or teams.

Jul6

What You Can Learn From This Interview With Tiger Woods

Posted at 1:25 PM • No Comments

This interview with Tiger Woods, on ESPN, provides an excellent look into the issues that professional athletes deal with.  While he is in a class by himself he discusses issues that can affect athletes, professional and amateur alike, and even people who have jobs that require a lot of time.  So often we view athletes as people who only have to deal performance concerns but as you know life is much more complicated than that.

Key points to watch for:

He discusses that his practice schedule has changed due to having a child.  While he cannot practice as much, it has forced him to be more deliberate and focused during his practice.  It’s a good reminder that practice is not simply about how much time you take but more about how you practice.  Being creative in your practice can be very beneficial.

He addresses the social responsibility of athletes.  His words focus on how being political is not the only way to be socially proactive.  He understands he is potentially in a position of “power ” so instead he focuses on areas he can control.

He also discusses what he struggled with at the US Open.  His ability to self-analyze is a skill that athletes and others need to always work on.  Self-analysis is not about being critical.  It is about being able to recognize a problem and then be able to work on the issue in a productive way.

Enjoy the video!

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For more information about mental performance, as well as overall athletic performance enhancement, check out our websites. The links are on the right of the homepage.

Jun23

Thoughts About The US Open: To Plan or To React?

Posted at 10:26 AM • No Comments

Tee_Off

Now that the U.S. Open is over there is certainly going to be a lot of discussion about how Phil Mickelson was unable to come through again, how Ricky Barnes fell apart, the comeback of David Duval, Tiger not playing well, and how little known qualifier, Lucas Glover, won the open.  All these are interesting and great stories but I think there’s an area that needs to be discussed to better understand what happens in these type of major tournaments.  This situation brings up issues for those that have experience, never been there before, or have nothing to lose.

Having pressure or being expected to win (or even being a fan favorite) is not an area that’s really going to help anybody in these type of tournaments.  While each one handles pressure differently, it becomes clear that individuals put extra pressure on themselves when they expect more from their performance.   From this reaction they are then less likely to succeed or play to their expectations.  When it comes from outside sources, those at professional level (most players) can put it out of their mind but when it’s their own expectations it changes things completely.

Looking at the example of Ricky Barnes, he played over his head for the first 36 holes and even continued to play over his head for the first three rounds.  And while he had nothing to lose in the beginning, going into the fourth round his own expectations of himself changed.  The level of pressure changed, the possibilities were now different, and he now had something to lose.  While I have no idea what was going on in his head (and I am not going speculate) the one thing that is clear is that the situation change for him and he was not able to get to execute the way he was playing earlier.  This scenario could probably be applied to multiple players during this tournament.

When I work with other athletes of any sport an area I always try to emphasize is always knowing what the situation currently is.  It is extremely important, as an athlete, to always understand what the situation is and what the situation is turning into.  Planning and preparation is what it’s all about.  If you’re in the situation where you’re playing with nothing to lose but suddenly have something to lose and don’t have a strategy of how to manage yourself there is a strong potential to underperform.  So whether you are a golf fan or not (even if you’re not an athlete, this applies to the workplace) it is critical to plan and be prepared for when situations change.  Some people may handle situations better than others and regardless if you do, you can eliminate an immense amount of pressure by simply being prepared.

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For more information about mental performance, as well as overall athletic performance enhancement, check out our websites. The links are on the right of the homepage.

Jun18

Are Crazy Parents Needed?

Posted at 11:34 AM • No Comments

Racket TossIn the online magazine Slate there is an article about what is needed to create the next great American tennis player (Article Here).  I do some consulting for a tennis academy so I’ll add my thoughts.

From the article: American men have now failed to take the title in 22 straight Grand Slam tournaments, extending the longest dry spell in U.S. tennis history. This stretch of futility, coupled with a dearth of young talent on the women’s side, prompted the United States Tennis Association to overhaul its player development system last year, introducing a host of initiatives such as regional residential training centers, a new roster of national coaches to scout and train prospects, and an increased budget (upward of $100 million over the next 10 years). The plan is comprehensive and ambitious, intended to produce the next Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Venus Williams. Unfortunately for the USTA, national organizations with comprehensive mission statements don’t produce tennis champions. Crazy tennis parents do.

This is an interesting observation and one that isn’t too far off.  I think its fair to say that in every sport there are some overbearing parents and tennis is full of them.  From my own experience of working with youth tennis players there is no shortage of  intense parents.  In some rare cases parents do make a huge difference in the outcome of the youth athlete (the article names a handful of tennis examples) but relatively it is an extremely small number compared to how many youths play sports.  The part that stick out to me is the setup of these sports.

For example, in tennis parents have a lot of control.  They spend a ton of money if their kids are even somewhat serious about the sport.  Since the spend so much money they feel entitled.  The entitlement stretches from court preference to how the coaches coach.  This is a big difference from other expensive sports.  Take a sport like hockey where parents also spend a lot of money on equipment, ice time, and camps.  The difference is that hockey players, in most areas, have a limited selection of teams to choose from.  If they don’t like the coach or the setup they have two choices, quit or deal with it.  In the tennis academy I work at if you do not like your coach you have a multitude of choices.  With so many choices who is driving the talent development? Is it the coaches (experts) or the parents (wannabe experts)?

Many other sports have ways to allow talented individuals to play on teams or go to camps to get better instruction and face better competition.  That structure builds talent purposefully, there are various levels that help talent grow in progressions.  Each stage of development should lead into the next stage.  But in tennis, if you’re very good you have to move to Florida and pay an exorbitant amount of money to train at one of those academies.  There is almost nothing on the smaller scale, there is little building of talent.  If you rank high enough you can play against better talent but not necessarily train with better talent.  While tennis is the focus of the article it should be noted that this is happening in other sports too.  Other single sports, like golf, face a similar issue.  ESPN.com has article about the lack of Americans winning a major golf tournament (besides Tiger Woods & Phil Mickelson).

The training structure needs to be changed for improvement to be seen.  The USTA needs to focus on providing situations were the kids are getting great coaching, good competition, fair evaluations, and the parents have minimal choices.  The focus needs to be on building the kid’s internal motivations and talents simultaneously, not just getting their or their parent’s way.   If the kids are passionate about the sport, have good coaching, and a chance to play against good talent they have a better chance than any overbearing parent.

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For more information about mental performance as well as overall athletic performance enhancement check out our websites. The links are on the right of the homepage.

Apr2

No More Goals, More Actions

Posted at 8:44 AM • One Comment

 

To Reach A Goal, Actions Are Most Important

To Reach A Goal, Actions Are Most Important

Goals are a major part of sport training.  As an athlete it is important to remember it is not the goals but the actions taken to achieve the goals that matter.  When creating your goals consider the following questions:

  • How long will it take to reach this goal?
  • What is my first step?
  • What results may occur due to this goal?
  • What are the various steps that are required to meet this goal?

Setting a goal is great but if you don’t know how you will reach that goal it becomes useless.   Goals should be outlines for action plans, not simply a dream.  Think about it as your destination on a map.  You may know where you are supposed to be going but you still need a route to get there.  There may even be multiple routes you can take, so that choice is up to the athlete (or coach involved).  Evaluate the options and choose what fits best into the situation.

As you create your goals be aware of the necessary actions, write them down and keep them accessible as you would the goals themselves.  It should be a stepwise process building towards your larger goal (If you are a golfer and want to add 45 yards to your drive, then you should break it down into smaller parts).  The actions should fit together and improve your performance from various angles.  See the example below:

Goal: Add 15 yards to my drive (Golf)

Actions:

  • Workout in the gym 3x week (*Set goals for performance in the gym i.e., add 20 lbs to my bench press in the next 3 weeks)
  • Improve my flexibility
  •  Hit 50 more drives per day
  • Analyze swing through video once per week
  • Spend 1 extra hour with my swing coach

For more information about mental performance as well as overall athletic performance enhancement check out our websites. The links are on the right of the page.