Mentality of Champions

What often separates champions is their mentality. It is a skill that coaches must develop just like any other skill set.

A few areas to focus on from Anson Dorrance:
1. The objective is simple--Excellence
2. Three key ingredients to every player's success
A. Self-Discipline
B. Competitiveness
C. Self-Belief
3. Work to identify the fragile areas for each player
4. A player's development is largely based on her ambition.
5. Evil is anything that lowers our standards just a hair.

Your Reality Is The Reality You Create

Your Reality Is The Reality You Create

Your reality is the reality you create. If you have positive beliefs or representations, it’s because that’s what you have created. If you have negative ones, you’ve created them.
Belief is the foundation of excellence.
The first step toward excellence is to find the beliefs that guide us toward the outcomes we want.
The path to excellence consists of knowing your outcome, taking action, knowing what results you’re getting, and having the flexibility to change until you’re successful.
To model excellence, we have to start with the belief systems of excellence.

Process of Excellence--The Mental Approach--"Rightness"

As we work our Process of Excellence--we understand the role of the mental approach. We must eliminate the mental clutter. The following article is a great example:


The Feeling of Rightness—Eliminating Mental Clutter

Some Oriental philosophies have made the state of mind their primary focus. The concept of acting without self-conscious thought was probably first crystallized by the Samurai swordsmen of medieval Japan. Using some of the philosophical concepts of their time, they determined that the best way to beat one’s adversary in a duel was to fight without delay of thinking. Polished technical skill was a prerequisite, but the actual moves were dictated by feeling rather than thought. By refining their intuitive sense through the constant discipline of practice duels they were able to develop a state of mind that minimized the clutter of such thoughts as “oh, no, is he going to try to attack me from the left or the right?” Instead, poised and balanced, the Samurai could respond, as if he were at one with his opponent, as if he “knew” each moment what would happen next.

“The body learns the state of mind.” In other words, when you are learning something it’s worth it to turn off, unplug, or tune out the mind for a little while. Zen archers of the Orient gained their discipline, not by focusing on the target, but by striving for the feeling of “rightness” in the shot. If the shot was “right,” hitting the target comes naturally. Bulls-eyes on tiny targets in darkened rooms are part of what Zen archers do, but not for the sake of hitting targets. Their purpose is a form of meditation, a quest for that feeling of “rightness”.

Article is by Drs. Tom and Randy Read found the in the book, “The University of Success” by Og Mandino

Mental Management--Goal Setting System

MENTAL MANAGEMENT GOAL SETTING SYSTEM


Step 1—Decide Exactly What You Want. Be specific.

Step 2—Decide When You Want It.

Step 3—List The Pay Value. List all the reasons that are important to you for getting the goal.

Step 4—Answer, “Why don’t I have this now?”

Step 5—Ask, “What is my plan to get this goal. What will price will I pay to get this goal?”

Step 6—Ask, “Is the prize worth the price?”

Step 7—Schedule my plan. If it isn’t scheduled, it will not get done.

Mental To Physical--The Mind Like Water Simile

A great book to keep near your desk is David Allen's, "Getting Things Done". One of the great books on organization and preparation. It does a great job in walking you through setting up a system of organization--not just planning, but handling all the many things that come across our desk.

While reading last night, I came across something that I had missed. Allen was discussing how being organized and prepared, "clears your mind". However, while reading that section it made me think about the mental preparation for our team. Jerry Tarkanian said, "the more they think, the slower their feet get." The mental part of the game is a skill just like ballhandling and shooting. We are looking for ways to develop. The following from Allen's book is a mindset that we need our players to play with.

Allen calls this state--"Mind like water"

• In karate there is an image that's used to define the position of perfect readiness: "mind like water." Imagine throwing a pebble into a still pond. How does the water respond? The answer is, totally appropriately to the force and mass of the input; then it returns to calm. It doesn't overreact or under react.
• The power in the karate punch comes from speed, not muscle; it comes from a focused "pop" at the end of the whip.
• That is why petite people can learn to break boards and bricks with their hands: it doesn't take calluses or brute strength, just the ability to generate a focused thrust with speed.
• But a tense muscle is a slow one. So the high levels of training in the martial arts teach and demand balance and relaxation as much as anything else. Clearing the mind and being flexible are key.