Blog
Did you know competing is a skill?
May 4, 2016If you are a tennis player who has ever had to come back from an injury, you realize that the hardest part is getting back to your level of play in a tournament or competitive environment. After practicing for a while, your strokes may feel like they used to, but the first time you decide […]
read moreVideo – Emotions in Sports: Good or Bad?
January 18, 2016In today’s video blog, I discuss emotions in sports and their effect on performance. Many coaches and athletes believe in the necessity of showing emotions while you compete, but does that actually help you to perform more consistently? Watch the video for my take on this and learn why I agree with former UCLA men’s […]
read moreVideo – Being coachable and your path to greatness
January 6, 2016How coachable are you? In today’s video, I discuss the importance of being coachable, the behaviors that demonstrate you are coachable, and some of the difficulties with choosing this path. Achieving mastery of your sport isn’t easy and it requires some tough choices. Put aside your fear and dare to be great! Also in this video, […]
read moreVideo Blog – Taking Control in 2016!
January 1, 2016On our journey to be great competitors, it is so important that we take control of our reactions and channel them into productive responses. Today’s video is all about “The Warrior Mindset” (aka, The Great Competitor) and how we can apply that in 2016 so that we are in control. Let me know your thoughts […]
read more10 Bits of Mental Toughness Wisdom for the Tennis Player
November 23, 2015Even though the title of this post refers to tennis players, I believe any athlete can gain perspective from these ten points. Apply them and reap the benefits. When your opponents make excuses for why they lost to you, take it as a compliment. You broke them mentally and now they’re desperate to protect their […]
read moreDo you want to win?
September 23, 2015Do you like to win? Of course you do, right? Perhaps you think that’s a silly question for me to pose, but what if I told you that while most athletes say they want to win, their behavior often says something entirely different. It says that mistakes and being perfect are more important to them […]
read moreWhere Mental Toughness Lives
September 3, 2015I recently finished reading George Mumford’s “The Mindful Athlete,” and it reminded me of the importance of committing to a meditation practice on a daily basis so that I can be at my best more often. One of the benefits of such practice that I have come to appreciate is the ability to suspend judgment […]
read more“Be Quiet!!!” – Develop a Mindset to Deal with Noise
June 2, 2015Ever find yourself wishing that someone would just be quiet while you’re performing? Recently, several people have asked me about how tennis players can deal more effectively with crowds or an unruly spectator so that performance is not affected in a negative way. In most sports, crowd noise tends to be less of a distraction […]
read more4 reasons not to get angry when you compete
April 10, 2015As a young tennis player, I had a bad temper. I didn’t like making mistakes. I didn’t like losing points. The root of my anger wasn’t a lack of emotional control, but rather because my thoughts were fixated on those mistakes and lost points, and that frustrated me greatly. If only I could be perfect […]
read more3 Things To Do To Be A Better Fighter
March 23, 2015When all else is going wrong in your performance, there is one facet of the mental game that can salvage the day: your fighting spirit. If you continue to fight for your best performance, even on your worst day, you still have a chance of succeeding in the end. The persistence and intensity that you […]
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