Archive: Mental Toughness
Inspiration: Watch an inspiring movie – 50 for 50 Idea #45
December 15, 2018When I was 11 years old, I started listening to music to get myself pumped-up for tennis tournaments. At the time, my preferred pump-up selections were from the soundtracks to Rocky and Rocky II. I owned each of them on vinyl and my routine was to play them on the turntable in my room before […]
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Serena Williams: Who is to blame for US Open controversy?
September 10, 2018The 2018 US Open Women’s final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka was unfortunately marred by controversy. Many opinions have been expressed about what happened on the court and the fairness of it all. Was this a case of a chair umpire overstepping his bounds? Or perhaps this was a case of a frustrated player […]
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Interview on Business Innovators Radio
April 12, 2018Recently, I was interviewed on Business Innovators Radio, and I discussed my approach to competitive skills training for teams and individuals. It was a great opportunity for me to share some of the secrets of mental toughness with an audience on a national platform. If you have the time, please listen to the interview below. […]
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50 for 50 Idea # 12: Start a Training Journal
March 22, 2018One of the secrets of elite performers in any context (music, sport, dance, etc.) is the concept of deliberate practice. Most people don’t practice their skills with clear intentions, but the best performers always have a specific focus when they practice or train. It is this focus that allows them to improve faster and reach […]
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50 for 50 Idea #4: Start a reading habit
February 5, 2018Do you like to read? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, or perhaps you’re indifferent to it. Whatever your view may be, my goal is to recruit a few more of you into the group of reading lovers because there are so many benefits to it, including for your performance in sport and in life. When I […]
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What’s the deal with emotions in college tennis?
June 13, 2017This post has been on my mind for awhile and I’m writing it for all of those young tennis players who aspire to play college tennis. I want you to be prepared for what you are going to experience, and at the same time, I want you to apply the actions and principles of mental […]
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Feeling Pressure? Get Excited!
May 25, 2017As a competitor, it’s a near certainty that you get nervous from time to time, both before you play and during competition. Fear is the emotion that drives your nerves. Why is this? What are you afraid of? I was at a tennis academy recently and I asked the players these questions, and their answers […]
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The Mental Game at the end of the game
April 3, 2017The other night, I happened to tune in to the University of Connecticut versus Mississippi State women’s basketball Final Four game during the 3rd quarter and was intrigued by how close the score was. UConn has been dominating the sport of women’s college basketball for some time, and a close game was a rarity for […]
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Super Bowl Breakdown: Patriots vs Falcons
February 9, 2017Hey, did you see that Super Bowl comeback by the Patriots? Pretty amazing, right? Personally, I found it intriguing because of the mental game and how each team handled the competitive pressure. There were a number of mental toughness concepts at play in this game so I wanted to break them down for you so […]
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Don’t React, Act!
January 25, 2017Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a couple of coaches and we were discussing the different types of focus (process goals) that an athlete should have for practice and for a game. One of the coaches has a friend who is a sport psychology professional at a large academy, and he told me that […]
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Want a Confidence Boost? Use Your Voice!
November 15, 2016We all know that Confidence is a key component of good performance and the notion that “confidence is a choice” should be obvious. However, many athletes choose not to be confident and therefore make the road to good performance more difficult. Knowing that Confidence and Mental Toughness is first driven by your actions – which […]
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Do You Know How to Play Badly Well?
November 3, 2016“The worse you’re performing, the more you must work mentally and emotionally. The greatest and toughest art in golf is playing badly well. All the true greats have been masters at it.” — Jack Nicklaus Ah, I love this quote from all-time golf great, Jack Nicklaus. When I read the phrase “playing badly well”, I […]
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What to do when you’re not playing well
October 27, 2016A short story from a practice match I played recently… The wind was in my face and I was getting ready to serve for the first time in the match. I don’t have a very big serve and even a little bit of wind against me can make it more ordinary than usual. My opponent […]
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The 3 Components of Mental Toughness
October 21, 2016In recent days, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to Mental Toughness and what it is and why we struggle with it. I have concluded that there are 3 high level components to Mental Toughness, and athletes need to be proficient in all 3 if they are to realize their best performances on a […]
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10 Competitive Skills Observations from USTA NE Sectionals
July 1, 2016I recently attended the New England Summer Sectionals tennis event at Yale University to support players from various academies as well as students of PerformanceXtra. Over the course of two days, I watched 20+ hours of tennis and I observed several things from a mental and competitive skills perspective. Each of the 10 items below are […]
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