Zach Johnson has just won the Open Championship at St. Andrew’s. Despite the odds against him, he completed the four rounds tied with two other players. In a 4-hole play-off, he ended up golfballbeating them and is now a two time Grand Slam champion. But, Zach was not the favorite player coming in to lift the claret jug. His driving distance was ranked 60th out of 156 players. Players like Dustin Johnson or Jason Day …
Many athletes come to see me asking how to properly set goals and I always tell them to set them backwards. At first, I see a surprised look on their faces when I explain that long-term goals need to be set before establishing short-term goals. But, then they begin to understand that goals need to be broken down into mini-steps to help them achieve a long-term dream. They need to know what they want to …
I have been writing numerous blogs hoping to help athletes find ways to improve their performance when it matters. I am fully aware that competition brings nervous feelings as you are expecting to perform to your best abilities and, that alone, can become quite nerve wracking. It is not easy to feel perfectly calm, and in fact, the great majority of the times, you will feel nervous regardless of how well you thought you were …
Is it possible not to get angry, at all? Well, we all get angry. It is a acceptable human experience that is part of our repertoire of emotions. So, the answer is no. But, why do we feel anger and what can we do about it? There are many reasons we get angry, but I believe that placing a lot of attention at the final outcome of a shot or performance eventually robs the athlete …
In a recent interview with Jack Nicklaus, he was asked if athletes are born having mental toughness. His immediate response was that athletes do not know their fullest potential until they put themselves in situations where they are demanded to perform outside their comfort zone. Athletes are continually asked to take one step further to improve their performance. A thorough preparation leading to perform to one’s best is the only guarantee to building confidence in …
Any athlete, whether elite or recreational, deals with the challenge to stay focused on the task at hand. And, any one of them will tell you that they need to work quite hard to remain focused if they want to perform to the best of their abilities. One may argue that elite athletes are better able to keep their concentration than a recreational athlete could, but the challenge remains the same. There are two kinds …
Although it may sound strange to some readers, but athletes and coaches are very familiar with this phenomenon as they witness repeated performances where expected outcomes are not nearly achieved. It is not necessarily fear of winning that athletes are concerned about; after all, that’s why they compete. However, it is the consequences that come as a result of winning that some athletes fear most about. Athletes feel high levels of stress trying to perform …
Many golf players practice very hard to have the perfect swing as if achieving such a goal would guarantee lower scores. Many golf instructors are spending lots of time and effort teaching valuable lessons and tips so golf players can improve their game. It is also great that there are many new gadgets that provide us with a lot of technological information that can guide us to assess our golf improvement. But, it is a …
It is commonly said that experience is a great teacher. But, to what extent is it really? Learning Sports If experience is the only factor to help us become better athletes, then all we need to do is to continue competing and, when we get older, we will be great athletes. As you can see, this does not really make a lot of sense. In a recent NBA game played between the Los Angeles Clippers …
It is commonly said that experience is a great teacher. But, to what extent is it really? If experience is the only factor to help us become better athletes, then all we need to do is to continue competing and, when we get older, we will be great athletes. As you can see, this does not really make a lot of sense. In a recent NBA game played between the Los Angeles Clippers and the …