How to Rebuild a Program - Stephanie Norman, Louisville Basketball

Creating the Perfect Tomorrow

Before going to bed, ask yourself: What will tomorrow look like?

Would you take a test before reviewing your notes? Coach a game without scouting the opponent? Then why would we start a day without thinking ahead of what we want to get out of it?

Step One: Review your personal and professional long-term goals (big picture)

Step Two: Envision success in working towards those goals (small picture).

Step Three: Start with the small tasks (action steps) that can be done TOMORROW to work towards your goals.

Step Four: Do the uncomfortable...that's how we grow.  

Step Five:  Focus and follow through. Set notes/reminders. Email the plan and print it to yourself. Putting ideas into actions is the HARDEST PART!      

Get in the "Zone" Part V

Part 5 of a 7 part series helping athletes and coaches focus, achieve flow and "get in the zone".

Enjoy the game

Focusing on enjoying your sport will increase the chances of entering the zone. 

Feeling good causes the release of a set of chemicals into the body known as endorphins.

Endorphins are naturally occurring hormones that are secreted within the brain in order to carry information around the body. Endorphin secretion is associated with an increased sense of well-being and heightened receptiveness, improving the body’s functioning on a physical and a mental level. During zone-like states athletes often report heightened feelings of well-being and pleasure, much like the states associated with an endorphin release. 

Therefore it is advisable that you get yourself feeling good before you perform, because there is a strong likelihood that being in the zone could well be a by-product of generating an increased amount of endorphins. Common ways to do this may include listening to music, using visualisation techniques, and using deep breathing exercises.

Get in the "Zone" Part IV

 Part 4 of a 7 part series on helping athletes and coaches get focused, achieve flow and "get in the zone".

Play for someone who you love

Making the commitment to play for a cause beyond yourself  will inject inspiration, drive and determination into your performance.  

Athletes often dedicate performances to loved ones, admired individuals who have recently died, and sometimes for charities and other worthwhile organizations.

The effect on athletes who use this strategy is often miraculous. They appear as if possessed by a force greater than themselves, helping them to attain a zone-like performance.

Answering the following question before competitive performances may help you to enter the zone before performances.

How would you play if you wanted to express your love to someone close to you?

By directing your attention and focus to how you would play if you were dedicating your performance to someone special, the mind fills will positive thoughts and actions to increase the likelihood of playing at your best.

The power of process

Athletes are often distracted by performance outcomes. In professional sport winning is more important than anything else.

However its important to remember that consuming yourself with the outcome of winning does not tell you how to win. It is therefore essential that your focus is directed towards the processes that creates the winning result.

Outcomes are just a by-product of the quality of the processes that you have followed. If the quality of the process is poor, this will be reflected in the outcome.

Work out the key processes that form the backbone of performing well. For example, in basketball, some of the key processes may include maintaining an athletic stance, shooting hands/feet ready, timing cuts perfectly, etc.

The key processes depend very much on the sport that you are playing. Sometimes it is useful to sit down with your coach to identify these key processes.

During a performance if you direct all your focal powers towards these processes, you increase your chances of producing a strong performance.

Get in the "Zone" Part III

 Part III of a 7 part series looking at how to help student-athletes and coaches "get in the zone".

 

Focus outwards

There are only 2 directions focus can take: inwards and outwards. 

Inward focus consists of attending to your internal thoughts. In the context of sport, planning your routines and set-plays is an example of inward focus. Dwelling on past mistakes, and worrying about up-coming events are also examples of inward focus. 

Outward focus involves attending to the physical events that are going on around you. Being consumed with the physical actions of your sport would be a prime example of outward focus. 

Do all your inward focusing before a performance. This may involve planning your strategic approach to the game, and creating a positive internal state to go out and compete. 

Once you enter the competitive arena, become totally absorbed in the physical actions of your sport, and allow your internal thought processes to function automatically. The moment that your focus goes inwards during a performance, you run the risk of paralysis by analysis. This is a state that arises when you over-think automatic actions. The moment that you think too much about the specific action you cause it to unravel, and become cumbersome. 

Find a comfortable seat in front of a clock and spend as long as you can focusing on the movement of the second hand, with a clear mind. The moment a thought enters your head, stop and start again. Time yourself and see how long you can last. Over time your performance on this task will begin to improve. This will help you achieve a very effective outward focus system. 

Filling up your tank

The brain does not distinguish between real and imagined events.

Take full advantage of this by filling  your mind and body with powerful energy to get into a zone-like state. 

We ask our student-athletes to get warmed up and mentally ready before a game. How do we, as coaches, get warmed up, mentally prepared and focused before a game?

A good time to use this exercise is in the locker room before competitive performances.

Get yourself into a comfortable and relaxed state by taking as many deep breaths as you need in order to achieve this. Close your eyes ...visualise and identify any negative energy that may currently reside in your body. This could be in the form of anxiety, nerves, apathy, or a number of other negative emotions. Now imagine opening your body to drain the negative thoughts and energy. Do this until your body is free of negative thoughts, nervousness, etc. Now imagine your body filling up with positive energy -use positive memories and visualize yourself performing successfully. Notice how it feels when it enters your body. Keep doing this until your body is filled to the brim with power and positive energy. Open your eyes when your mind and body feel energized and ready for action.

Get in the "Zone" Part II

Part II of a 7 part series.

 

As a junior in high school, I was fortunate to experience one basketball game when I was "in the zone". I remember it very clearly- I scored off a lay-up off of the opening tip. Throughout the rest of the game I felt like I couldn't miss a shot; all my movement and basketball mechanics seemed perfectly in sync and I could perform optimally with very little conscious thought. The game seemed slow; I felt like everyone else was operating in slow motion and I was one-step ahead of them. I finished that game with 42 points on 60% shooting and attribute the performance to the technique of focusing before the game by reciting several key words that were important to me (endurance, excellence, strength, commitment) and visualizing a successful game for myself and team.

 

Intuition

Intuition is an ability that involves feeling how events will unfold. In order to enter a zone-like state it is important to begin to trust and act on your instinctive feelings. However there is a huge gulf between intuitive knowing and intuitive acting. How many times during a performance have you said to yourself ‘I knew that was going to happen’ and not acted on this foresight?

Top athletes who enter zone-like states regularly do so because they are prepared to let go, and act on their impulses without fear.

'Intuitive knowing' and acting is especially important for fast paced sports that demand the co-operation of the mind and body.

A powerful way to develop and strengthen your intuition is to regularly train as if you are performing in the biggest match of your life. This strengthens your sense of focus and discipline that is required to perform well at the highest level of sport. By practicing with such intensity and commitment the brain is trained to work automatically under greater levels of pressure, allowing your intuition and instinct to take control.

State

The biggest predictor of behavior is state. If you feel good then this positive state will be reflected in the quality of your performance. Spend a few minutes before every performance getting yourself into a resourceful state to dramatically increase your chances of performing well. Emotional rehearsal is one way to do this.

Emotional rehearsal uses the power of imagination to create a positive emotional state. By mentally recreating positive personal experiences, productive states are produced encouraging the deliverance of zone-like performances.

Some athletes create internal pictures of their loved ones; some imagine the end product of feeling good after a strong performance, while others often reminisce about some of their best times in sport.

The subject material that is mentally rehearsed is irrelevant as long as it creates positive feelings.

Be aware, the  more intense your internal experience are, the stronger the impact will be on your subsequent behavior.

Get in the "Zone" Part I

Former sprinter Mark Richardson talked about being in the zone in the winter of 1996: 

‘It’s a very strange feeling. It’s as if time slows down and you see everything so clearly. You just know that everything about your technique is spot on. It just feels so effortless; it’s almost as if you’re floating across the track. Every muscle, every fibre, every sinew is working in complete harmony and the end product is that you run fantastically well.’ - Extract from ‘Mind Games,’ Grout and Perrin, 2006. 

Most athletes at some point in their career will talk about the phenomenon of ‘being in the zone’. Unfortunately getting in the zone and staying there is not as easy as most athletes would have hoped. 

Over the next few days, we'll talk about what "getting in the zone is", how it feels and how we can best prepare our athletes to work effortlessly, think minimally and perform optimally!

Enter to win Daniel Coleman's book "Emotional Intelligence"!

The groundbreaking book that redefines what it means to be smart: Emotional Intelligence, Why it Can Matter more than IQ.....

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Simply email me at CoachChrisPassmore@gmail.com with subject line "EQ".... please include any suggestions you have for improvement to this blog, and also what you enjoy most about Overtime. Winner will be selected on September 1.

Good luck!

The Leading Predictor of Success

In 1995, TIME used the front cover of their magazine to ask one simple question: What is your EQ?

In a study of 265 corporate executives, emotional intelligence (EQ) skills such as strategic thinking, relationship building, people development. vision, adaptability, optimism, empathy, and self-awareness
are more important to leadership success than typical leadership traits such as external/ market orientation, financial intelligence and planning.

Emotional Intelligence is "the capacity to perceive and regulate emotions in oneself as well as those of others and to use emotion to facilitate thought." 
 
In psychology, a person with high emotional intelligence is able to take in emotional experiences and use them for better understanding of the outside world and yourself. For example, self-recognition that you're anxious may lead to constructive examination of your fears and a plan of action for coping strategies to reduce your anxiety.  Failure to "cope" may lead to distraction, disruption and even more anxiety. 

Excellent book on EQ

Quote of the Day:

"The secret of man’s success resides in his insight into the moods of people, and his tact in dealing with them." -J. G. Hollan