Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Frank Robinson’s Death
Posted on: February 16, 2019
Frank Robinson’s passing reminded me of a time back in 1988 when he was in Kansas City and manager of Baltimore. His team was 0-20 and about to play the Royals. As a sport psychology consultant I called him and asked for a meeting. He agreed and when I walked into the room at Royals stadium where he was flanked by two of his assistant coaches, I explained my program to him and everything went well until I mentioned a part of the program where players were to hug each other and when I made that statement he held up his hand and said “Hold it. This meeting is over.” “Why?” I asked. And he replied “There’s no way in hell you’re gonna get Major League Baseball players to hug each other.” On my way home I thought about what I should have said: “Hey, what about Tommy Lasorda? He hugged everybody.” 😊 Soon after they won their first game of the season.
Successful coaches care about their athletes as human beings first, and then as athletic performers. This includes helping them with their personal issues and problems and having an open-door policy.
Successful coaches know that athletes do not perform well if they fear the wrath of their coach.
Successful coaches know that when they get angry they give away their power. They do not yell and get in the faces of their athletes.
Successful coaches are aware that their behavior in their own personal lives affects how they interact with their teams.
Successful coaches know that what takes place away from the field of competition affects what takes place on the field of competition.
Successful coaches encourage their athletes not to “withhold” their feelings and emotions since withholding is a form of lying that demeans them and lowers their self-esteem; as a result of withholding, athletes will take fewer risks in interpersonal relationships and create psychological baggage for themselves that affects their ability to focus and process information.
Successful coaches hold weekly team meetings and encourage, when necessary, that their athletes sometimes participate in “players only” meetings so they will feel free to discuss team related problems and issues in a support group environment, issues they may not feel comfortable discussing with their coach present.
Successful coaches know they cannot motivate their players but can create a support group environment allowing their players to discuss their personal issues and problems; and as they discuss their personal issues and problems, they will then feel better about themselves and will automatically become more motivated.
Successful coaches are constantly aware of their players’ eye contact since they know that poor eye contact is an indication that players are withholding and have unresolved issues in their personal lives.
Successful coaches encourage their players to use visualization techniques, including the use of video tape sequences accompanied by a music track with meaningful lyrics.
Successful coaches encourage their players to “excel for a higher order” by helping others less fortunate than themselves, thereby enhancing their own feelings of self-worth and their performance.
Successful coaches are those who are able to tap into their athletes’ belief systems, realizing that the athlete’s beliefs affect performance, not the coaches.
Successful coaches do not micromanage their teams during competition and allow their athletes to use their God-given talents.
Visualizing Success in Sports.
Posted on: October 5, 2017
A number of years ago I made a startling discovery: When athletes have a high sense of inner-self and their lives are in harmony, they are able to use visualization techniques effectively. They will not only perform close to their skill levels on a consistent basis, but will also create positive events in their lives, on and off the field of competition. But when their lives are in disharmony, visualization and other mental techniques become ineffective. If they are experiencing personal problems and have unresolved issues hovering above them like a dark cloud, those problems and issues definitely affect their ability to perform in their sport.
I also found that the worst thing athletes can do to negatively affect their performance is to withhold their feelings and emotions. Withholding is a form of lying that demeans them and lowers their sense of inner-self, creating psychological baggage that affects their ability to focus and process information.
I was once playing in a handball tournament in Overland Park, Kansas. Just before I left for the courts my wife and I had a little disagreement about a subject but I didn’t think too much about it. When I arrived at the tournament, and after I was suited up and about to step onto the courts, something didn’t feel right. I excused myself and called my wife on the phone and told her how sorry I was about the tiff we had had and she told me she was so glad I called because she felt the same way. I told her when I returned home that evening we could talk about the issue and, together, figure out how to resolve it. She told again how happy she was that I had called.
I hung up the phone and, with the use of visualization, played some of the best handball of my life. But if I hadn’t made that phone call, I probably would have played some of the worst.
And by the way, one of the best visualization techniques involves the use of “Power Videos” which are personal highlight videos of yourself with a music soundtrack with meaningful lyrics. You watch your video over and over again and then just before you step onto the court you listen to just the soundtrack and if your life is in harmony, you will re-create the images from your video during competition.
TOM WATSON’S JOURNEY IN THE PGA
Posted on: April 26, 2016
In November, 1997, Tom Watson quit drinking and his wife, Linda, divorced him. Not long after, in 1998, Professional Golfer Denis Watson (of Zimbabwe) went through a divorce when his wife, Hilary, left him and their three infant children (Kyle, Paige and Ross) and shortly thereafter, in 1999, married Tom. She must have been madly in love with Tom to have abandoned her three small children and one would think that, right after Tom and Hilary were married, his golf game would have improved immensely. But it didn’t. It’s difficult to build any kind of relationship on other people’s unhappiness. Hilary’s feelings of guilt had to have a negative effect on Tom and his golf game.
Fast forward to 2009 when Hilary’s children are older and have joined Tom and her on their farm in Stilwell, Kansas, and Hilary was once again happy. Which, of course, positively affected Tom’s game. That same year, nearing his 60th birthday, Tom led the British Open much of the way before losing in a play-off. I don’t think it was a coincidence that when Hilary had her children back with her, Tom’s game improved.
When I read about Stuart Scott dying of cancer, after having been diagnosed in 2007, it reminded me of the “Surveillance Mechanism Theory” first discovered by the late Dr. Carl Simonton. Simply put, the Surveillance Mechanism Theory maintains that we all have cancer cells in our bodies and our immune systems are constantly gobbling them up Pack-Man style. But when we encounter stress in our lives, our bodies give off hormones that suppress our immune systems and the cancer cells begin to multiply at a rate faster than they can be devoured. And before long, we are diagnosed with cancer. And one of the most conspicuous characteristics of cancer patients is they all have bottled-up emotions at the time of diagnosis. Without knowing anything about Stuart Scott’s personal life, it’s possible that back in 2007 he had some kind of stressful event happen in his life that triggered his first bout with the illness. Over the years I’ve worked with cancer patients and would be happy to send free information to anyone reading this. Just contact me at marv@mindoversports.com — But keep in mind, the program I recommend is strictly supplemental and is not to replace any treatment you might be receiving from a physician
Before Sunday’s NFL game, five St. Louis Rams stood with their hands raised in a show of solidarity with Ferguson protesters. But…THE REAL PROBLEM IN AMERICA IS NOT YOUNG BLACK MEN BEING ARRESTED BY THE POLICE BUT RATHER THE MILLIONS OF YOUNG BLACK CHILDREN WHO ARE LIVING IN POVERTY.
The Rams players and the folks in Ferguson and other areas of the country have been demonstrating about the estimated 37,000 young black men being arrested annually in America by the police and they should be demonstrating about the 5,000,000 black children who are living in poverty in America. NOW THAT IS CRIMINAL!
These are children who receive little education during their early developing years. And according to Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed:
“A lot of what we think we know about the effect of poverty on a child’s development is just plain wrong. It’s certainly indisputable that growing up in poverty is really hard on children. But the conventional wisdom is that the big problem for low-income kids is that they don’t get enough cognitive stimulation early on. In fact, what seems to have more of an effect is the chaotic environments that many low-income kids grow up in and the often stressful relationships they have with the adults around them. That makes a huge difference in how children’s brains develop, and scientists are now able to trace a direct route from those early negative experiences to later problems in school, health, and behavior…The problem is that science isn’t yet reflected in the way we run our schools and operate our social safety net. And that’s a big part of why so many low-income kids don’t do well in school. We now know better than ever what kind of help they need to succeed in school. But very few schools are equipped to deliver that help.”
For the past 20 years I’ve been working on launching a new program that will educate young pre-school children living in poverty and relocate them and their families, on a voluntary basis, onto kibbutzim (plural for “kibbutz”) throughout America. It’s called “Kibbutzim Across America” and anyone who contacts me at marv@mindoversports.com will receive a free e-mailed copy of a news article that explains what a kibbutz is and how the program will work.
