Sport Motivation is an Inside Job
The question coaches ask a lot is “How can I motivate my players?” The answer to this is twofold. First, it’s time that coaches STOP TRYING to motivate their players and start helping athletes CONNECT to their own motivation. Second, when coaches foster the right mindset, a growth mindset, in their athletes, then commitment and motivation will automatically show up without having to force it. I've read Carol Dweck's book Mindset: The New Psychology for Success and I recently participated in a talk she gave to Positive Coaching Alliance trainers. Dweck’s research on fixed mindset and growth mindset is essential for ...
Clarity of vision is critical coaching skill
If you had a "magic wand" and could have your program look anyway you wanted, what would it look like? This wand is special and designed to give you exactly what you want - so be specific! I originally learned this concept as "begin with the end in mind" from Stephen Covey's book the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People." Now that I have kids, it's all about magic wands and super heros! Life is constantly changing and challenging us. Around every corner is yet another problem, issue or concern. We often look backwards for a solution. We ask, "How did I ...
Effective Coaching Tip: Go Ahead – Push My Buttons
Unfortunately, button pushers get a bad rap. They’re considered rude, inconsiderate, disrespectful, intrusive, self-absorbed and insensitive. They are the difficult people in life. Teachers send them to the principals office, coaches pull their hair out and bosses fire them. I see it differently. I believe my job as a coach, partner and a parent is to push buttons and to welcome my buttons being pushed. Why? I've found that the best at anything - sports, public speaking, sales or surgery, have the fewest buttons and the ones they have are really hard to find. Attempting to protect athletes or ourselves from button ...
What Happened???
Success can be tough. While UCLA Softball won its 11th title in program history this week, the Arizona Wildcats, with 6 titles, finished runner up for the fifth time in it’s history. I interviewed UA Coach Mike Candrea at the beginning of the season. While his words inspired me, some of them haunted me. Success is tough – it breeds expectations. Coach noted, “The expectations are very high. It’s a unique situation here because when we finish second, the College World Series people say, “What happened?” They don’t say, “Great job!” You’re not going to get a ticker-tape parade just because ...
Effective Coaching Skills by way of the Tao Te Ching
With a coaching philosophy deeply influenced by Taoism, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Deepak Chopra, Jim Sochor helped turn a mediocre UC football program into a Division II dynasty. My first exposure to Coach Sochor came years ago through my work with Positive Coaching Alliance. I was instantly smitten. His presentation and presence captivated me. When I started Inside World Class Coaching, Coach Sochor made the short list. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Jim and walked away again in awe. I now refer to him as the “Yoda of Coaching.” I kept muttering to myself: “This guy is a football coach, ...
More Featured Posts
Sport Motivation is an Inside Job
Posted on July 22, 2010The question coaches ask a lot is “How can I motivate my players?” The answer to this is twofold. First, it’s time that coaches STOP TRYING to motivate their players and start helping athletes CONNECT to their own motivation. Second, when coaches foster the right mindset, a growth mindset, in... [Read more]
Clarity of vision is critical coaching skill
Posted on July 6, 2010If you had a “magic wand” and could have your program look anyway you wanted, what would it look like? This wand is special and designed to give you exactly what you want – so be specific! I originally learned this concept as “begin with the end in mind” from Stephen Covey’s... [Read more]
Effective Coaching Tip: Go Ahead – Push My Buttons
Posted on June 17, 2010Unfortunately, button pushers get a bad rap. They’re considered rude, inconsiderate, disrespectful, intrusive, self-absorbed and insensitive. They are the difficult people in life. Teachers send them to the principals office, coaches pull their hair out and bosses fire them. I see it differently. ... [Read more]
What Happened???
Posted on June 10, 2010Success can be tough. While UCLA Softball won its 11th title in program history this week, the Arizona Wildcats, with 6 titles, finished runner up for the fifth time in it’s history. I interviewed UA Coach Mike Candrea at the beginning of the season. While his words inspired me, some of them haunted... [Read more]
Effective Coaching Skills by way of the Tao Te Ching
Posted on June 1, 2010With a coaching philosophy deeply influenced by Taoism, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Deepak Chopra, Jim Sochor helped turn a mediocre UC football program into a Division II dynasty. My first exposure to Coach Sochor came years ago through my work with Positive Coaching Alliance. I was instantly smitten. ... [Read more]
Front-end effort pays off big
Posted on May 3, 2010“The more you do on the front end, the fewer problems you’ll have on the back end.” This is one of my all time favorite Jack Clark quotes. California defeated BYU, 19-7, Saturday night at Steuber Rugby Stadium to win the 25th national championship in program history. The Golden Bears finished... [Read more]
Coach – Put Your Pet Peeves Out There
Posted on March 17, 2010No matter how long we coach, no matter how much we grow as people, some of our athletes will still bug us! I loved it when my athletes became juniors and seniors – they finally knew how best to deal with me. The first few years were often an arduous training process on how to best interact... [Read more]
Every Body Says Something
Posted on March 9, 2010Flying home yesterday on Southwest, I came across an article about the book What Every Body is Saying, by Joe Navarro. Joe’s been studying non-verbal behavior for over 30 years – Twenty-five were spent in the FBI catching spies. I loved reading what my different poses mean to other folks. Knowing... [Read more]
True Team Culture Gets Cal Share of Pac-10 Title
Posted on March 2, 2010If a team is a reflection of its head coach, then the Cal men’s basketball team is in great hands. Smart. Steady. Calm under pressure. Professional. These are just a few of the characteristics I’d use to describe Cal head coach Mike Montgomery. He has certainly put his mark on the program in... [Read more]
Every Team Leaves a Clue
Posted on February 11, 2010I just had an awesome 7-Minute Clinic interview with Kevin Grimes, coach of the Cal Men’s Soccer team. The first words out of Kevin’s mouth were, “Every team leaves a clue”. I’d never heard this line before. I was instantly intrigued. I caught Kevin coming off a very UP and then... [Read more]
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