The Most Powerful Advice I Ever Received: “Just because it failed doesn’t mean you’re a failure”
Just because it failed, doesn’t mean you’re a failure. I heard this for the first time when I was in my early 20’s. Having completed an arduous laboratory experiment which required many repetitions over weeks of work, I could draw a conclusion about my hypothesis: it was wrong. Trial after trial proved my result: negative. […]
Post Season Play: Why Do Good Guys Always Finish Last?
So, what can we learn from the Washington Nationals baseball team’s latest flame out from post season play? (Because, Heaven knows, there’s got to be a silver lining there somewhere!!) … Every coach, manager, teacher, trainer, parent and player wants the same thing: To rise to the occasion and play their best when it matters most. […]
Add Injury Prevention to Your Dynamic Warm-Up in 2 Minutes
Are you doing all you can to protect your players from tearing their ACLs? Instituting a regular dynamic warm-up is an important first step toward keeping our athletes healthy. In my last post, The Dynamic Warm up, Why Do it?, we looked at the three primary reasons players need to warm up. If you don’t have a fixed warm-up, […]
The Dynamic Warm-Up, Why Do it?
This week I met with a group of high school basketball players starting their pre-season conditioning. They headed straight for the end line to start warm-ups, and then … waited for me to tell them what to do. Me: Do you have a standard warm up? Players: (looking at each other) Uh, not really. Me: […]
Recruiting to Win is Easy, Building to Win Takes Talent
In the last 15 years I have watched the youth athletic field transform from playground to competitive cauldron. As college programs expanded, dangling the promise of scholarship dollars, and sports clubs upped the ante with paid coaches and select teams, the win at all costs (WAAC) culture came of age. Somewhere, we left a lot of […]
5 Potential Danger Zones in the Young Athlete
Kids need a challenge but they also need special handling. Most people think, why? My kids are flexible, resilient, and young. They bounce back from anything thrown at them. Let’s throw it all at them! They can handle it. Not so fast. Why? Because they’re growing, and growing presents special challenges and unique demands. They’re not mini-adults […]
How to Develop the Volleyball Athlete: Focus Changes with Age and Stage
Editors’s note: Please welcome Niel Curley from 101volleyballdrills.com here to discuss developing the volleyball athlete. He brings a ton of experience coaching and training youth players and some important perspective on the approach which has best served his youth players. While it can be tempting to identify young athlete’s potential to specialize in certain positions on […]
Coaching Like Pat Summitt (video)
With the passing of Pat Summitt, women’s sports loses an iconic coach and world class human being. Not only does the women’s basketball nation mourn her passing, but so does a generation of young people, now full-fledged adults, who knew her and loved her because of the way she went about her life. I have been […]
The Pygmalion Effect: Believing in them can help them succeed
It’s not just myth. Expecting them to succeed can increase the chances they will. It’s called the Pygmalion effect and it’s real. Here’s how it played out for me. *** “Wish me luck! I’m headed out to play nine,” I call to Penny, the assistant golf pro, as I turn toward the door. The day […]
Smart Girls Wanted, Non-Athletes Need Not Apply
Here’s the truth: athlete beats non-athlete pretty much every time. If I am looking to hire you to work for me, smart is good, initiative is great, willingness to try new things is necessary, and good character is a must, but check the box marked ‘athlete’ and you move to the top of the resume pile. Provided you meet the other […]