Monthly Archives: October 2018

Is anyone else getting giddy over watching the championship series?

I know I am!

Especially living in Wisconsin when the Milwaukee Brewers are tied 2-2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This past week is probably the most I have ever watched baseball. Here are some mental tips I’ve picked up from these games that we can apply to our performances.

1) One pitch at a time.

– There are a lot of pitches in baseball. The best way to get over a previous pitch that went well or didn’t go your way is to find a way to get over it. Focus on the current pitch that is happening, instead of the previous or future pitch. We can all work on being in the present more often.

2) Keep your eye on the ball.

– There have been some amazing saves throughout the past games. This only is possible by having a disciplined practice of keeping your eye on the ball, no matter what’s going on around you. In life, we become distracted by what is going on around us that we miss the ball that is coming at our face and miss the opportunity to do something great. Focus on your ball, whatever it may be and make an amazing catch like Yelich did last night when he went up and over the wall while still holding onto the baseball.

3) Control your controllables.

– Baseball has a lot of moving parts. Only a select few of these things are actually in your control. What is it that you direct your energy on? If it’s things outside of your control, you’ll end up feeling powerless, frustrated, and hopeless. Maybe you made a great hit that you thought for sure was a home run, but then someone catches it when you least expect it making you head back to the bench. Do you hang your head? I hope not. Instead of becoming upset and down on yourself that someone else did their job well, focus on the effort, energy, and attitude that you put in and go out and do it even better next time.

4) Whatever you do, do it with passion and heart.

– What I love about the games building up to the World Series is that each and every player is playing with heart. They are passionate about the game of baseball and it shows through their celebrations, frustrations, base runs, swings, and catches. Are we doing the same? Find something at work, your sport, or just throughout your day that you can become passionate about and do it with heart. It makes the long hours worth it, just like the long hours of a baseball game.

I’m excited to continue watching, learning, and growing from this series. Hope you enjoy the rest of the games,  I know I will.

Goals + Plan = Success.

Since my recent blog post discussed process goals over outcome goals with a fun activity, I wanted to stick to the topic of goals again and expand further.  How else can we explain what process goals are and how valuable they are to get us to our outcome goal?

I think of process and outcome goals similar to taking a road trip. Let’s say we are about to embark on a road trip from Florida to Minnesota, just like my friend Cassie and I did after working at IMG Academy a couple summers ago.

Imagine that we have everything packed ready to hit the road. What’s the first thing we do once we are in the car? (Besides stopping for snacks; Twizzlers anyone?)

We start up our GPS! Unless you use an actual map, then props to you.

What if though, we tried to get to Minnesota without any sense of direction or GPS? How efficient would that trip be? We might eventually get to our destination, but it might take a lot longer.

That’s what living life, working your job, participating in a sport, or coaching is like without a goal. You lose your sense of direction!

It’s important that you know where you are going.

In this scenario, Minnesota is our outcome goals since that’s our final destination. But, how are we going to get there? Process goals build you towards your outcome goal, just like each turn your GPS tells you to take. They are milestones that keep you moving forward. Instead of focusing on the outcome or the destination we need to focus on one thing or one turn at a time and figure out what we need to do in order to reach our outcome goal.

The road trip to Minnesota will be much smoother if we follow the GPS and take it one turn at a time. The journey to your outcome goal will also be much smoother and appear more simple if you focus on the process and take it one process goal at a time.

Remember, Goals + Plan = Success

Get ready to start up your GPS!

I recently worked with a team regarding goal-setting. I know, discussing goals isn’t fun and sometimes may seem like a chore for many athletes and teams.

How can we add some fun in teaching goal-setting though?

What I like to do is lead an activity with cups and pennies to differentiate process vs. outcome goals.
What is the difference between the two? An outcome goal is the end result that you want to achieve, while process goals are regarding the process needed to meet the end result. In the world of sports, a lot of pressure and attention is focused on the end result. Maybe your goal is simply to win, run a certain time, score a number of goals, etc. These are all outcome goals. Process goals are what you want to achieve throughout the process of getting to your outcome goal.

For example, say your outcome goal is to win your upcoming game. Well, how are you going to win? Process goals break it down further and have you focus on what you need to do in order to win and reach that outcome goal. If you’re a forward in soccer your process goals may be to put in your best effort, call out who your mark is, set up your teammates with strong passes, win the ball as often as possible, and to hydrate properly. The awesome thing about process goals is that if you place more attention and focus on meeting them you are more likely to meet your outcome goals.

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Goal-Setting Cup Activity: See the video clip above

Materials: 3 red solo cups & a handful of pennies per group

Directions: Place one cup a few feet away from the group. Each person attempts to toss three pennies into the cup. After everyone has gone, see who has made one, two, or three pennies. For round two keep the cup in the same place but place the other two cups in a line towards the person throwing. Now each person attempts to toss the three pennies, but the first one is aimed at the first cup. Once they make it in the first cup they can then aim for the second cup, and then the final cup.

Debrief: Ask who made the first cup, second cup, and all 3. How was the second round different than the first? Who found it easier? What made the second round easier?

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Every time I do this activity most of the athletes find it easier to make the final cup in the second round compared to the first round.

Why is that? Well…

1) You’re building confidence:

Each time you make a cup your confidence grows and your belief that you can make the next cup increases. This happens each time we meet a goal, no matter how small! After we make a goal we are more confident that we can reach the next one.

2) It seems easier and less stressful:

After moving the cups closer they seem easier and less stressful to make. After you make them the last cup doesn’t seem as far away anymore. This is how we feel about our goals! If we focus on the outcome it can feel so far away and impossible. If we focus on process goals that don’t seem as stressful we can build up to our final goal and it’ll seem easier to reach.

3) You’re building momentum:

After you’ve met a process goal, the next process goal doesn’t seem as far away as mentioned earlier. With each goal you reach, you increase your motivation and build momentum to reach the next goal. Similar to the cup activity; once you’ve made the first cup, your confidence increases and you are more determined to reach the next one. Once you’ve made the second cup you have more momentum to make the last cup. This momentum pushes you to continue chasing after your goals and to not give up.

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Whether you’re a coach, sport psychology professional, teacher, athlete, student, or an everyday exerciser focusing on meeting your process goals will make your outcome goals more manageable.

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