Originally posted in article Pitching Tips Intro: 4 Parts to Understanding Yourself as a Pitcher, published November 24, 2014.

Pitching Coach Jim Clem on his Coaching Philosophy

Transcription of interview conducted by Lindsey Wilson, Positive Performance Training 

Lindsey Wilson: Now coach, I know you have a psychology background and a sports administration background and you've coached, like you said, all these different levels. Tell us if this has happened, has your coaching philosophy evolved over the years and where is it right now?

Jim Clem: Uh, no doubt, you know, it has evolved. I'm, you know, I think it's, you know, I was a psychology history, education major through college and I started those three majors and then I got a master's degree in sports administration, which involved a lot of my training was a lot of evaluation and training of other coaches and athletes and something that I was passionate about and wanted to learn more about. And so I think...

Originally posted in article Ursula Grobler: Winning for the Love of the Game, published January 19, 2015.

Erg World Record Holder Ursula Grobler on the Importance of Loving the Game

Transcription of interview conducted by Lindsey Wilson, Positive Performance Training

Lindsey Wilson: All right, final real big challenge in rowing and what you’ve used and advice you would give. The voices in your head and the focus.

Ursula: You’ve got to be in it for the long run, first of all, in rowing, in particular. You’ve got to be in it for the long run is my, and you’ve got to love it, and finding the joy is going to make all of these other things possible. The focus, all the things we spoke about – the mental work, the training – you’ve just got to find the joy in it. Because, also, I believe happy rowers are fast rowers. So, I really think that’s my take-home message. It’s something that I’m working on a lot. I’m not...

Originally posted in article Ursula Grobler: Erg Rowing & Mental Training, published January 12, 2015.

Erg World Record Holder Ursula Grobler on Erg Rowing & the Mental Game

Transcription of interview conducted by Lindsey Wilson, Positive Performance Training

Lindsey Wilson: All right, hello, this is Lindsey Wilson from Positive Performance and I am on the phone with Ursula Grobler, and she is in South Africa right now, so thanks for joining us, Ursula.

Ursula Grobler: Yeah. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Lindsey: Absolutely. A little bit of background on Ursula. Most recently, you were fourth place at the World Championships. That was in Amsterdam, I believe.

Ursula: Yeah, that’s right, it was.

Lindsey: Yeah, and in 2010, you were the Erg world record holder, which we’re going to talk a little bit about that experience a little bit later. It’s something that you should be quite proud of and is quite an accomplishment. I know you’re well-known...

Originally posted in article Ursula Grobler: Winning for the Love of the Game, published January 19, 2015.

Erg World Record Holder Ursula Grobler still Buzzes from her 2010 World Record Achievement

Transcription of interview conducted by Lindsey Wilson, Positive Performance Training

Lindsey: Yeah, that’s great. Okay, and then, finally, what I want to talk about and we’re going to post this video of two of you winning the world record in the Erg, you and I have talked about this before, but talk me through that event, and that competition, and leading up to it in particular. What was that experience like (competing in the Ergomania), if you could walk us through it?

Ursula: It was a very special experience and a lot of things kind of were just primed right. So, at the time, the record felt easy, if I can say it that way. But, looking back, I know that a lot of things were just done right to achieve that. I’d been working with Carlos Dinares at the time...

by: Lindsey Wilson In this article:

• Explore why self-deception is an evolutionary advantage that leads to higher performance.
• Positive Performance's Lindsey Wilson shares her experience with self-deception
• Learn how self-deception works, and how to determine if it's right for you or your team.
• Implement a simple, four-step process to practicing self-deception and using it to improve your team's self image and overall performance.

  Great athletes are great liars. It’s the unspoken superpower of top tier performers. When I played, I was full on Pinocchio. Whether it was during practice or during a competition, I’d lie to myself constantly, saying things like:

• “I never get tired.” Humanly impossible and 100% not true… for anyone.
• “I only have so many misses in me,” when I was missing shots. Sort of true (maybe?) but there is no statistical reason I couldn’t keep missing, forever and ever. Science, after all, plays no favorites....

Sports training isn’t about generalities. You’d never tell your team, “Just get the ball out there… somewhere.” Or say, “Don’t worry about the goalie. Just kick it within the vicinity.”

Without accuracy, without precision, there is no game. There is no goal, there is no team. More importantly, there is no win.

Leah Johnson, Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at Southern Illinois, felt concerned enough about the generalities surrounding leadership to get in touch with our team of experts at Positive Performance. Specifically, she wanted to know our opinions about:

1. Leadership in athletics;
2. Developing leaders within the team;
3. The importance of strong leadership skills.

And we’re going to tell you precisely what we told her.  

Let’s get specific

Generic leadership training isn’t specific to the sports arena. Leadership tips are being passed around everywhere. From the mouths of retail managers to their...

ESPN published an interview and article on how Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks are using mental training to gain a competitive edge. Pete's philosophy matches ours: If you have happier and more balanced players, they will be better able to manage their emotions, deal with stress, and ultimately perform at their peak when the pressure is on.

After all, sports don't happen in a vacuum and athletes are human beings capable of unproductive thoughts, excess emotions, and vulnerability to stress just like the rest of us.

Expect to see more and more teams doing this as the results speak for themselves and the cost is relatively low. As the article points out, meditation is a key component of their mental training plan. So let’s take a closer look at how meditation can help athletes perform better.

Here are 3 specifics ways meditation can help your athletes:

1.    Stress management: Athletes are under an enormous amount of pressure and stress fairly...

Many of our clients report that the first 20-minutes of practice drastically improves after implementing this one 5-minute pre-practice routine.

Athletes are often scattered by the time they get to practice. Some days, it takes a long time for their mind to catch up to their body (i.e. ‘it’s time to practice’). They might be tired, hungry, stressed, late, or thinking about boyfriends/girlfriends, school, or life outside of their sport. Giving them 5-minutes to get their mind focused on practice, visualize what they want to achieve, and let go of unproductive thoughts and emotions can be the key to engaging in a productive practice.

Here at Positive Performance we use something we’ve developed call the BRAVR™ method and it goes like this (by the way coaches should do it with their athletes).

The BRAVR™ method

1. Breathing: close your eyes and take 5 deep, long, belly breathes (6 seconds in, 6 seconds out)
2. Release: we encourage athletes to...

We are really excited to present our new podcast series: The Brittney Griner Effect-Coaching and Recruiting the Gay Athlete with Dr. Jenny Withycome. We'll be presenting podcasts on a number of different issues related to this topic including:

• Should I let my players date each other?
• What should I do if one of my athletes 'comes out' to me?
• I coach at a religious institution, when it comes to homosexuality how do I balance my players needs with my responsibility to my school?

Our first podcast is: How does homophobia affect performance?  

Here are 3 things you should know:

1. Schools that are inclusive of all people have a higher winning percentage.
2. Athletes that don't feel included can't give 100% to their team.
3. Teams must make an effort to be inclusive. It's not enough to assume you are inclusive.

  Looking to gain a competitive mental edge and win more? Sign up for our newsletter and receive straight forward advice and tips on...

Our 2-Minute Drill Videos are designed to give you 2 minutes of mental training tools and information. This video is about how to design an off-season plan. Listen in while Lindsey talks about her own off-season plan. Some points to remember:

• Choose one or two things to REALLY get better at this off-season- be as specific as possible and don't try to do everything
• Journal your workouts
• Get a skill plan ready by talking to your coach
• Ask your strength coach for an off-season workout plan
• Take some time (10 minutes a day) for mental training

Looking to gain a competitive mental edge and win more? Sign up for our newsletter and receive straight forward advice and tips on how to develop your team's mental game.