My Dad Did What??? 3 Ways Fathers Can Impact Their Student Athlete Child
This is for the fathers of student athletes.
(Or, if you are a student athlete, share this with your father)
Today, we will talk about:
3 Ways Fathers Can Impact Their Student Athlete Child
In my opinion,
Fathers are the most influential role models in the lives of student athletes.
Even more than their coaches.
Even more than their favorite superstars on TV.
In my opinion, fathers are the most influential role models in the lives of student athletes.
Disclaimer:
I AM NOT A FATHER!!!
However, I was a student athlete and I have coached many student athletes over the years.
And the three traits we will talk about today are what I respected about my dad as well as the fathers of the student athletes I have coached.
1. Promote a variety of activities for your child to participate in
Growing up, my dad encouraged me to try out a variety of activities.
He encouraged me to play various sports like:
Football
Basketball
Baseball
Soccer
Tennis
Golf
He also encouraged me to try other activities outside of sports like:
Woodworking in the shop
Water skiing
Guitar
By promoting a variety of activities for me to participate in,
My dad enabled me to discover what I was passionate about and see many opportunities Life was guiding me towards.
2. Encourage your child to expand their comfort zone
There was a period of my playing career when I was passive and timid.
I had great skill, was a hard worker, and an encouraging teammate, but my leadership was not there yet.
One day, as I was finishing a grueling basketball workout, drenched in sweat and exhausted, my dad said to me:
“Everyone wants a leader, yet very few are actually willing to be that leader.
I am not going to tell you to be that leader,
But if you do, it is completely your choice.
But YOU will need to be that leader.”
Once he said that, he flipped a switch inside me.
I crushed the end of my workout
I made the choice to be a leader
I stepped into a leadership position
Rather than overtly tell me what to do,
(There were times he did try that tactic and I rebelled against what he said almost every time 🙂)
In this instance, my dad skillfully flipped a switch inside me,
That helped me to make my own decision to expand my comfort zone.
In turn, I stepped into a leadership position.
3. Be an example of a being of character
Perhaps the most powerful memory of my dad came outside of sports.
We were at a hospital for some medical complications I was dealing with.
One morning, I had an early appointment, probably around 6:00 AM.
We were staying at a hotel down the road from the hospital and we were walking to the hospital through the dark and cold morning during a blizzard.
I recall looking at my dad, briefcase in his hand, being pelted by the snow.
In that moment …
I respected him so much.
Here was a man who gave up everything for me.
Here was a man who took time off work to me with me.
Here was a man who was out in this cold blizzard to help find answers to make me healthy, to help find answers so I could have the vitality to live my dream.
In that moment, I thought to myself:
“That is someone I want to emulate someday!”
I wanted to emulate:
His resilience
His perseverance
His willingness to give so much so someone can live their dream
And I had so much respect for him.
Rather than enforce his values and beliefs on me,
My dad was an example of a being of character,
And I wanted to one day exemplify those qualities as well.
3 Ways Fathers Can Impact Their Student Athlete Child
Promote a variety of activities for your child to participate in
Encourage your child to expand their comfort zone
Be an example of a being of character
And when you embody these qualities,
Your child will respect you so much and want to make you proud.
Because, after all …
You are the role model they look up to most.
I wish you well on your journey of impacting your student athlete child, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
I Learned This the Hard Way: How to play CONFIDENT against the toughest competition
Do you shy away from the top competition???
Perhaps you have great skills and abilities, but against the top performers, you freeze up and turn into a shadow of the player you know you are.
If so …
NO WORRIES!!! That’s cool and completely normal.
And today we are going to help you:
Play CONFIDENT … Even against the toughest competition
Recently, an athlete approached me because he was experiencing difficulties playing against great competition.
He had lots of ability, but he would freeze up against the toughest performers and not play his best.
This reminded me of two situations in my life, which were similar in opportunity, yet had drastically different outcomes.
Situation 1
When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I was invited to practice with one of the best AAU basketball teams in the state.
I was terrified!!!
During the car ride, I was worrying about the competition I was about to go up against. I had heard stories about how good this team was.
When I got to the practice …
I was even more horrified and petrified!!!
Many kids had huge muscles
Some kids had begun to grow beards
A few of them could dunk and most others could slap the backboard on their lay ups
I had never played against competition like this yet in my early playing days.
I completely psyched myself out
I completely froze for the rest of practice
I turned into a shadow of the player I knew I was
As a result …
I WAS NEVER INVITED TO PLAY WITH THIS TEAM AGAIN!!!
Situation 2
When I was 14, I was once again invited to practice with one of the best AAU basketball teams in the state.
This time, rather than shying away from the competition …
I embraced it!
I played my game and:
Had one of my best performances
Played the rest of the year with this team and was a starter
Formed lasting relationships, friendships, and experiences I never would have had before
Two similar situations with TWO DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT OUTCOMES.
Through this experience, I learned:
3 Lessons to Help You Play Confident Against the Toughest Competition
1. Sink out of the head and into the feeling sensations of the body
As athletes, we can get caught in our heads as we size up and compare ourselves to our competition.
In Situation 1, I was caught in my head, worrying about these players’ muscles, facial hair, and athleticism.
In Situation 2, I sunk into how good it felt to play the game:
The crispness of every cut
The fluidity of every move
The effortlessness of the stroke of my jump shot
This freed up much energy to enable me to perform at my highest capacity.
Sink outside of your head and into the feeling sensations of your body …
And you release yourself from negative thought patterns and play confidently even against tough competition.
2. Your competition is equally as scared of YOU as you are of them
As I was worried about the out-of-this-world athleticism and insane ability to handle the basketball of the other players, I later learned:
They were afraid of my ability to shoot and how smart I was.
In scrimmages, a teammate of whoever was guarding me would say,
“Don’t let this guy shoot!”
At a practice later on in the season, a coach addressed the team and said,
“Out of any player on this team, if there was one player I’d build a team around, it would be Kyle.
Although he’s not the biggest
Although he’s not the strongest or fastest
Although he doesn’t have the best handles … (he kept going on and on about what I wasn’t good at 🙂 )
I’d form a team around Kyle because he is smart.”
Although I was worried about my competition and the attributes they possessed but I lacked, they were equally worried about me.
Hone in on your strengths! Don’t worry about your weaknesses because your competition is worried about what you specialize in.
When you have this realization, you free yourself up to play confidently regardless of the competition.
3. Feel the Fear and do it anyway
One of the biggest secrets of the top performers and those who appear to be most confident is:
They still feel Fear.
But they re-orient their relationships and minds towards Fear.
Rather than avoid Fear, they go at it because they realize it’s guiding them to their Highest Potential.
Fear is an evolutionary mechanism designed to heighten our abilities so we can perform at our highest.
There is no avoiding Fear!!!
However, you can change how you view Fear.
Rather than avoiding it, you can view it as your ally that is helping you to perform your best.
Make no mistake, I felt Fear in Situation 2, but I proceeded to play my game regardless of how I felt.
When you feel Fear, but realize it’s here to help you,
You realize one of the most powerful forces in the universe is on your side,
And this makes you essentially unstoppable,
And this helps you play confident, even against the toughest competition.
3 Lessons to Help You Play Confident Against the Toughest Competition
Sink out of the head and into the feeling sensations of the body
Your competition is equally as scared of YOU as you are of them
Feel the Fear and do it anyway
As you master your Fear in your game,
You free yourself up to your Highest Potential in Life.
There will be many situations in life that will make you want to freeze up!
You’ll have:
A dream
A calling
A mission
That is beckoning you to pursue it.
Most people shy away from it …
But you can go after it!!!
As you sink outside of the mind about how impossible this dream seems …
And into the feeling sensations of how you perform and execute your Craft,
As you realize that despite you worrying about how lofty this vision may be …
This vision is equally worried about YOU because you have the courage to face it head on,
As you feel the Fear, yet proceed anyway, realizing this Fear is your biggest ally preparing to face this new vision, dream, and reality head on,
Realizing this Fear is guiding you to your Highest Potential,
You realize you are UNSTOPPABLE
You will face this dream HEAD ON
You will be formed into the most optimal Being YOU WERE CREATED TO BE
You will carry on to your Highest Potential and fulfill your Purpose, in service and inspiration to all around you.
I wish you well on your journey of playing confident against the toughest competition, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Inspiring YOU every step of your way,
Kyle
Advice I Wish Someone Had Shared With Me: How to make difficult decisions as a Student Athlete
Are you a student athlete who needs to make a difficult decision?
Or, are you a parent of a student athlete, and your son or daughter is facing a challenging situation in which they must make a choice?
Well, today I am going to share some advice I gave to a player I was once coaching when he needed to make a difficult decision.
And I hope this advice will be a guiding principle to:
Help Student Athletes When Making Tough Choices
This particular player approached me for some advice about what to do for college.
He was wondering what school he should go to and whether he should continue to play his sport or if it was time to hang up his shoes and end his competitive sporting career altogether.
This individual was either a two or three sport athlete and had a lot of potential.
He had some opportunities to play at some lower level schools or he could try out as a preferred walk on at a higher level school.
As I listened to his stories and all the factors and variables he was weighing to make his decision, I began to chime in with my experiences going through college as well as the experiences of other athletes I had coached who had gone through college.
Eventually, I could see him gaining clarity about the path forward he felt was best for him, but I could tell he was still hesitant about it.
Quite frankly, it was completely NORMAL for him to be hesitant in a situation like this because it was probably one of the biggest decisions of his life thus far:
He was deciding which school to go to
He was deciding what subjects he wanted to study
He was deciding whether he wanted to continue playing his sport or if it was time to end his sporting career (an idea he had never conceived of before in his entire life)
Then, I felt something inside me call him to give him this advice:
“Whatever decision you make,
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT.
And you will learn and grow from it.
And it will refine you into the being you were born to be.”
And that is the same advice I would like to offer you today if you are making a difficult decision:
“Whatever decision you make,
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT.
And you will learn and grow from it.
And it will refine you into the being you were born to be.”
As student athletes, we face many difficult decisions.
In our sports:
What team do we want to try out for?
What position do we want to play?
Is it time to end our sporting career?
In school:
What school do we want to go to?
What do we want to study?
How can we integrate the material into our lives?
In life:
What career path do we want to pursue?
Where do we want to live?
What impact do we want to have and what do we want to be remembered for in this lifetime?
Despite these inevitable difficult decisions that arise in this Game of Life,
The advice I encourage you today with is:
TO OWN YOUR DECISION!!!
Go all in on your decision without looking back … because:
“Whatever decision you make,
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT.
And you will learn and grow from it.
And it will refine you into the being you were born to be.”
I wish you well on your journey of realizing you can handle any decision you make in life, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Advice I Wish Someone Had Shared With Me: How to make difficult decisions as a Student Athlete
Are you a student athlete who needs to make a difficult decision?
Or, are you a parent of a student athlete, and your son or daughter is facing a challenging situation in which they must make a choice?
Well, today I am going to share some advice I gave to a player I was once coaching when he needed to make a difficult decision.
And I hope this advice will be a guiding principle to:
Help Student Athletes When Making Tough Choices
This particular player approached me for some advice about what to do for college.
He was wondering what school he should go to and whether he should continue to play his sport or if it was time to hang up his shoes and end his competitive sporting career altogether.
This individual was either a two or three sport athlete and had a lot of potential.
He had some opportunities to play at some lower level schools or he could try out as a preferred walk on at a higher level school.
As I listened to his stories and all the factors and variables he was weighing to make his decision, I began to chime in with my experiences going through college as well as the experiences of other athletes I had coached who had gone through college.
Eventually, I could see him gaining clarity about the path forward he felt was best for him, but I could tell he was still hesitant about it.
Quite frankly, it was completely NORMAL for him to be hesitant in a situation like this because it was probably one of the biggest decisions of his life thus far:
He was deciding which school to go to
He was deciding what subjects he wanted to study
He was deciding whether he wanted to continue playing his sport or if it was time to end his sporting career (an idea he had never conceived of before in his entire life)
Then, I felt something inside me call him to give him this advice:
“Whatever decision you make,
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT.
And you will learn and grow from it.
And it will refine you into the being you were born to be.”
And that is the same advice I would like to offer you today if you are making a difficult decision:
“Whatever decision you make,
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT.
And you will learn and grow from it.
And it will refine you into the being you were born to be.”
As student athletes, we face many difficult decisions.
In our sports:
What team do we want to try out for?
What position do we want to play?
Is it time to end our sporting career?
In school:
What school do we want to go to?
What do we want to study?
How can we integrate the material into our lives?
In life:
What career path do we want to pursue?
Where do we want to live?
What impact do we want to have and what do we want to be remembered for in this lifetime?
Despite these inevitable difficult decisions that arise in this Game of Life,
The advice I encourage you today with is:
TO OWN YOUR DECISION!!!
Go all in on your decision without looking back … because:
“Whatever decision you make,
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT.
And you will learn and grow from it.
And it will refine you into the being you were born to be.”
I wish you well on your journey of realizing you can handle any decision you make in life, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Do You Want to Be Remembered??? How to be remembered in your game (and beyond)
Do you want to be remembered for your game?
I hear many student athletes say they want to be remembered for how they play their game.
And I think if we are honest, we all want to be remembered for something.
Those who are remembered seem to have more opportunities flow their way and make a larger impact on those around them.
With this, today we will talk about:
3 Qualities to Help You Be Remembered in Your Game (and Beyond Your Game)
People “wanting to be remembered for something” has become so cliche in this day and age.
(There’s even that song that says “100% reason to remember the name.”)
I believe deep down we all want to be remembered in some way, so we can have more opportunities and can make a greater impact.
Here are:
3 Qualities to Help You Be Remembered in Your Game (and Beyond Your Game)
1. Innovation
Create new ways and techniques of doing things nobody has ever seen before.
I recall the Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots.
The Eagles ran a trick play nobody had ever seen before.
They ended up scoring, they ended up winning, and this play was forever known as The Philly Shuffle.
The Eagles designed a new play that helped them:
Score
Win the game
Be remembered for their innovation
2. Perseverance
Have the resilience to press on through life’s trials, tribulations, and storms and remain steadfast on your goals and vision.
Cal Ripken Jr. was a baseball player who was referred to as The Iron Man.
He played in over 2,000 straight major league baseball games despite long, grueling summer days and aches, pains, and injuries.
He pressed on through all the game’s challenges
He had remained durable throughout his career
He was remembered as The Iron Man
3. Authenticity
Fully embrace and bring out the athlete you were designed to be.
Embrace all your:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Flaws and imperfections
And fully be who you are.
Your game doesn’t need another Patrick Mahomes
Your game doesn’t need another Caitlin Clark
Your game doesn’t need anyone else
Who your game needs …
IS YOU!!!
Embrace your playing style
Embrace what makes you train your best
Embrace your leadership and communication styles
Embrace what gets you pumped up and how you make your unique impact
The more you embrace who you are (flaws, imperfections, quirks, and all) …
The more you make your authentic impact on the game and …
The more you will be remembered in your game.
Recap
3 Qualities to Help You Be Remembered in Your Game (and Beyond):
Innovation- Create new ways and techniques of doing things nobody has ever seen before
Perseverance- Have the resilience to press on through life’s trials and tribulations and remain steadfast on your vision
Authenticity- Fully embrace all of who and what you are, bring out the athlete you were uniquely designed to be, and make the impact you were created to make
I wish you well on your journey of being remembered in your game and in the Larger Game of Life beyond your game, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Afraid You Won’t Make It As An Athlete??? How to Develop the Mental Resilience to Access your Full Potential
“DARN IT!!! I missed the shot!”
“Are you kidding me ump, that was definitely a strike!”
“Why is coach taking me out of the game again???”
It’s inevitable within our sports …
Situations outside of our control happen.
Often, athletes will view these as negative, get down on themselves, and mentally check out of the game.
However, today I am going to offer you a new perspective.
And when you hold onto this belief with unwavering conviction,
You will be refined into the athlete you were born to be in your game
And …
You will be refined into the person you were born to be in the Larger Game of Life.
This belief is:
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
Let me say that again:
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
In your game, if you:
Miss a Shot- You realize the Game is providing you feedback so you can make it the next time
Get a Bad Call- You realize the Game is providing you an opportunity to respond poised for the next play
Get Pulled Out of the Game- You realize the Game is providing you an opportunity to rejuvenate and witness the game from a new perspective so you can go back in firing on all cylinders
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
And this translates to the rest of your life as well.
You see, on a personal note,
My life has been full of uncontrollable situations that have appeared to be negative.
But I have held fast to this belief, and as a result …
Life has always provided me a larger platform to have a greater impact on those around me.
My Dream
When I was young, I vividly recall watching a young basketball player in the 2008 NCAA basketball tournament named Stephen Curry.
And when I watched this guy play,
He inspired me and reminded me the way I played basketball.
From that point on,
I devoted my life to one day playing professional basketball so everyone who watched me play would be inspired.
And I full-heartedly committed to making this a reality.
I was the recess king of the court.
I was extremely competitive on my travel teams.
However, I came down with a mysterious medical condition that kept me from growing.
This made basketball extremely difficult, but I remembered:
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
My Realization
I buckled down to get every edge I could get:
I would practice my skills for hours
I was in the weight room, doing plyometrics, and running around the neighborhood
I honed in on my nutrition, mindset, sleep, recovery, toughness, and every little “enhancement” I heard about
And as a result,
I was the most well-rounded athlete I could be and remained competitive.
Soon afterwards,
I came down with more mysterious medical conditions that made my gut extremely compromised and made my body overly exhausted. Eventually these health complications led to me being taken out of sports and I watched my athletic dreams wash away.
This was heart-breaking to me, but I remembered:
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
My Realization
Although I was unable to live my dream,
I became extremely smart about all facets sports performance related,
And I could help other athletes reach their aspirations.
I geeked out on training science
I started coaching high school teams
I went to college with the mission of cracking the code to make anyone an elite athlete
And as a result,
I had many amazing opportunities lined up for me to train high-level athletes after college.
However,
I was graduating in the spring of 2020 (News Flash: When the world was put on hold due to the pandemic) which canceled all my post-college training plans.
Not only were these plans canceled,
I couldn’t find any job within the training industry because we were not allowed to be within 6 feet of others.
I was bewildered and confused about what to do, but I remembered:
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
My Realization
Rather than wait around for opportunities to train athletes,
I could create an online brand where I could train anybody virtually!
This way:
I could impact far more athletes
I was not confined to my physical location
I could overcome the restrictions brought on by the pandemic
I took a look at what I knew about the internet:
Google
Microsoft Word
Email … And that’s about it!!!
But I committed myself to this new vision and would learn how to do it.
And as a result,
I created an online ecosystem with social media platforms, online courses/coaching, email systems, and sales funnels.
After a few months of running this online ecosystem though,
I began to feel a deep hole within my being that grew deeper and deeper the more I produced content.
Eventually I perceived this was a strong call that Life was calling me to another Path.
Once again, lost and confused, I told myself:
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
My Calling
One night, feeling utterly debilitated by everything that had been happening in my life, I went out into the middle of a field one night, stood there underneath the stars, and said:
”Life, You have taken away everything I have worked so hard for:
You took away my athletic dreams through my health conditions
You took away my training opportunities after college with the pandemic
Now you are taking away this online ecosystem I created because I feel a deep sense of unfulfillment
What are you leading me to???
How are you guiding me to my Highest Potential???
What do you have for me???
I SURRENDER!!!
SHOW ME THE WAY!!!”
And once I said those words, I had this surreal experience where every cell in my being felt like it was dissolving and melting away:
My Skin
My Muscles
My Bones
All of it dissolving and melting away …
Until there was nothing left but a ball of fire, a bundle of energy, deep inside my being.
And when I connected with that,
I realized that could never be taken away …
And that fire inside me is what will inspire others as I help them to connect with it within themselves.
So, you see,
Every uncontrollable situation that has taken away my dreams in my life,
Has only led to a larger platform to make a greater impact on more people.
And I have been able to persevere through this all because I have remained steadfast with the unwavering conviction that:
The Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential.
I invite you to look at your game, and your Game of Life beyond,
And see how every seeming setback is actually …
Refining you into the athlete, the student, and the BEING …
You were born to be.
I wish you well on your journey of realizing the Game is orchestrating all events to guide you to your Highest Potential, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Attention Student Athlete Mothers: 3 Ways Moms Can Have a Profound Impact on the Lives of Student Athlete Children
This is for the mothers of student athletes!
Or, if you are a student athlete, please share this with your mother.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day today, we are going to discuss:
3 Ways Moms Can Have a Profound Impact on the Lives of Student Athlete Children
Disclaimer:
I AM NOT A MOTHER!!!
But, I was a student athlete and today I will be speaking from the perspective of a student athlete and what I am most grateful for about how my mom impacted my development in my game, in my schoolwork, and in my life.
1. Be Present
Do your absolute best to be at your child’s activities:
Their games and tournaments
Activities in school such as awards ceremonies
Other events outside of school such as music recitals, youth groups, and volunteer opportunities
Physically be present for them.
And also …
Mentally and emotionally be present for them.
When you are with your son or daughter, focus all your thoughts and attention on them in the moment.
When you are present for your student athlete physically, mentally, and emotionally,
They will realize how much you care for them and are invested in their success and development.
2. Offer Them a Helping Hand
As student athletes, your son and/or daughter has a lot on their plate:
Their games and practices
Their homework, exams, and other school activities
Their other training and recovery such as their mindset, nutrition, and sleep
With all this going on …
They can easily become overwhelmed trying to keep up with everything.
And when they are doing their best to manage everything, but are having difficulty keeping up …
Offer to help them out with something like:
Cooking food
Cleaning the dishes
Doing small tasks and chores
(Note: This does not give them the green light to sit around playing video games, eating potato chips, while forcing you to clean their rooms for them, but when they truly are doing their best, offer them your helping hand.)
When you offer to help your son or daughter with various tasks,
They will realize how much you care for them and are invested in their success and development.
3. Provide a Compassionate and Loving Touch
Perhaps my most powerful memory of my mom actually came outside of my sports.
I was on a hospital bed, going through some medical challenges, and I remember this one specific moment when …
She touched my hand.
And, although it was a tiny act,
Every vein in my body tingled as I realized how much my mom loved me and cared for my well being.
I invite you to do the same.
Every day, provide your son and/or daughter a compassionate and loving touch:
A genuine hug emanating from the heart
A tender-hearted touch on their hand or shoulder
Any other gesture done from a space of pure affection
Although they may not overtly express it,
Your son and/or daughter loves YOU, wants to be loved by YOU, and wants to make YOU proud.
Once again, when you provide your child with a compassionate and loving touch,
They will realize how much you care for them and are invested in their success and development.
Recap
3 Ways You Can Have a Profound Impact on the Lives of Student Athlete Children:
Be Present- Physically, mentally, and emotionally
Offer a Helping Hand- When they are truly trying their best, yet still feeling overwhelmed
Provide a Compassionate and Loving Touch- One that is authentic and emanates from the heart
I wish you well on your journey of empowering your student athlete in their game, in their schoolwork, and in the Larger Game of Life, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Feeling TRAPPED as an Athlete??? How to PLAY FREE in Your Game (and in Life)
Do you feel like you are underperforming?
Sometimes you feel:
Slow
Stuck
Just a little bit “Off”
You know you have the potential inside you because you are able to execute highly in practice,
But when the game is on the line,
You freeze up and miss your opportunities.
And this leaves you feeling worried about how others are judging your performance, such as:
Your coach
Your teammates
Your family and friends
Look, I know …
Feeling trapped as an athlete absolutely SUCKS!!!
Throughout my career as an athlete,
There were many times I felt trapped as well.
I knew I had the potential inside me as I would perform well in practice,
But there were moments I would freeze up during crunch time and I would let my opportunities slip away.
After the game, I’d berate myself:
“How could I miss my mark?!?”
However, through this process,
I discovered how I could play freely as an athlete,
And today we will talk about:
3 Areas to enable you to play FREELY in your game, and in the Larger Game of Life
Freedom in Your Craft
As an athlete, your Craft is your sport.
Master the skills of your sport.
Intentionally practice the skills and techniques to enable you to excel in your sport.
If you play basketball, work on your shot
If you golf, work on the mechanics of your swing
If you play softball or baseball, work on taking grounders and fly balls
Condition your body so you can move and function optimally.
Make sure you are following a well-rounded training program that targets the energy systems and movement patterns of your sport to enhance your abilities.
Study the intricacies, nuances, and ins and outs of the strategy of your sport.
This will help you become a complete athlete and be the smartest player you can be.
Study the greats in your sport and watch your own game film to help you understand how you can improve.
Freedom in Your Mind
Train your mind so you can sink into the Zone effortlessly and at ease.
Focus on one thing at a time.
Be able to hold your attention only on the present moment.
If you are practicing, focus only on your practice
If you are doing chores, focus only on the task at hand
If you are doing homework, shut off all other distractions and zone in on your homework
Remain cool, calm, and composed in pressure situations.
Slow down your breathing so you can regulate your Nervous System.
Develop your mental toughness and resilience.
Push your edges in your training and take on challenging tasks in your daily life.
Freedom to Play for a Greater Cause Beyond the Game Itself
Every time you step into practice, a training session, or a game, play for your:
Enjoyment
Inspiration
Passion
And for the enjoyment, inspiration, and passion of others:
Your team
Your school
Your community
3 Ways to Play Freely in Your Game
Freedom in Your Craft
Freedom in Your Mind
Freedom to Play for a Greater Cause Beyond the Game Itself
And these three areas will enable you to play freely in the Larger Game of Your Life.
Freedom in Your Craft
In life, your Craft is what you absolutely love to do.
Your calling
Your passion
Your purpose
Discover what it is and become the best at it you can possibly be.
Master the skills and study the nuances, intricacies, and ins and outs of it.
Freedom in Your Mind
Focus fully on the present moment.
Remain cool, calm, and composed in pressure-filled situations through the storms Life may provide.
Develop the mental toughness and resilience to become the person you were meant to be.
Freedom to Play for a Greater Cause Beyond the Game Itself
In everything you do, do it for your:
Enjoyment
Inspiration
Passion
And for the enjoyment, inspiration, and passion of others:
Your community
Your family, friends, and coworkers
And eventually to the world as a whole
I wish you well on your journey of playing freely in your game, and in the Larger Game of Life, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
