Mindset Made Simple Tip #292 - Watch it HERE!  I can say this because I can’t get fined anymore for disputing calls after games. The Akron Zips were victims of a bad call in the Baton Rouge Regional Softball Tournament on Saturday!!!! And as I write this week’s Tip, I wonder if I could follow my own advice and what science tells us in this situation. I was THOROUGHLY impressed with the responses of the Akron staff…not sure I would have been allowed to remain in the dugout

Mindset Made Simple Tip #292 - Listen or watch HERE. It is that time of year again in coaching and leadership. End of season evaluations. Anonymous feedback forms. Reviews from athletes, employees, clients, students or staff. As I was thinking about this …and thinking back to my experience with our anonymous evaluation process when I was coaching, I was thinking about how I “kept my head” when reading things about myself that weren’t always true. In my head, someone once s

Mindset Made Simple Tip #291 - Watch or listen HERE! My son has been doing something new. He's not just running new races, although that’s part of it. The 4x800, the 1600, the 800…that’s a lot. He even jumped into the long jump (or not-so-long-jump) and helped set a school record in the 4x8. That should be the story. But lately, something else has been showing up, and as we head into tournament time for spring sports, this experience is something we need to be aware of…so we

Mindset Made Simple Tip #290 - Watch or listen HERE. Last week, we talked about being where your feet are. This week, let’s talk about why that can be so hard… especially under pressure. Because it’s not just your thoughts that show up in those moments. It’s your history. Over the past few months, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and learning about grief. One of the most powerful things I’ve come across is the idea that the brain is constantly updating its internal map of

Mindset Made Simple Tip #289 - Watch or listen HERE! This is the time of year when focus can start to drift. You see it in practice. You feel it in games. You hear it in conversations. Athletes start thinking about the upcoming tournament rather than the next opponent. Coaches start looking at standings and scenarios. (I remember my assistant’s scribbled-up notebook with who needs to do what and where we would be if…then!) Families are already talking about summer plans and v

Mindset Made Simple Tip #288  It’s hard to tell by looking outside in most of the country right now…but it’s college softball season! Get out your shovels and thermals, because ready or not, here comes February! After coaching for more than a quarter century in Northeast Ohio, thinking about layering up for a 9 – 10-hour outdoor excursion to a softball field makes my teeth chatter! But whether the thermometer says so or not, it’s time for spring sports to ramp up, and so do

Mindset Made Simple Tip #287  I can’t believe I am going to quote Mike Tyson, but here I go! Except for the quote below and a guy with a partial ear, my only other memory of the guy is the night our dorm went on lockdown…way before lockdowns were a thing...because the best friend of the girl accusing him of rape lived below me…and someone threatened her. FUN. Nevertheless, what he said is true! “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth!” And we get punched in

Mindset Made Simple Tip #285 Read it on my new website at www.ssbperformance.com That’s a loaded question. Are you a good focuser 😉 or does your mind feel like it’s being pulled in a million directions…a lot? This is a great question for me this week as I send this out in the nick of time to keep my 5+ year streak of one Tip per week going! I am sure I had time to send this, but every time I sat down to do so....well...here we are! So last night, to keep the streak going,

Mindset Made Simple Tip #285 - Watch or Listen HERE Every coach I know is looking for an edge. Better drills. Better data. Better development plans. But here’s what we miss: Our mindset determines how much value we actually get from everything else we do. It shapes… • what you notice • what you expect • how you explain success and failure • how your body responds under pressure These are the tools and data we need to be evaluating every day, every play…every way! Research co

Mindset Made Simple Tip #284 It’s that time of year again. The stretch between reflection and resolution. The moment when we start thinking about who we want to be in the New Year and what will finally make us happier, more productive, more competitive…better. As I looked back on 2025… and whew, it’s been a year… a quote kept finding its way back to me. Then, almost on cue, on Christmas Day, I found myself standing in my kitchen talking with my Aunt Sue about influence . Not

Mindset Made Simple Tip #283 - Watch or listen HERE. The holiday season has a way of holding two truths simultaneously. It can feel meaningful and warm, yet fast, loud, and emotionally full. It’s the season of wonder…and AWE…if we’re smart! In psychology, awe isn’t just a pleasant emotion. It’s a measurable state that changes how our brain and body function. Research by Dacher Keltner and colleagues shows that awe arises when we experience something larger than ourselves and

Mindset Made Simple Tip #282 - Watch or listen HERE and check out Jensen's Mindset Minutes  HERE! It’s somewhat ironic that I am publishing this Tip today. Because last night…I was not my skill of choice. Every now and then, lately, I’ve been going from sad or uncertain to pissed in 0.02 seconds. I know I’m not my best in that state, so I need this Tip today as much as you might! Here’s the deal. I’m a mover and a doer. My mind runs a million miles a minute. And m

Jennie Finch USA Softball Mindset Made Simple Tip #281 - Watch or listen HERE. This past weekend, at the USA Softball Junior National Team Identifier, a few hundred young athletes stood before two giants in our sport, and almost every question they asked was about the mental game. Not mechanics. Not drills. Not recruiting. Pressure. Confidence. Fear. Handling expectations. Why? Because deep down, athletes know the truth we sometimes pretend isn’t there: our minds swing the b

Mindset Made Simple Tip #280 - Watch or listen HERE This time of year reminds us that belief is powerful. Think about the stories of Christmas and Hanukkah. We weren’t there. We didn’t witness a manger or a long-lasting flame. Yet we believe these stories because they’ve been passed down with conviction, repetition and meaning. They shape how we think, feel and act. They guide traditions. They influence identity. They offer hope. For decades, I had Hebrews 11:1 handwritten on

On a day built around gratitude, I want to pause and say this clearly: I’m thankful for you. Every athlete, coach, student, parent and leader who follows these tips - THANK YOU! You challenge me in the best ways. Your commitment to growing your mental game continually pushes me to grow mine. Every week I’m challenged to get better… because to help you get better, I have to grow, stretch and get uncomfortable, too. It’s not a challenge anyone says out loud. It’s that unseen,

Mindset Made Simple Tip #279 - Watch or listen HERE. You’ve probably heard me say this before…or something like it: We don’t magically develop emotional control under pressure, just like our military does not learn new maneuvers in battle. They learn new things on our soil (mostly)…and we practice – or should practice - our mental performance tools, not when we are facing our biggest foe, but in the messy, boring everyday moments. We don’t wait until the seventh inning, down

Mindset Made Simple Tip #278 - Watch or listen HERE If you're anything like me, you've stared at your to-do list, noticed the clock, felt your heart speed up a little… and wondered how in the world you’re going to get everything done. You promise yourself you’ll “focus,” but two minutes later you’re thinking about a snack, an email you forgot to send and the fact that your shoes still aren’t tied. We all feel this. I’m living this BIG TIME right now. A LOT is going on in my

Mindset Made Simple Tip #277 - Watch or listen HERE. Last Friday was a thrill! We had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Sue Ziegler , my mentor and one of the most influential people in my life. Kortney and I interviewed her for an upcoming episode of Game Changers: Athlete Edition. It WAS AWESOME, inspiring and packed with simple, solid truths about performance. If you’ve ever heard me talk about mental training, you’ve heard me talk about Sue. She was the sports psychol

Mindset Made Simple Tip #276 - Watch or listen HERE. Yesterday morning didn’t go as planned. I took my dad to an appointment that was supposed to last two hours. Perfect. I had two hours of work to do while I waited, including a meeting and prep for a call with a team for early afternoon, then I’d head to a meeting with the Director of Oberlin’s Musical Theatre Department to set up work for next semester. Both things I was pumped about!! It was one of those rare mornings w

Mindset Made Simple Tip #275 - Watch or listen HERE Check out my son's new "Mindset Minute" series and share with young athletes you know who want to up their game! Last week, we talked about driving through the rain — leaning forward, squinting through the glare, and realizing that while we couldn’t see the whole road, we could still see enough to move forward safely. This week, I want to take that idea one step further. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month , and more t