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Writer's pictureJulie Jones

It's Always a Great Time to Watch Ourselves Be Awesome!

Mindset Made Simple Tip #43To watch or listen, click HERE.



I am pumped up!


Yesterday I started a 2-month program with one of the best girls soccer programs in the country.

Watching their practice was AWESOME! They were full of focus, energy, excitement…on a Sunday morning!


Tonight, I get to work with one of the top 3 teams in the country in Division III softball. This program is one of the winningest programs in all of softball. Heck, they were ranked in the top 10 when we played them my senior year of college (and that was a long time ago!). I remember because we were close behind them in the rankings, and we were pumped to play them. They probably weren’t phased by facing us at all 😊!


Either way, they are impressive in all aspects of the game and are led by one of the best coaches in the country.


As I spent the past week preparing for both teams, I thought long and hard about what these teams can do to increase their chances of success as they move into tournament play.


For teams headed into tourney time, we don’t have time to review routines or add new ones. We want to avoid too much thinking. We don’t have time for theory and worksheets. We don’t have time to learn new breathing techniques.


But we do have time to do the following:


1. We can watch ourselves be awesome!

2. We can lay out what we can control and have a plan to do just that!

3. We can talk about perspective – as we did last week – and work to keep everything that happens to us (or because of us) working for our benefit.


Let’s start with #1 – watching ourselves be awesome!


This is a great time to gather all the successful plays, pitches, hits, shots and make a highlight video for our players (or have them do it themselves). They can pull clips from your video database. They can record them on their phones from game replays. It doesn’t have to win an Oscar. They just need to watch themselves be successful.


It can even be the same swing over and over and over!


If you don’t have video, gather pictures of perfect contact, form, position and have them look at them and then do what is below!


We all have watched highlight videos and seen pictures of great skill work, but here is the important step.


After they watch the video or look at the picture, have them replay it EXACTLY as it was in their mind’s eye.


Here is where one clip works well. Watch one clip, watch it in your mind movie. Watch the next clip. Sit back, close your eyes and replay it again!


As they watch it in their mind’s eye, the muscles fire in the same sequence as if they were doing it in real time in the box, on the court or on the pitch.


If they are looking at still shots, have them play the entire swing, shot or sequence out in their head in in the exact same way.


How do I know it will work?


Here is a picture of the brain in an f-MRI machine. The left column is the brain’s reaction to looking at something in front of them. The middle column is an image of the brain’s reaction to looking at a picture. The right column is a look at the differences between looking at something in reality and looking at a picture of the same thing… Perception – Imagery.

Nothing is lit up. Nothing is different!


Our brain treats both as the same experience. AMAZING!


WE NEED TO USE THIS TO OUR ADVANTAGE!


It works the same way when we use visualization! The brain lights up as we relive every detail of the event!


Now is not the time to add in new stuff. BUT it is always a great time to watch ourselves be awesome!


Encourage your players to use this before they go to bed, as they get up in the morning and then encourage them to replay these plays before they step into the box, on the mound or as they prepare for a penalty kick, big shot or whatever comes next!


Getting our players to tie themselves back to the positive plays we made that got us here does us all kinds of good! It helps us watch and relive our routines, our positive emotion and our love for the game! ALL IMPORTANT IN PEAK PERFORMANCE!


For more information on helping keep our players focused on the #2 thing on the list, read ONE of these TWO tips on controllables. Keeping ourselves focused on what we can control helps us focus on the things we can change and gives us more time to plan our reaction when things we cannot control arise…and there is a 100% chance they will!


To refresh your memory on why perspective is important, click HERE to read last week’s tip!

It’s tourney time and all coaches know that what happened to this point is not nearly as important as how we handle what is ahead of us in the next play!


However, reliving those great plays has its benefits. It certainly can’t hurt!

So, with little precious time to prepare, get your team fired up while creating positive pathways in their brains by having them watch themselves be awesome.


Help them figure out what they can control and make a plan – then make a plan for the things they can’t control.


And, finally, help them keep things in perspective. EVERYTHING that happens to us (or because of us) can be used to our advantage if we choose.


For those of you not tournament bound, we’ll talk about how we can weave these things into a summer program to keep them motivated and focused on improvement all summer long!


Have a great week- wherever this week leads!


Julie


P.S. Thinking about implementing a more intentional Mental Performance program for next year? I can build one for you that fits your schedule and budget! Let’s set up a time to talk about how we can build your team’s mental toughness. Give me a call or text at 234-206-0946 or send me an email at juliej@ssbperformance.com


Julie Jones

Certified Mental Performance & Mindset Coach

SSB Performance

www.ssbperformance.com

juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946

Facebook/ssbperformance

@SSBMindset

Be strong and courageous. Joshua 1:9

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