Coaching Through the Midseason Plateau: Tips to Reignite Passion and Focus. Midseason mental plateaus can be tough, but coaches have several effective strategies to refresh their teams and reignite motivation. Here are five key approaches: Revisit the Team’s Purpose and Goals Remind the team why they started and what they are working toward. Breaking the […]

Thriving Under Pressure: How the Phrase, ‘Trust Your Training’ Will Shape a Winning Mentality The phrase “Trust your training” or “Trust the process” is being used more and more by sport coaches and business leaders. Coaches often use phrases like “Trust your training” or “Trust the process” to reassure athletes when they’re struggling.  Phrases like […]

“Sweep the Shed" is a powerful metaphorical concept used by the All-Blacks that encapsulates several powerful leadership lessons for creating and maintaining a powerful and resilient sports team culture…a culture that will often be the difference between who wins and who loses...

Success Starts in the Mind: Ideas for Strengthening the Growth Mindset in Your Players We hear so much about growth mindset…   How a growth mindset is the key to improvement and learning.  But what really is a “Growth Mindset”?  …and how do I really apply this to my team and practices? First, let’s look at […]

Failing Forward: Fostering a Practice Culture that Accelerates Learning and Confidence Coaches everywhere are paying much more attention to the actual processes of learning.  We are realizing that failure is an important part of the process of learning.  You may have heard the phrase, “If they haven’t learned, then I haven’t taught”.  Learning and improvement […]

Motivation Mistakes: Pitfalls of Using Fear and Punishment as a Coaching Method Unleashing the full potential of your athletes involves more than just rigorous training regimens and skill-building exercises; it requires a deep understanding of motivation and psychological development. Fear and punishment are often used as training methods for a variety of reasons.  Looking more […]

Words That Win: How the Pregame Coaching Talk Can Build Champions The pregame coach’s talk in the locker room is a pivotal moment where strategies are shared, motivation is sharpened, and team unity is fortified. As athletes gather, coaches’ step forward delivering words that can set the tone for resilience and victory. This nearly sacred […]

Performing Under Pressure: The Transformative Influence of a ‘Next Play’ Coaching Emphasis Being able to mentally reset for the next play is an extremely important skill for athletes. It’s at the heart of resilience. Coaches play a pivotal role in how effective an athlete’s “Next Play” mental reset skills are, especially after the athlete makes […]

The Winning Edge: 10 Ways Pre-Skill Mental Routines Can Transform an Athlete’s Game Having a strong pre-skill mental routine is essential for athletes. Strong pre-skill mental routines will significantly impact their immediate performance and will make a lot of difference between victory and defeat. While physical prowess, strategic training, and technical skills are undoubtedly crucial, […]

Data-Driven Victory: When Old School Wisdom Meets New Age Coaching Tools Successful coaching is still a blend of art and science. High performance is still driven by trust, relationships and program culture. Embracing data analytics and technology can clearly offer numerous benefits to high school coaches by strengthening their coaching strategies and overall team performance. […]

The Confidence Conundrum: Strategies that Really Work for Coaches Confidence is vital to high-level performance.  When we have athletes who struggle with confidence, we want to help them as quickly as possible.  Telling an athlete who is struggling with their confidence that, “It’s all in your head.” can be very poor advice for several reasons.  […]

Beyond Resolutions: Turning Vision into Victory It’s the beginning of a new year. Happy New Year!! You may feel energized. You’ve probably made a list of goals that you’d like to accomplish in 2024… and your list keeps getting longer and longer each time you think about it. At times you may feel overwhelmed. Whatever […]

5 Reasons Why it is Important to Allow a Perfectionist Athlete to Set Goals that might seem Unrealistic Allowing a perfectionist athlete to set goals that might seem unrealistic can have several potential benefits for their performance, personal development, and their teammates. Here are five reasons why this can be important: 1. Motivation and Drive […]

A few years ago, while attending a USA Women’s National Team volleyball practice, I heard Head Coach Karch Kiraly tell the team, “We don’t need perfect. We just need a whole lot of good.”

The best coaches succeed because they’re constantly working to improve themselves, and because they are constantly learning how to improve themselves.