Big Game Big Player

Quote Of The Week

“Practice like you’ve never won, play like you’ve never lost”- Michael Jordan

Newsletter Of The Week

Welcome back,

I hope everyone had a great weekend and gets their week started off right! I have very thoughtful writing for you coaches, sports fans, and performance coaches!

We’ve all heard the saying “Big players show up in big games”. I’d like to talk about this statement and add a few perspectives. Much of the sports world is currently working to figure out the answers to sports psychology and questions like:

1. Why do some athletes play worse than their normal performances in big games?

2. Why do some athletes’ performances not change regardless of the situation?

3. Why do some athletes play better than their normal performances in big games and big situations.

Thinking about these questions should strike you to remember some of your favorite athletes. Much of the time our favorite athletes are those athletes who were known for “coming up big” in the big game and the big situation, not always the athletes with the best statistics. For example: let’s use Derek Jeter to build upon this idea. When it comes being the most well-respected/most favorite player of my generation, a high percentage of people will say Derek Jeter is their favorite baseball player. Did Derek Jeter have the most impressive statistics during his tenure? No! Did he hit the most home runs, make the most web gym plays? No! So what did Derek Jeter do to become the most favorited player? Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees won! They dominated an era of baseball by having an impressive run winning multiple World Series championships year after year. And who was the guy that always seemed to be getting the big hit or making a big play in the most crucial situations? Yes, “Mr. November” Derek Jeter. Derek Jeter seemed to be one of the “breeds” of guys who seemed to out-perform their normal performance in big situations. Other guys who may fit this description are Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady etc.

These types of guys are rare, which is why they remain on the top of the athletic totem pole!

But what about the rest of the team? The rest of teammates on Derek’s team had to make plays too, the rest of Jordan’s teammates had to make shots too, the rest of Tom Brady’s teammates had to play well too! The interesting thing here is that their performances did not have to be better than normal, but they had to be good! They also had to “play good” in big situations! If the rest of the team did not have that “it” gene that raised their level of competitiveness and dominance in these big games, they still had to figure out how to succeed in the big game/big situation.

How did they do this? The answer is simple: In those big moments of mental pressure when the heart rate has been raised a touch too high and when there seems to be a little too much on the line, athletes will revert back to their foundation of mechanics, fundamentals, and movement patters! Those athletes with thousands of reps of proper mechanics and proper movement patterns will subconsciously revert back to all their prep work in these situations. This will give them the highest chance for success. Those athletes with thousands of reps of poor, improper mechanics, fundamentals, and movement patterns will revert back to their poor foundation of proper movement patterns. That is why, as a coach it is extremely important that things have been drilled to a point where your players can do things subconsciously. This takes a lot of time and reps, but championship players and teams get there! That is why every rep in practice is important! Those who take reps off and refuse to build on to the foundation of mechanics in practice will revert to their same movement patterns when they were being lazy in practice!

Have you ever had to tell a kid or a team to quit going “through the motions” or quit being lazy in practice? Do you think Phil Jackson ever had to tell Kobe to stop going through the motions at practice? That is why he took the last shot, and made it! The GREATS understood the value of practice time and solidifying their foundation of fundamentals. Your average players who do not come up big in big situations are the same players you beg to stop being lazy at practice!

Study the GREATS, Develop your GREATNESS!

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Who is your all time favorite Athlete?

Coach Blake .

Tip Of The Week

Be highly attentive to all detail in everything you do! Train your mind to focus off the field so it naturally focuses on the field!

“The U“ Updates

Great News! We will be doing a “soft opening” towards the end of this week! Be on the look out for our next email to see our soft opening date and The U’s very first offer! We will also be searching for someone to fill another position to help The U facility! A job description will be released this week on our social media! Also, we will do a glove raffle soon to help raise money to fund our Grand Opening! Win the raffle and be the first to own a UGloves baseball glove! #WhyNotU