It was a typical hot August summer day when the Titan's Varisity Field Hockey Coach called. He heard that a former US National Field Hockey player and collegiate coach lived only 2 miles from their practice fields. After a ten minute conversation I was hired on the spot to be the TC Titan's Assistant Varisity Coach.
I met the team and after a few practices I could see major potential, but there was a lot of ground to cover if we were to make it to the State Tourney in November. TC Titan's Field Hockey team would need to master the major components of a winning team, which are:
Belief the team can win,
Strong leadership from captains,
Solid fundamental skills and
Good understanding of tactics
But I wanted to teach them the secret weapon to any sports performance; the mental edge for peak performance. To seriously get to the next level, they needed to learn new skills faster, gain more self-confidence and improve recovery-time from set-backs and mistakes.
I told the girls my story about my success with guided visualizations, positve affirmations, and mental focus training. After practicing these mental skills, I went from bench warmer to starter on the US Team. I planned to teach them these same skills throughout the 2015 season.
They were skeptical at first, but once they experienced the amazing beneficial impacts the first few games of the season, they were sold on the concept...that mental skills can take your game to the next level.
Pre-game rituals and guided visualizations were the cornerstone of their mental game preparation. Players would voluntarily tell me their experiences of scoring goals just ast they imagined, feeling more focused and in the moment on the field. Feeling a great self- confidence and overcoming negative self-talk that was holding them back.
The results from the season are a testiment to the exponential improvement this team made in just one season.
Conference Champions (First time in last 20 years!)
Undeafeted at home
State Tournament Appearance (First appearance in last 25 years!)
Voted Team with "Best Sportsmanship" at State Tourney
More success in other areas of life
I love the amazing stories my players tell me about how these mental skills have naturally transfered to other areas in their life. Players would come to tell me their stories about how the guided visulazations made their lifes better in other sports and school.
I'll never forget Tatiana's story. She nonchalantly said, "Hey coach, guess what happened over the weekend....I scored the winning goal in my soccer game and I was the only person who scored in the 1-0 game!" She had used the same imagery techniques I taught the team for pre-game and outshined the rest. How exciting is that!
Another student-athlete used the visulaizaton technique for her ACT test and was so excited when she improved her score dramatically.
If you are looking to step up your game and tap into your greatest potential, our mental toughness training package is just the thing that can get you there.
Before signing off, I want to send a big shout out to the TC Titan's Field Hockey Team! Looking forward to another amazing year in 2016. They are a testament to making things happen by combining both mental and physical practices. The Titan's truly optimized their winning potential and had fun doing it!
