I would have never known about this movie had it not been for the kindness of friends. This 2011 movie starring Robert Duvall provides a fantastic look into sport psychology methods using professional golf as the backdrop. To whet your appetite, here is the trailer: It is beyond me how I missed out on this […]
Seven Days in Utopia Read More »
It’s been a hot minute (to borrow a phrase the kids use these days…) since I wrote a post about mindfulness / meditation. You may recall from my previous posts on this topic, that I was reluctant to consider using meditation thinking it was a little too “woo-hoo” for me. My interest was piqued though
Stress Less, Accomplish More Read More »
No, this isn’t a trick question… I was recently thinking about this book: This book was mentioned in a previous post on this blog written and submitted by guest-writer Grant O’neal. If you missed it, check out his summary of pre-shot routines to include a great summary of Pia Nilsson’s book HERE. In the introduction,
Are you a Sporting Clays Shooter, or do you Shoot Sporting Clays? Read More »
I have mentioned Doug Parsons several times in my blog posts. Doug was really instrumental in my getting the blog launched through his assistance with proofreading and editing recommendations on my early posts. He was a huge help! Doug and I are both passionate about sport psychology and the mental game often trading books back
Thrift-Shop Find Results in Improved Performance! Read More »
Our mental game should always consider ways to stay focused. Professional athletes are often seen with earbuds in while doing their pre-performance routine. Why? Well, there are literally tons of studies that indicate that there are significant positive effects of listening to music. Here is just one example: <https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/82414> If you want to read more,
Can Music Calm the Chatter in our Heads and Help us Focus? Read More »
My shooting coach will often ask me before a lesson or after a competition if I had gotten “excellent sleep” prior to the event. I must profess I am a bit of a “sleep nerd” – to the point where I wear my fitbit fitness tracker to capture all of the details about my sleep
Are you “Blue” About Your Sleep? Read More »
My stack of books in the “unread” pile was getting precariously low… I did what I often do… fired up the Amazon App on my phone and started searching for new materials. My search using the key work “confidence” lead me to the book title above. I was intrigued as it was written by a
“The Confident Athlete – 4 Easy Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence” Read More »
I first read this book almost two years ago when it was lent to me by friend, fellow competitor, and shotgun instructor Doug Parsons (no relationship to the author Chris Parsons). I liked the book so much, that I purchased my own copy. This is one of those books that I read in one day.
Skill Sets – Practicing for Sporting Clays Read More »
Last year, I posted twice about the materials on my summer reading list. If you missed them, you can find those posts HERE and HERE. I decided that I would continue the trend with a post on this year’s summer reading! I always snap a picture of each book I read as a reminder. Here
What was on Your Summer 2022 Reading List? Read More »
Recently, I was perusing book titles on Amazon looking for more summer reading material. I came upon one entitled “Unstoppable Self Confidence”. A quick look at the summary and a few reviews, and it was in my cart. I don’t often purchase self-published works, but the topic really caught my interest. Being self-published means you
Win Big, Win Small – You Win Either Way! Read More »
I absolutely love it when I run into a mental skills tool that I was not previously aware of! That’s part of the joy of reading as much as I do. In his book ‘Ninety Percent Mental”, former MLB all star pitcher turned mental skills trainer Bob Tewksbury shares how he developed tools to help
Ninety Percent Mental – Concentration Grids Read More »
In my second post on the blog, I wrote about a user manual on goal setting I had created as part of my coursework when working towards by Sport Psychology degree. If you missed that one, you can find it here. In that post, I mentioned some tenants of good goals as suggested by experts
How Audacious Should Your Goals be? Read More »
Just about every evening, my wife and I engage in a spirited game of “Bananagrams” This game is similar to scrabble in that you need to put together letter tiles to form words. In the case of bananagrams, each player uses their letters to create a crossword puzzle construction – the one that uses up
Do you Love Your Competitors? Read More »
I have always been a fan of tennis – both watching it as well as playing it! In this early photo of yours truly (circa 1976), I had half of the Wimbledon outfit right (the white pants): Funny, I used that wooden Stan Smith Capri racket all the way from before junior-high school into college
UNSTOPPABLE – My Life so Far: Maria Sharapova Read More »
I am always mining for good books to read – especially those related to sport psychology. Recently, I uncovered a gem! In his book “Playing In The Box – A Practical Guide for Helping Athletes Develop Their Mental Game”, Dr. Pete Temple uses some very simple models to explain what an unbalanced athlete is, versus
Playing in the Box Read More »
In a previous post, I introduced Deena Kastor’s book “Let Your Mind Run – a Memoir of Thinking my way to Victory”. Deena Kastor is an Olympic medalist in the Marathon. The book tells of her early successes in running, and how she nearly decided to quit running after hitting near-burnout. After her collegiate career
“What is Your Philosophy?” – “What are Your Values?” Read More »
I recently finished reading an excellent book by Jean Francois Menard entitled “Train Your Brain Like an Olympian – Gold Medal Techniques to Unleash Your Potential at Work” Honestly, when I ordered the book off of Amazon, I did not even notice the sub-title indicating the focus was on applying mental skills to work. As
Are you Operating in a Sterile Cockpit? Read More »
If you are not familiar with STRAVA, it is one of the premier Aps for everything related to an athletes’ performance in running, swimming or biking. I was introduced to the Ap earlier this year by my son, and quickly became a convert. It integrates with my Wahoo bike computer providing a wealth of information
Katie Zaferes on STRAVA Stories Read More »
The earlier post on mindfulness remains one of the most visited to date (5th out of 41 in terms of number of visits). If you have not had the opportunity to read that one, you can find it HERE. In that post, I mentioned I was starting a meditation practice. Later, I followed up with
A Deeper Dive Into Mindfulness Read More »
How could a sport psychology nut like myself pass on this title? Rick Wolff, the author, played professional baseball in the Detroit Tiger’s organization and worked as a sport psychology coach for the Cleveland Indians for many years. If you like baseball, then this may be the sport psychology book for you! If you are
“Secrets of Sport Psychology Revealed” Read More »
In my last post (HERE), I gave a pretty thorough review of my current and future reading for the summer. Well, true to my over-exuberant self, I have actually finished up all the books / CDs I had mentioned… I just can’t seem to put a book down once I start it! Today, I wanted
Update on my Summer Reading with a Focus on “mindgym” Read More »
Those who know me know how much I like to read. I was recently asked where my current interests lie. Based on that question, I thought it might be interesting to post about the most recent books that have been digested and the ones that are “on-deck” for the coming weeks. I don’t always read
What’s on Your Summer Reading List? Read More »
For my birthday last year, my lovely bride surprised me with a pair of “performance shorts”. I had no idea there was such a thing. These particular shorts are made from a blend of spandex and polyester. They are advertised as being “water resistant, quick-drying, moisture-wicking and breathable. The fabric stretches for mobility. Even the
Performance Shorts? Read More »
Awhile back, I had made a post reviewing Phil’s new eye training video. I am still using the video at least once per week. I thought it would be interesting to see how some of my shooting friends who also are using the video are doing with it now that we have all had a
Revisiting Phil Kiner’s Ocular Bootcamp Training Video Read More »
We have all seen it on the course, and perhaps done it ourselves! A shot is missed. The shooter opens the gun, catches the ejected shells aggressively, and forcefully throws them into the used hull bin. Is this a bad thing? The answer is not so clear cut. In my post “Foundational Reading in Sport
To Throw or not to Throw? Read More »
No, this is not a post about going to the dentist! Instead, it is a tip that I have implemented personally after having read the book “Peak” by Dr. Mark Bubbs. In his book, published in 2019, Dr. Bubbs covers a lot of territory including chapters on sleep, nutrition, exercise recovery, brain health, mindset, coaching,
Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a fellow sporting clays shooter about the trials and tribulations of performing while dealing with pain associated with various and sundry medical conditions. This seems to be more common as we age. Mental skills are all about learning how to stay focused allowing peak performance, but focus can
Things That Work – Gravity Defyer Mighty Walker Shoes Read More »
I have a YouTube channel primarily for the purpose of being able to upload videos to incorporate into this blog. Little did I know, I actually had a reader subscribe to my channel and post an insightful question! Here is the question: In your background photo, your bookcase collection is prominent. I’m also building an
Foundational Reading in Sport Mental Skills Development Read More »
Don’t you wish you could draw on confidence in the same manner as you can draw water from a well? In a sense, you can – but maybe not in the way you might be thinking! Let’s explore confidence today. One of the most impactful books I have run across on confidence is Tomas Chamoro-Premuzic’s
Going to the Confidence Well! Read More »
While I am not known for being a “gadget person” (I finally got a blackberry about the time they ceased to be the dominant smartphone), I am always on the lookout for anything that can help with sport performance. About 6 months ago, I was flipping through my most recent edition of “Clay Target Nation”,
Phil Kiner’s Ocular Bootcamp Read More »
