Order the 2012 Edition
starting in January at
http://www.nfca-services.org/store/
Cut and paste the link into your browser and click on
Books/Miscellaneous.)
This book offers a
comprehensive, step-by-step approach to the college search process for any
athlete. It specifically examines softball at the collegiate level and helps
you determine both your collegiate goals and the type of team you could play
for. It covers NCAA and NAIA academic and recruiting guidelines and
discusses what you should do to get ready to play in college.
The book also explores
in detail how and when to contact coaches, tells you what questions to ask
once the recruiting process begins, and provides useful tips for marketing
yourself to colleges, including how to develop a resume and letter of
introduction and how to make an effective video tape.
In addition,
Preparing to Play Softball at the Collegiate Level tells you what to
expect during the recruiting process, what to consider when choosing a
community college and takes an in-depth look at scholarships and financial
aid. It also includes a list of colleges around the country with softball
teams and information about each program.
This book is updated
annually and is considered by college coaches everywhere to be
the single best recruiting
resource available for college-bound athletes and their families. It will
also be tremendously useful for youth coaches and guidance counselors who
want to help their softball players find both the colleges and the teams
that are right for them.
"The NFCA chose to
endorse Cathi Aradi's book because it is a great tool for parents and
players to use as they go through the collegiate recruiting process." - Lacy
Lee Baker, Executive Director, National Fastpitch Coaches Assoc.
“Coaches call
Cathi’s book,
Preparing to Play
Softball at the Collegiate Level, the “Bible of
Fastpitch Recruiting.” - Students Sports Softball.com
This book sells for
$34.95 plus $3.00 S/H (discount for NFCA members.) You can write the NFCA at
100 GT Thames Rd., Suite D, Starkville, MS 39759. To order over the phone,
call the National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. (NFCA) at 662-320-2155 (or visit
their web site at
www.nfca.org; on-line ordering is
available.) If you would like a book brochure or information, please email
me at
info@fastpitchrecruiting.com.
Thanks!
COACHES and PLAYERS Mental
Training TIPS of the MONTH
APRIL
2012
Perform in the Moment
Mental
Skills Tip –
You must be present to give your best effort. This goes way beyond merely
trying hard. Being totally engrossed in your sport is empowering and loads
of fun, but is it a skill that can be practiced? Absolutely!
When the hero of
the game is asked afterwards how he or she was able to come through in big
spots, a common refrain is "I was just trying to be in the moment." Aren't
we all living in the present, in this moment? Yes, physically. Unfortunately
many performers try hard, but do not perform well because they are not fully
present, mentally. They do not know how to release regrets about the past or
block out worries about the future. Even though it’s outside of our ability
to express control over anything other than what’s happening now, some
attention is being wasted on the past or future.
To be focused in
performance, our mind must attend only to now. There are times to plan, but
when performing, don't worry about the future. Avoid thoughts like "I
need a hit." "Need," "gotta," and "have to" are bad words! Simply
replace them with a good word: "want." Also remember that the way to win is
to W.I.N. (do What's Important Now.) There is a time to analyze, but when
performing, don't hold on to any regrets, grudges, or even questions about
the past. Avoid even seemingly positive thoughts if they keep a portion of
your attention in the past such as "I can't believe I messed that up. I
won't do that again." Just be grateful for the opportunity at hand and
perform in the moment. In other words, do your best one step at a time.
You do not need
to be perfect to be mentally tough, but you absolutely must know how to keep
a mistake on one play from having a negative effect on a future play. How do
we "flush" the past? By focusing on what's next. A great mantra for
athletes: "Flush it! What's next?" If practiced often enough, executing this
plan can becomes second nature. Unfortunately, most of us have not mastered
this habit. Sometimes even remembering this strategy does not work. We
sometimes hold on to negative emotions about the umpire's call, the
teammate's mistake, or the fact that we just messed something up ourselves
that we normally can do perfectly 10 of 10 times in practice. There is a
single key that will allow you to "flush it" when it's stuck: FORGIVENESS.
So the next time you mess up, think "Great, now I can practice forgiving to
forget!" Why forgive? Because nobody's perfect, and because if you don't,
you're likely to snowball your mistakes.
Finally, this
does not mean that it's acceptable to be mediocre. True, everyone makes
mistake so you should forgive, but keep pushing forward. Read and remember
Coach Wooden's blue sign below for how.
Coaching Point
-
Presentness is obviously valuable for athletes who want to focus their
attention and energy into their performances. It's equally important for
coaches who make decisions and lead by example during competition. If you
allow yourself to get ahead of yourself, avoidable mistakes ensue. If you
allow yourself to get hung up on a mistake (yours, your player's, or the
umpire), avoidable mistakes ensue. If you allow your emotions over something
that's already happened to dictate your communications (verbal and
non-verbal), you will fail to model the even keel that leads to consistent
performances by both coaches and players. Instead of getting upset when
adversity strikes, try to enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to best
help others work effectively through adversity.
COACHES and PLAYERS Mental
Training TIPS of the MONTH
MARCH
2012
Humility Breeds Consistency
Mental Skills Tip –
I look for role models. I've met or studied many high achievers who appear
to have earned the right to be satisfied with what they already know.
However, the highest achievers are consistently the people who are the most
eager to learn more. For example, Michael Johnson didn't stop improving when
he became a World Champion sprinter. It was his continuous drive to be the
best he could be that allowed him to set World Records and stay on top for
his entire professional career (all 19 of his medals in the Goodwill Games,
World Championships, or Olympics are Gold Medals). It's an interesting fact
of life that the people who need the most humility usually have the least,
while the people who seem to need it the least usually have the most.
Life really is, as author of Peter Pan Sir James
Matthew Barrie says, a "long lesson in humility." I've been learning...
Experience teaches that when I am performing great and I get over-confident,
something will happen very soon to cause me to lose my "flow." If I am not
open to criticism, someone else will surely learn what I missed and pass me
on the way up the ladder. If I am not respectful of others, I will forfeit
my chance at the teamwork it takes to approach my own potential. Even in
individual sports, I am much more powerful with the support of others. If I
am not intense in my approach because I start believing this won't be that
difficult, I will not give a best effort performance. If I lose my sense of
urgency because I don't think the opponent is capable of humbling me, I
sometimes get lucky - or I often pay a hefty price and lose when I certainly
could've (most would say "should've") won. Why take that chance?
Does the importance of humility defy the importance of
confidence or interfere with aggressiveness? Not at all. Great athletes are
confident, aggressive, and humble. They respect that giving a best
effort performance is always difficult. Life and performance are balancing
acts, but champions don't fall over because they maintain a hunger to learn
and an eagerness to work. It is their preparation that allows them to
consistently perform at a high level. Performance will always have ups and
downs because people, by definition, are imperfect. However, with a
disciplined, humble approach, great athletes achieve superior consistency
because their dips in performance are shallow declines, not deep "slumps."
Likewise, their peak performances occur more frequently and last longer.
Their humility breeds their consistency!
Coaching Point -
How do you work with an "un-coachable" athlete, a teenager with no humility,
perhaps? Do you give up on him when progress stalls or show the consistency
of your high expectations and your commitment to your players? Do you
complain about his stubbornness or view it as a worthwhile test of your
coaching skill? It is the rare, fortunate coach whose players hang on his
every word. Of course, providing great advice based on years of training and
then watching it get totally ignored can be very frustrating... if you allow
it to be. If what you're doing doesn't seem to be working, keep trying
(often with a twist in your strategy). What alternative is there? Even if
you don't ever reap the benefits of your great work, that kid probably will.
It may take years, but your persistence and creativity will probably allow
the lesson to sink in long before it would've without your help -- and down
the road this could be the difference between him keeping his job and
getting fired. Does that difference down the road help you, a coach who
loves to win games this year? Absolutely. Your win total might not increase
and you may not get the credit from peers that you deserve, but it is a
great truth of this life that you cannot help another without helping
yourself.
COACHES and PLAYERS Mental
Training TIPS of the MONTH
FEBRUARY
2012
Getting Into
Trust Mode
Mental Skills Tip
–
My definition of 'winning' the mental game, revisited: I will give my best
effort one step at a time and accept whatever happens, then repeat. Athletes
give their best effort when they are performing from a trusting mode. To do
this, they must be confident and focused while performing, as opposed to
distracted by thinking too much.
In competition, execution is the name of the game. It is much
more important than talent, reputation, potential, or even desire. Execution
is a function of both physical skills and mental skills, but physical skills
won't change much during one season or one post-season. In a week, day, or
even an instant, however, mental skill can fluctuate from Mars to the Moon.
The team that wins the big game will be the one whose players get into
their "trust mode" more often than their opponents. There are other
important mental skills, too, but "trusting it" has to be right at the top
of the list.
How does an athlete get confident and focused? He learns to
consciously increase his confidence by preparing well and by developing an
optimistic explanatory style. When something tries to get in the way, like a
mistake, a stroke of bad luck, or someone else's behavior, this championship
athlete won't let it interfere with his confident attitude or body language.
He knows that mistakes happen and that he's still good-to-go. He doesn't let
things outside of his control bother him. By emphasizing good thoughts and
carrying himself with poise, he gets his mind right and his body right. He
is creating ideal state, which sets the stage for a peak performance.
Allow me to review the three steps needed to give a best
effort performance, assuming that the motivation is there.
(1) create an ideal performance state (e.g. confident, having
fun, intense, under control, and relaxed)
(2) commit to a plan of attack, and
(3) focus singularly on the task-at-hand.
In step two, he defines what he wants to do on the next play
in controllable terms with the simplest plan possible for the current
situation. He's programming his own computer so that he doesn't have to
think about it while he does it. He knows that to trust it and get his brain
out of the way, he must keep it simple. Committing to his plan allows him to
just see it and act or react appropriately. At 'go' time, step 3, he trusts
that he's doing everything he can to give his best effort, so he is at peace
and can focus wholly on the task-at-hand. No regrets about the past; no
worries about the future. He will do the opposite of thinking too much. This
focus on the process unleashes his potential. He is allowing whatever will
happen to happen. He is full of trust!
Coaching Point
-
The most important coach any athlete will ever have is himself, but you're
pretty high up on that list, too. You influence your athletes/teammates with
every communication you deliver, verbal and non-verbal. If trusting is so
important for their performance and you want to win, you'd better make your
communications lead to more faith and trust, not less. Unfortunately, it is
possible to slip up and communicate mechanical corrections, strategic
teaching points, restated standards, and negative emotions too often. I'm
not saying don't do these at all. I'm suggesting that you should be aware,
especially during intense competition, of whether or not your communications
are likely to help you get what you want most. Perhaps that teaching point
could wait until after the game and perhaps your own emotions that are tied
up with winning and losing could be hidden so that those around you feel
like winners as long as they continue to give their best effort.
COACHES and PLAYERS Mental
Training TIPS of the MONTH
JANUARY
2012
I Will Give My
Best Effort No Matter What; I Will Compete
Mental
Skills Tip
–
All coaches are looking for signs of leadership and toughness from their
players. They'll see these signs when their athletes truly understand what
it means to give their best effort one pitch at a time. So often,
unfortunately, athletes allow the situation to keep them from this lofty
goal. Many don't truly max out their effort until it's perceived to be a
particularly important game, opponent, or audience. Some "gamers" coast
along early in the contest and truly put out their best effort only when
they fall behind or it's close late in the game. Many others push at the
start, then coast if they get a lead. Others quit working hard when way
behind, subconsciously thinking that a comeback is too unlikely to deserve
their best effort. Most have a natural letdown when the opponent is
perceived to be weak.
Coasting is not the only reason athletes fail to relentlessly give their
best effort one pitch at a time. "Normal" competitors have trouble staying
confident when things aren't going well, and they don't perform as well when
they're not confident. Some athletes become negative when it's too cold, too
hot, too steep, too bumpy, too far, too dry, too wet, or too dirty -- even
though they know they give a better effort when they are positive and having
fun. Many lose intensity in particular situations, like a 3-0 count, 0-2
count, 2 outs and none on, or hitting with none on base (RBI lovers). Some
stop putting out their best effort when they perceive (whether it's true or
not) that the umpire, a teammate, or a coach is putting out less than his or
her best effort. Whatever the situation, all of these examples represent a
lack of mental toughness, a lack of leadership by example, and a missed
opportunity to practice giving another best effort performance.
Hopefully athletes learn the dangers of letting an inferior opponent hang
around, the risks of taking any situation lightly, and the joys of walking
through the door that the other team left open for a great comeback.
Hopefully athletes learn to compete one pitch at a time.
Now ask yourself: what about relentlessness in practice? (See the Andrew
Carnegie quote below.) If you are going to be relentless, it's not good
enough to just turn it on at game time. You have to always be "on." Of
course this is difficult, but that's no reason not to strive for perfection.
If you can do what's difficult, you'll gain an edge over your competition.
(Remember not to expect perfection while you're striving for it, though). A
great exercise: at the end of practice, rate how well you did at being
relentless today on a scale of 1-100. Then set a goal at the beginning of
the next workout to be 5% better. Repeat.
Catch Them Doing It Right
Coaching Point
- Make sure your athletes understand that to play the game the right way
means to give a best effort performance to whatever they are doing RIGHT
NOW. This is the only performance we have any control over, and this is the
only way to reach the goal of approaching our potential. Approaching
potential is a wonderful top goal because it focuses us on what can be
controlled to help us reach all our other goals, such as winning, looking
good, getting more playing time, getting recruited to the next level, etc.
When you catch an athlete working hard in an environment that provides
little external rewards, seize this opportunity to praise.
"Overheard" from the Minds of some Great Athletes:
'Normal' Self-Talk
can be transformed into
Fantastic Self-Talk
|
This umpire is horrible. |
No excuses. I've got to do everything I can do on
this next play to help us win this game. |
|
This practice isn't as important as Saturday's
game. |
The only performance that matters is the one I'm
giving right now. |
|
I'm so tired. |
I'm tired of being less than what I'm capable of
being. |
|
It's so hot/cold. I can't believe we have two
games today. |
These conditions must be tough... for the other
team. |
|
Here we go again. Another losing effort. |
I'll do my part for a comeback that can turn this
ship around. |
|
We've got this game in the bag. |
I'm making every pitch count. That's not running
up the score, that's playing the game right. |
|
I'll have some extra left in the tank for later. |
I'll give my best effort right now. |
In fact, a good strategy for building relentlessness is to
add this idea on the end of any thoughts during practices or games.
I've got to do everything I can do right now to help us win!
OR
No excuses!
OR
Find a way!
COACHES and PLAYERS Mental
Training TIPS of the MONTH
DECEMBER 2011
