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24 items found for ""

  • A new year. A new perspective.

    If you haven’t been seeing the results you’ve been working so hard for don’t be discouraged. It might not be your training. It could just be your perspective. Meet with Coach B and let’s create a vision of what your athletic future could look like. With the help of ANR - Athlete Neuroplasticity Reset - your dreams and aspirations can gain form and structure so you can be empowered to take your career to the level you believe your capable of. You don’t need talk therapy. You need a solution and execution. You need ANR. Coach b

  • Finding your"Sit Spot"

    The key to Stress Relief for our Athletes can be as simple as finding a quiet place to sit in nature.... Helping Athletes relax and unwind is no easy feat but I have discovered an excellent resource that is enlightening and easily utilizes natural resources with minimal expense. From the book "Rooted" by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, my favorite discovery is the "Sit spot" by Wilderness School Co Founder Jon Young. As outlined in the book a Sit Spot allows you to create a way to reconnect with nature, relax and even allow the natural habitants of the area the opportunity to discover you. For athletes with busy and inquisitive minds who like to be stimulated, this may be more appealing than just lying on yoga mat, practicing deep breathing in a sweaty room! Something I never enjoyed as athlete or felt remotely relaxed doing. Try this instead for yourself, preferably without your pet dog like my Winston, when we found my "sit spot" and lets discover a private place that only you know. Your sit spot can become a place you unwind, shed disappointments, cherish success, or prepare for the big moments of competition you may have ahead. Just by sitting still in quiet times of reflection you will allow yourself the opportunity to reconnect with your natural environment and open an invisible door to see what creatures that live there may also join and support you in your time of reflection. In today's busy world it is easy to get swept up in the hectic pace of life. Slowing down and taking time out to find clarity and become centered could be all that is needed to help your athlete relax, find peace and enjoy the simple pleasures nature provides. Coach b

  • Embracing Self-Compassion in Sports

    Not all experiences we have in sport are pleasurable or enjoyable and not all interactions with people in those environments are memories or ones we want to hold on to. But instead of letting yourself be imprinted by the encounter, the setback, the injury, the false promise, the deception whatever it may be, use it as a point of reflection. Take a moment for yourself and smile. You survived and you havn't quit, they didn't win! It was just the start of your next adventure. Like a superhero finding his cape :-) ...... Don't look back now. this was written for an athlete, he knows who he is........ You got this champ. Coach b

  • Create Space to Process Feedback

    Coaches are not communications experts. Here's how to navigate the screaming.... Take a moment to step back from the situation Inhale a few deep breaths and regain composure Acknowledge Coach but don't apologize, use language instead like: "Coach I can see my performance was not the way you wanted...." Then ask coach to explain what he/she would like to see "... can you show me how I can improve my performance?" Depersonalize the way coach is speaking or the tone he/she is using and focus on the instructions Keep your performance moving in the direction you want it to go You do not need to manage coach emotions as well as your own Learn to put space between you and coach when receiving feedback Event + Response = Outcome Remember you are an athlete who is performing a performance. This is not about you as a person. The feedback is about your performance. Depersonalization helps create space and keeps us focused on development and improving our performance. Coach b

  • Aggression or Assertiveness? - walk the line.....

    Sport, particularly contact sports are often poorly misconstrued as aggressive when in reality the actions of the athletes are in line with what is required of the performance. Where aggression turns “hostile” and shifts from being “instrumental” is when the performance bleeds outside the boundaries of what is permitted. This is where injury can occur. This can also been seen psychologically as a form of frustration by the athlete who may be outmatched by their opponent and is resorting to “cheap” tactics . A smart highly alert athlete who can avoid an overly aggressive move should recognize this cue as an opportunity to take advantage of their opponents moment of weakness. Capitalize on frustration! For the frustrated athlete making the move, the aggression shift occurs when the intent of the action moves from the objective to win to inflicting harm. Calm down, reset! You don’t need a foul, penalty or injury! This has occurred because the action now has the emotion anger associated with it. 𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆: Being mindful of the state of your athletes and knowing when to break or take time outs. Call out cues, self talk and use strategies to pace and control directed focus. Keep athletes task focused. Reinforce rules of the game. Emphasize the objective of the performance. Remove emotion from the associated action. Stay neutral. Assertiveness may appear aggressive but it does not result in harming the opponent. Being passionate is not the same as being emotional- know the difference. Passion for the sport means respecting it too. If you have an overly hostile aggressive athlete the risk of injury to them and to others is increased. Take the time you investigate the source of the aggression and help give the athlete ways to channel their performance. Harnessing aggression for the purpose of creating powerful assertive athletes creates improved performances and safer environments. Coach B

  • When you Freeze in Competition

    Failure to perform in competition or an inability to perform an "action" , often quantified as "inaction" by the athlete, is often caused when the athlete is unable to make sense of his/ her environment in the game and is unable to predict the next move by the opponent. Freezing occurs when the athlete has not only failed to assess the situation but has the let the momentum of the competition and the opponents movements get ahead of their ability to make any offensive or defensive decisions. To avoid the "Freeze" which occurs in the mind first which in turn impacts the body, delaying the appropriate response, the athlete needs to be able to "read' the situation in real time in and act. We achieve this by understanding: What are we doing ? What we should do ? What is the opponent doing ? What is the right response ? These split second decisions need to be made without fear or hesitation. I emphasize without fear as fear is the other factor which will cause passivity and delay response hence also prompting inaction by the athlete. A successful "performer" is one that is not only flexible in action but needs to be flexible in thinking. This is what we are working to achieve when athletes do my Athlete Neuroplasticity Reset Program. In ANR working to creating a " flexible responsive thinking athlete" who can change and adapt quickly to each competition environment, staying ahead of the opponent and avoiding the Freeze ! Coach B

  • Why every athlete needs a “Coach B” 🙃…..

    because once an athlete “sees” themselves they understand their reasons for why they are doing sport.

  • Dispositional Optimism

    Which one are you ? Dispositional Optimism in athletes is the natural tendency to lean towards positive outcomes regardless of the current situation. Dispositional Pessimism is the tendency to do the opposite and slide into a negative mindset. If you tend to be more of a pessimist, glass half empty kind of person, don’t worry we can change that ! Scientific studies show us the use of mental imagery and practicing seeing positive outcomes (before they occur) can help someone become more optimistic ( Blackwell et al, 2013). This is because optimists tend to have more of an internal point of reference and are less concerned with external influences. Pessimists are heavily impacted by external factors and may look to blame or redirect accountability to someone else. In sport where multiple variables come in to play & where the athlete can have little control and has to adapt accordingly, the use of imagery to recreate scenarios in advance, isn’t just for the purpose of preparation but it is to enhance cognitive abilities for improved optimism. Survival in elite sport is the ability to roll with punches. Daydreaming is an easy solution to do this. Give it a try! Coach B

  • Tunes to help you focus

    https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/winstons-visualization-tunes/pl.u-V9D7mBNCBvvEkKA

  • But thats exactly what I said!

    Why adolescent athletes listen when someone other than mom or dad give advice. At times when I have explained to parents what their athlete and I have discussed post session, and outlined the root cause to a particular hurdle the athlete may be facing, a few parents have sighed, some rolled their eyes, and then exclaimed with frustration: "...but thats exactly what I said to her, two weeks ago!' The parents with the open mind will then allow me to explain. Those who are unable to put the needs of the child before their own switch off before I have had a chance to say what I will outline in this article. If you are one of those parents who feel you may have jumped too soon at thinking outside support for your athlete is unnecessary, I hope that by my sharing today in this article, you will at least take a moment to pause and reflect. As adults we all know adolescence is an incredibly challenging time for both child and parent. For the child there is no other time for the human body, aside from the first 3 years of life, where you will experience as much significant physical change. On top of this the brain is not fully wired to the frontal lobe, hormones are beginning to fire and for some adolescents an adult body appears way before they even feel comfortable to embrace it. Add the feverish social and emotional changes that arrive as we transition to high school and it is incredibly overwhelming for anyone yet alone a child. And thats really who they are despite moving into double figures. During this time understanding the range of different emotions one may feel can be extremely difficult and at times painful or embarrassing. When you are feeling this way the easiest person to share information with is someone who is either your peer ( but then this doesn't work because they may feel the same as you or have no idea! ) OR a person you have zero emotional connection to. A random person for example! Thats often how I describe myself. I am just a random professional that has come into your life to help your athlete and facilitate a high level of support. Let me explain the importance of the "randomness". When then is very little to no emotional connection, and we are talking deep emotional connection, where you are not concerned with how the person will react, what they will say if your reveal something shocking, if they will judge you, then you are more likely to speak freely. More likely to feel less inhibition. When an emotional connection to a person exists, pain, fears and insecurities are likely to be amplified , even if the fears are irrational and unsubstantiated. They feel this intensity because they are fearful that what they share will be felt by you via the deep empathy and love you have for them. There is also the fear you wont understand and or completely misinterpret them and therefore get angry, even though we know this is highly improbable. Remember we are trying to reason with an adolescent brain that is not fully wired so its like trying to connect to wifi in a hurricane. There is a very high chance you'll lose connection, won't get a connection at all and sit in radio silence for days. A safe, private, place to share for adolescents can help steer them through these emotions and respect the wishes, which ultimately, underlining the desire to win and perform at their best, is to preserve and improve their relationship with mom and dad and everyone else around them. Yes thats right! Teens do not hate you or the world, they are just trying to work it out and want to do so on their own...albeit with a little bit of help from a random person on the side. Thats where I come in! Believe it or not, while we may not feel it right now, Mom and Dad, are the most important humans to an athlete. While some athletes may not be able to express it or their current behavior may not support this statement, at the heart of almost every adolescent is immense devotion to their parent. Protecting this relationship, even if it may be dysfunctional , goes without saying and I lay witness to this by the ferocity at which an athlete will go to protect it. As someone who is deeply passionate about adolescent athletes, I see this challenging time in a young person's life as an opportunity for parents to utilize the services of people dedicated to supporting them. I am proud to be that random helper! This is not a reflection of our parenting failures. This is a reflection of care necessary during adolescence. Coach B ( Parent of 4 Teenagers too)

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