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Newsletter Archives
Efficient Summer Training
through Goal Setting - 6/07
Getting the Mental Edge 6/07
Failing
Huge 7/07
Value of Reflection 8/07
Core
Confidence 10/07
Parenting That Opens Up
Kids 11/07
It is Not All or Nothing
12/07
Detail Leads to Confidence
1/08
Preparing for Playoffs 2/08
March Madness
4/08
Skill Development 5/08
High Impact
Conversations 6/08
Design Power 7/08
Tryout Preparation
8/08
A Life Changed 9/08
Stress Yourself for Enhanced
Performance 10/08
The High Impact
Association 11/08
Confidence is Within Your Control
12/08
Maintain Perspective 1/09
The Mental Edge,
Part 1 2/09
The Truth is Intriguing 3/09
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MENTAL EDGE NEWS
April 2009 |
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Guaranteed to improve the quality of your individual
experience! |
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90-Day
Parent
Challenge
The Mental Edge invites you to
participate in our 90-day Parenting Challenge.
This challenge is intended to help you cultivate
a High Impact relationship with your son or
daughter.
As I tell all parents participating in our High
Impact Parenting Series, asking quality
questions opens up the possibility of a
completely different kind of interaction with
your child. With that in mind, you will be given
a series of High Impact Questions for the next
90 days (30 days at a time) designed to open a
door of understanding into your child's life
that can give you a brand new perspective on who
your child is and how you might adjust your
parenting style to powerfully influence them.
To accept the 90-Day Challenge please click
here:
I ACCEPT THE 90-DAY CHALLENGE
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What they're saying about the Mental Edge...
"
In response to last month's article:
"The Truth is Intriguing"
As a coach I really enjoy your newsletter and find
very useful information in it which I use in my
coaching. I totally agree with your Truth is
Intriguing message and wanted to share a recent
example of a success story in this area.
I coach a Bantam B2 hockey team which of course
contains a diverse skill level from top to bottom.
We tried many line combinations from balanced to
unbalanced and finally settled on what we think
works best for our team which is a classic line 1,
2, 3 in terms of skill level. At first we noticed
line 3 was struggling, focusing on things they
shouldn't, and frustrated with their performance.
We discussed whether we should set separate
plus/minus for each line. The negative was that we
would further kill the confidence of the 2nd and 3rd
lines. But we thought this age level was old
enough to know where they are at and what goals to
focus on. So, we set different per game plus/minus
goals for each line. The immediate reaction was
as expected, further looks of gloom from the lower
lines. But, immediately thereafter, starting in
games, we noticed a difference as they understood
their goal, knew what they needed to contribute to
the team for success, and started focusing on
achieving it. The rest of the team has bought into
understanding that line 3 achieving their goal is
every bit as important as line 1 achieving theirs
and the whole thing has turned into huge inspiration
for the team. Truth and clarity, if communicated
the right way, really do set the stage for
development!
I also have used your "focus on 2 things" evaluation
system the last couple years and find it much more
successful than the old long evaluation form I used
to use (not to mention easier to do).
Thanks again, I have referenced a couple athletes
to you and will continue to do when I see the right
fit.
~Hockey Coach
We'd love to hear from you as well! Simply drop us
an email with your comments to:
Dawn@MentalEdgeNow.com
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Mental
Edge Athlete of the Month
After
having the privilege of working with
many athletes over the years we have
decided to name a Mental Edge Athlete of
the Month each month. As a staff we talk
through the athletes we are working
with and come up with one that embodies
the concep ts
we teach and values we stand for.
Andy Read
Junior at Cretin-Derham Hall
Andy Read is
truly a special young man. After going
through a difficult season last year he
decided to bring a new mindset to his season
this year. After many hours of training and
dedication to doing things differently he
completely turned his experience around.
Andy is a tireless worker, he is continually
looking for ways to make himself better and
this year he played on the first line of his
hockey team and was a integral part of the
state tournament team he played on. Andy
played with confidence and passion in the
tournament and would tell you today that he
is happier, more mentally tough, and
believes his new found set of mind skills
has literally changed his life.
Congratulations Andy!
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Coming
Soon!
Mind Strength:Gaining an Edge on Your
Competition
Mastering 5 Performance Keys to Become a
Winner on the Field and in Life!
(Mind Strength audio is available in
8 sport-specific versions)
Click on the logo to listen to a
clip from Mind Strength:
5 PERFORMANCE
KEYS
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Fight vs. Flow
Shaun Goodsell, MA
Senior Performance Coach
Shaun@MentalEdgeNow.com
As we
participate and engage in life there is a
constant exchange of information. We send
energy into the environment and we get it
back. From a competitive perspective, we
attempt to impact our environment through
our actions and hopefully allow ourselves to
be open to feedback we are getting. However,
it is also very important that we evaluate
the relationship we cultivate with the
information from outside of us to determine
whether or not we are learning the lessons
present to make the adjustments in our
performance that helps us move towards
improved performance.
With this in
mind, I want to compare two types of
responses and how they impact performance.
The first response is
FIGHT.
When we fight with the information from
outside of us we often have an underlying
expectation that things should be going
different and we are entitled to a different
fate or outcome. When people engage in a
fight response they often become
disappointed, anxious, and some become more
determined to work harder and more diligent,
while others disengage because they become
pessimistic about their ability to dictate a
different outcome. This over time creates
significant discouragement and leads to a
reduction in motivational energy. There are
many possible examples of this but when an
athlete's performance falls short at any
moment the game will give them information
that they have to make sense of. When they
FIGHT this information is when a series of
thoughts flow and the fight response is in
full function.
Another way
to deal with the feedback we get from our
performance is to engage in
FLOW.
At the core of this relationship with our
environment is the ability to absorb,
accept, and make emotional and physical
adjustments using the moment as a learning
opportunity leading to enhanced
performance...using what is happening in the
here and now. Expectations stay realistic
and our response is focused, relaxed and
very intentional. I have found that teaching
athletes to learn from the information they
are getting from around them truly empowers
them to find advantages on their opponent as
well as enhance their performance, utilizing
not only their bodies but also their minds.
At the
Mental Edge we are committed to helping
athletes learn to FLOW with the environment
around them leading to an enhanced
experience as well as improved performance
in sport and in life. Next month we will be
launching an Audio Series that will give
athletes a tool to perform in sport and in
life with FLOW--staying away from fight! Our
new Audio Series is called
Mind
Strength: an Edge on your Competition by
Mastering Five Mental Toughness Skills To
Become a Winner on the Field and in Life.
Shaun
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 Own
Your Development
Justin
Johnson, BA
Performance Coach
Justin@MentalEdgeNow.com
For many
of the athletes I work with the
excitement of the regular season and
play-offs has now subsided. The
satisfaction of success, or perhaps the
disappointment from missed
opportunities, has had a chance to fade.
Quickly your thoughts turn towards the
off-season and how you are going to
spend your time making gains on the
competition.
There are many great opportunities and
venues offering unique training
environments. Regardless of who is
training you, or which avenue you choose
to develop your skills this off-season,
make sure you take ownership.
What
does it mean to take ownership? Taking
ownership of your development is about
having the attitude that success hinges
on you and only you. Something unique
happens within us when we live by the
principle of "if it is to be, it is up
to me!"
Some
athletes can make gains by simply coming
in frequently and putting in a minimal
effort. Fewer athletes are training with
the type of intensity and purpose that
turn their off-season methods into
career long, or even better, life long
habits.
Many of
you are now seeking out training
facilities as the answer. There are a
handful of impressive and well
intentioned sites available. However,
keep this in mind, relying on others to
take you to the "next level" is putting
too much of your future in someone elses
hands, thus putting you in the passenger
seat of your own development. Hoping for
quality coaching, scheduled ice
brackets, lifting hours and dry land
schedules puts you at the mercy of
others and consequently makes your
success dependent on their operating
hours. Not to mention the expense and
minimal teaching around how you can
apply these skills on your own.
Below
I've listed some examples that will
allow you to do four things:
-
Develop Mental Toughness Skills
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Save
Money
-
Have
Fun
-
Take
Ownership in Your Development
Many of
these activities are much cheaper than
the "packaged training" offers out there
and when you are the one organizing the
events you learn valuable leadership
skills as well as establish a bond with
like-minded friends who have taken
ownership of their own development. The
formula below is responsible for the
success of thousands of athletes
including a group of 13 friends who
played college hockey off my high school
team.
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Get
some guys together and rent an hour
of ice to play some shinny hockey
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Organize a morning (swim, run, or
bike) that gets everyone out and
enjoying the summer
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Go
to a neighbor's to stickhandle or
shoot pucks
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Build a Russian Box or Platform to
do plyometric jumping
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Get
a pick up football or roller hockey
game going
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Join
a tennis league to work on agility,
cardio and hand-eye coordination
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Lift
at your high school or local gym
with a group of friends
Wherever
or however you choose to train this
summer make sure you take ownership of
your development. Remember "if it is to
be, it is up to me!"
Justin
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The Mental Edge is
fortunate to have met RecuitLook and
CoachChic and we'd like to share these
two great people with you, too!
Simply click on the logos below:
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Friend us on
Facebook (we're under Dawn Goodsell/Mental
Edge Fan Page/Mental Edge Group).
Follow us on
Twitter @MentalEdge? We'd love to tweet
with you!
We're blogging at
MentalEdgeNow's Blog...we'd love to hear
your comments!
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Mental Edge | 19050 Industrial Blvd. | Suite 4 | Elk River | MN
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