Keeping Cool On The Court
Imagine the pressure that Steffi Graf or Stephan Edberg feel in the final set of a Grand Slam event. Thousands of people are watching, there is money and the title on the line. I’ll bet you have felt similar pressure in matches you have been in. They might not have been at Roland Garros or […]
Read MoreGet Psyched! How Mentally Strong Are You?
Whenever I ask athletes how important mental preparation is, compared to physical and technical preparation, to achieving their competitive goals, everyone says either as or more important. But when I ask them how much time they devote to their mental preparation, they say, “little or not time.” Athletes in all sports spend many hours each […]
Read MoreUnderstanding the Learning Process in Dance
A primary responsibility of dance teachers is technical instruction. However, this task does not simply involve demonstrating a particular technical skill, then having the dancers perform it. Rather, instruction is a complex interaction of physical, motor, psychological, and communication skills that occur between the dance teacher and dancers. As a result of this complexity, the […]
Read MoreStaying Focused On The Court
One of the most difficult things professional players have to deal with is maintaining concentration throughout the whole match. With increasing pressure and fatigue, thoughts can wander, resulting in mistakes and lost points and games. The same thing can happen to recreational players during matches. Things may pop into your head that have nothing to […]
Read MoreMake Parents Your Allies
A source of stress and frustration for the dance teacher is often parents. This is disturbing because teachers and parents are the two groups who have the greatest impact on the young dancer. Clearly, if they are at odds, it is the dancer who will suffer. The goal then is to move teachers and parents […]
Read MoreThe Best Laid Plans: Never Say, “If All Goes Well…”
The most common question I was asked before my first Ironman was, “What time are you shooting for?” In my naiveté, I always responded, “Well, if all goes well, under X hours” (I will keep you in suspense until the end of the article before I tell you how I did). If you answer this […]
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