US Men’s Soccer

Yesterday morning I watched the Olympic soccer match between the US and the Netherlands. Over the years I have grown to really appreciate soccer and the skills required to be a good player. Before the game started, the Netherlands were heavy favorites to win. With literally no time left in the game, the US was leading 2-1. There was a penalty called against the US and the Netherlands were awarded a free kick right in front of the US net. For me, time seemed to slow down. The US team lined up to create a wall in an attempt to block the ball. The cameras focused on the face of the US players. I was shocked as I looked at their faces. Each US player’s face read as clear as a book. You could see the fear and doubt—I could not believe what I was seeing. I leaned over to my son Jimmy and said “Look at their faces. They have already let the ball in the net.” Seconds later, the US players’ thoughts became a reality. The Netherlands scored and tied the match. There was no overtime so the US had to settle for a tie. 

Legendary football coach Bear Bryant used to point to the football filed and say, “The game is not played on that field—it is played on a 6-inch field that lies from ear to ear.” Bear was wise beyond his years. The way we think is the way we play the game. I see this time and time again in athletes and in competition. Fear and doubt in the mind produces the outcome of the event. An athlete can train their mind to see self doubt and to see fear for what it is. They can learn to label destructive thoughts and emotions and let them go. They can train their mind to get into the zone and stay there. Without this training the majority of athletes will settle for inconsistent performance and unachieved potential. 

The next time you are watching a sports event, watch the players’ faces. You will start to recognize what is going to happen before it does. If an athlete became aware of their thoughts, they would be able to foresee the outcome as well. 

Johnny

NSCA National Conference

I have been involved with the National Strength and Conditioning Association since 1996 and over the last twelve years, it has been an honor to watch the Strength and Conditioning Industry change. The NSCA’s tagline is “Bridging the gap between science and application.” Scientists continue to research and run studies, and the strength coaches continue to work in the trenches on application of the changing sciences.

The Balanced Athlete sessions were incredible and we were well-received. Our sessions were interactive, so attendees had to kick off their shoes and experience the Strength and Conditioning Movement Principles. Most of them had never experienced any barefoot training so it was an eye-opening experience for many. Coach Bradley poetically taught the attendees that their minds were capable of so much power. This was a first-hand experience she was able to share through her work with athletes and the potential a directed mind possesses. 

Our scheduled two sessions were completely filled. We had so many people watching and just smiling. I had several people comment, “I can’t believe it—this is great!” I think people’s thoughts and comments come from their preconceived ideas of yoga and what they’ve heard. I find most people think yoga is stretching and after five minutes they quickly reconsider their ideas. I repeated several times throughout the conference that this is yoga through the eyes of a Strength Coach. This is the Balanced Athlete.

The next several decades are going to be fun as I watch the Strength and Conditioning Industry continue to evolve and change. I am honored to be a part of it.

Johnny

What Happens in Las Vegas …

Johnny and I are off to Vegas to teach the Balanced Athlete Program to Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialists (CSCS) and Certified Personal Trainers (CPT) at the National Conference for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). This is an incredible opportunity to share with fellow coaches how our program can help their athletes stay injury free and also help them move with more explosion, stability and composure. 

This is the third year that the Balanced Athlete has presented at the National Conference. This is the first year, however, that we get to present three hands on morning sessions. Each morning session will focus on movements that help create kinetic connection within the mind and body. We will focus on the feet and teach force transfer principles throughout the kinetic chain. Our intention is to share our experience of working with athletes and the results we have seen through our programming. 

Johnny and I are honored to teach the Balanced Athlete at the National Conference. We both believe whole-heartedly that the Balanced Athlete Program can be an integral step in helping athletes build their own optimal athletic blueprint. Stay tuned for more blog entries on our experience. 

Peace. Cara

Week Long Balanced Athlete Camp Insights

I just finished teaching a weeklong Balanced Athlete camp for high school athletes. It was a 5 day camp and only one athlete missed a day. The first day, I told them that I thought at least half of them would drop out and not finish.  I told them I was using reverse psychology. They proved me wrong. These athletes represented multiple sports. What amazes me time and time again is the ability of the Balanced Athlete program to quickly create strong and safe movement patterns. These athletes changed dramatically in just 5 days. I will list the major insights:

 

Distraction – Most of these athletes did not have very good focus on Monday. Their eyes wondered a lot which is typical for beginners. They weren’t observing other athletes, just staring off into space. They were very lost in thought. By Friday, their eyes were not wandering—they were focused!

 

Disconnect –There was not much bodily awareness (kinesthetic awareness). I can strongly relate to this. I never really stopped to pay attention to my body until I began the practice of yoga. By Friday, they were very into their bodies and paying attention to the movements. They used the mirrors to make adjustments and follow my cues.

 

Feet – I spent the first 15 minutes on Monday explaining the kinetic chain and the interdependent nature of the mind and body.  I believe this made a huge difference as they progressed through the week.  They began understanding the importance of the feet and engaging the muscles of the legs from the feet.  

All of their feet began working better and one girl who came in with a stress fracture in her shin started to connect to her foot and acutely changed the functionality of her foot, making her shin feel so much better. She also now knows her weak foot had something to do with the stress fracture.

 

Hinging from the Hips – This was another big improvement. Not one of the athletes was hinging properly from their hip. The first day we used broom sticks and hinged back and forth over and over until they programmed it into their bodies. Why is this so important? The hip chain represents the bridge between the lower chains and upper chains. When an athlete, or anyone for that matter, doesn’t hinge from their hips, energy does not transfer effectively from lower chains to upper chains. There is also increased stress placed on lumbar and sacral spine areas. Experiencing injury is only a matter of time when this lack of functionality persists.

 

Shoulders/Arms – They significantly improved their ability to raise their arms straight over their heads,  but this still needs work. This imbalance and lose of function with the Shoulder and Skull chain is primarily due to prolonged poor posture and  tight, weak muscles around the shoulders and neck.

 

Hands – None of the athletes had ever directly trained their hands. At the beginning of the week, their hands were very weak. By the end, they had strong awareness in their hands and improved strength.

 

Conclusion – Most of these athletes were previously working out in gyms using weights.  I believe this is putting the cart before the horse. Strengthening and Conditioning an athlete begins with training movements and not muscles. Unless they are being guided by a Strength Coach, the majority of athletes will move in the gym with poor habits, making them susceptible to injury and unachieved potential. Incorporating the Balanced Athlete Program in conjunction with the weight room can develop a superior athlete. After what I observed this week, it’s hard for me not to believe that.   

Johnny

A Directed Mind has Limitless Potential

“A distracted mind has no power, a directed mind has limitless potential.” 

~ Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat.

I am really passionate about this quote, really passionate. I think that the reason I use it so much when I train athletes is because I m certain that, had I been aware of the power of my mind when I was a collegiate runner, I would have met with more success and I would have suffered a whole lot less! 

In my last entry, I wrote about the first half of the quote, “A distracted mind has no power”. As homework, I suggested that you try catching yourself 10, 20, 100 times a day in various states of distraction. It’s often hilarious to notice just how far away we will go from what we need to focus on now! 

Get in the habit of catching yourself in being distracted. You’ll quickly learn how to “reel yourself back in” to a more directed and focused state. This sort of “checking in” with your mental state is the beginning of your mental strength training program. 

Remember that when you are distracted, whether on the court or in the classroom, you are in a weakened state. When you are directed or engaged, whether on the field or at work, you are in a much more powerful and effective state. 

Being focused in this way has been coined by sports psychologists as being in “in the zone” or “in flow”. Wikipedia describes this concept as follows: 

Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. This concept was proposed by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi the author of the ground breaking book, Flow. 

Wikipedia continues:

The legendary soccer player Pelé described his experience of being in the zone: "I felt a strange calmness.. . a kind of euphoria. I felt I could run all day without tiring, that I could dribble through any of their team or all of them, that I could almost pass through them physically.

Simply put, when an athlete is in flow, his or her focus is so intense and play elevated, they’re unstoppable. 

Whether you call it being in the Zone, in Flow or being Directed, it all boils down to the same results, being unstoppable. Sound enticing? We’ll continue to review how to become more directed using the training methods of yoga and meditation in the next few entries. 

Peace. Cara

A Distracted Mind has no Power

A few years ago a sentence popped out from the page of Rolf Gates’ book, Meditations from the Mat. It read, “A distracted mind has no power, a directed mind has limitless potential.” I read the sentence, I wrote it in my journal and for the past five years, I have repeated it every time I train an athlete.

It’s very simple. You become distracted when you start thinking about something other than what you are doing at the moment, whether that be on the field, in the classroom or in the car. Distraction comes in many forms. You become distracted when you start thinking about the past or the future or start day dreaming. You become distracted when you start to doubt or judge yourself. You become distracted whenever you interrupt your mind from staying in the present moment. 

Here is the take home point … when you are distracted in any its forms, you will be in a weakened mental state. You cannot read this sentence and fully absorb its meaning while thinking about your next vacation. You will most likely not be able to execute a penalty kick or free throw successfully while doubting your abilities. You may get lucky once or twice but champions are crowned by being consistent and mentally focused. 

A few years ago, I was watching an NFL playoff game with my daughters, both athletes. The game came down to a field goal attempt with less than a minute to play. As we watched the kicker walk onto the field towards the football, I commented, “He is not going to make the field goal”. My girls questioned how I knew this. I said to them, “Look at his eyes, he is filled with doubt and fear. He is distracted not directed.” Needless to say, he missed the goal and his team lost the game.

Your mind is like a muscle that can be trained to be directed and more focused during key moments of intensity, like a field goal attempt, a free throw or a race. So let’s begin our mental strength training program. 

Is your mind always somewhere other than where it should be or continuously filled with fear, doubt and judgment? If so, then you are living and playing from a weakened mental state. For now, my recommendation to you, whether you are a competitive athlete or not, is to start by asking yourself a few times per day, “Am I distracted or am I directed?” You grow stronger every time you catch yourself in a distracted state and are able to bring yourself back into a directed or focused state. It is that easy. Let’s start there… 

Stay tuned. Part 2 of this blog, will cover the latter part of Rolf’s sentence, “a directed mind has limitless potential”. 

Cara Bradley

A Mental Strength Coach is Born

In the spring of 1984, my world was rocked during the course of an 800 meter race. Having plans to transfer to New York University in the fall, I knew that I would run for the last time as a University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hen. I was an average but consistent mid-distance runner for UD knowing deep down in my 20-year old body that I had underperformed my entire career.

Feeling somewhat melancholy before the race that day, I separated myself from my teammates. I thought about the upcoming foot surgery that would end my college track career. I reflected on my past wins and losses and I firmly committed myself to running my fastest time or setting a “PR”, Personal Record in this, my last race. I repeated over and over, “personal record”. I knew that had nothing to lose. Little did I know that I was clearing my mind with my very own made-up mantra.

I stepped onto the starting line that day in an unusually calm state. In other words, I didn’t feel that normal throw up feeling. The gun shot and off I went. Funny, I didn’t feel my legs burn and I didn’t hear that voice of doubt in my mind. I remember passing UD’s best mid-distance runner. That is when my one and only thought came into my mind. I thought, “Man, she must be having a bad day.” 

Having crossed the finish line in third place, my teammates jumped on me. They celebrated because I had shaved 5 seconds off of my PR. 5 SECONDS! That is HUGE in the 800 meters. I set a PR that I had never dreamed of.

Elated for a minute, I quickly sunk into disappointment. Thoughts flooded my mind. Why couldn’t I have done this sooner? How could I have waited until my last race to tap into my speed? How could I have allowed doubt and fear to block my potential for 6 years?

It was on that day that I began my quest to study the mind and how to use it in sports. It was years after that race that I found the practices of yoga and meditation I knew right away that I had found my mental training tools. I now consider myself a Mental Strength Coach. I am committed to helping athletes learn how to use their minds in order to tap into their speed, power and potential and not wait, like I did, until their last race or game to figure it out. 

Cara Bradley