Author: D.D.
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Tensing Up Makes It Worse
When we get stressed, we tend to make it worse. We get in our own way. We make ourselves feel smaller and less powerful, and the problem feels bigger and more overwhelming. Our minds get crowded with worries and anxieties. Everything becomes pressurized. The fear of pain, discomfort, judgment, punishment, or failure makes us tense…
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Keep Your Feet on the Ground
[Re-Post from 2021] This is not a blog post telling people to stop dreaming big or to get their heads out of the clouds. Rather, this post is about how sports are played and life is lived best with our feet on the ground, ready to move and leap into new places. Taking risks and…
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Practice Makes Perfect? Let Your Hard Work Sink Into Your Brain
[Re-Post from 2022] Skill acquisition in sports takes time, deliberate practice, and guided instruction. However, the nuance in this rigorous process is often overlooked. It is important to train hard and smart. Each athlete battles to learn the balance that must take place for optimal growth and development. On one hand, we might be tempted…
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A Coach’s Shortcomings and Intentions
How My Coaching Is Changing My coaching has changed a lot over the past several years. I’ve been trying to decrease my overcoaching and micro-managing. Instead, I’m trying to improve by helping athletes discover their own abilities and solutions. But it’s tough. I feel like my worth as a coach is in my ability to…
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Memory and Mistakes: Actively Engaging to Learn, Not Ruminate
[Re-post from 2022] Mistakes are an inevitable part of sports and life. Messing up is our go to move as humans. Failing at something is how we learn and become better. This is why it is important for us to have spaces where we can take risks, make mistakes, and develop into better versions of…
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Look for the Trendline
[Re-Post from 2023] We are drawn to measurements and data as they provide quantifiable numbers for evaluating ourselves and others. While this can be helpful for assessing performance and progress, it can sometimes dehumanize us, reducing our identities to mere machines. Measurements fail to capture human factors such as emotions, thoughts, and circumstances. While they…