Author: D.D.
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Coach to Empower the Athlete: Focus on Feel
When I coach skills to players, I try to focus on the athlete feeling the movement. I want them to know what a good movement feels like. They might execute a skill with great timing and coordination. How did that feel? Were you balanced? Was the power effortless? Did it flow? Was it quicker? Did…
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Sports Reflection: My Life Changed After Instagram
I was always obsessed with basketball. My two-year-old self sat plopped in front of the box TV watching the late ’90s Bulls. Michael Jordan skying through the air. As I grew up, the obsession got bigger. I went from playing basketball to watching basketball to thinking about basketball. I even collected cards. I knew the…
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Coaching for Development: Focusing on the Person Inside the Player
[re-post from 2021] “Each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered himself, that child is kept from inventing it and consequently from understanding it completely.” – Jean Piaget Competitions help us grow because they challenge us in a variety of ways. We are faced with obstacles to overcome and goals to…
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Step Behind the Waterfall
We find ourselves getting caught up in everything we have going on. We react to our experiences. And stress can leave us defensive and on edge. Like we are not in full control of our thoughts, emotions, or actions. Like we are living a few steps behind the flow of everything. Our worries about the…
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Grit: Trusting the Process of Not Yet
“Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Called to Something More Real The process of learning is rooted in tension. The tension between what you know and what you don’t know. Typically, we get comfortable with what we know and are reluctant to move beyond it. We…
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Mental Flexibility: Let Mindsets Increase Your Degrees of Freedom
Performers who shift their mindsets from reacting to noticing gain new levels of freedom and growth. We typically default to using the Reactor mindset. This is where we are overly rigid and judgmental in our thoughts, emotions, and actions. The Reactor is a mindset of stress and survival. We react to experiences, and these reactions…