Sports Mastery

In this episode, D'ghon Culpepper, LMT discusses massage therapy and body work. Some key points to this discussion are Massage Therapy vs Personal Training Instant Gratification Subconscious Habits Helping clients with pain relief & pain management Understanding human anatomy & physiology  Assessing human movement  

This is a podcast where we observe, examine, experiment, and explain the physical, mental, and social dynamics of the world's best athletes and coaches. We examine their strengths, weaknesses, character, and personality traits; to explain what works and what doesn't according to our situation and circumstance in space and time. In this episode Will Collins discusses: The history of FAST UNIVERSITY Define the culture of FastU How do you help sprinters overcome FEAR Explain the difference between speed coaches and sprint coaches What's the biggest mistake that you see track & field parents make Describe your philosophy on helping and developing other coaches

Ryan Banta discusses his book: SPRINTERS COMPENDIUM AND... The brotherhood of track & field  Coaches being willing to share information Variances in training due to environment and school size Respecting opposing coaching philosophies Max Velocity Sprinting Creating a culture of discipline, family, and community

In This Episode, We Discuss The Importance Of: Self belief Self learning Continuing education Finding mentors Perseverance Confidence Judging yourself to be capable of success increases your chances of actual success. Judging yourself as not capable of success reduces the chance of success.

In This Episode We Discuss Benefits Of Running Track: Enhance your recruiting Increase acceleration Play faster longer Enhance sprint mechanics & force output Play faster in the 4th Quarter How not to waste time

In This Episode We Discuss The Elements Fear: What is FEAR Where does FEAR come from How do we manage FEAR Is FEAR innate or TAUGHT The most common emotion in society

In This Episode We Discuss: The importance of goals Matching words with ACTION Consistency with off-season training Injury prevention Sports Parent accountability Decision Making

Welcome back to Sports Mastery. In this episode, I share: The future of the show experiences throughout the Pandemic Inspirations Lessons on perseverance Thank you for listening. Peace & Blessings. DeShawn Fontleroy

In this episode, we discuss creativity amongst sport coaches or lack thereof. 

In this episode, Sugey Gomez and I discuss: 1. How the COVID-19 pandemic affecting student-athletes? 2. The greatest impacts felt by student-athletes stem from school closures. 3. Being in the house with family members, and not getting to see friends and teammates. Let's face it, teens have different developmental needs than adults. They're at the stage in life when they are very invested in social connections and in separating from their parents. So, COVID-19 social distancing requirements have a different emotional impact on them than on adults. Depending on their age and developmental stage, many teens have had a hard time understanding what the pandemic really means and how it impacts their world. Stay tuned as we dive into this episode. DeShawn Fontleroy

Adapting To Online Learning Sugey Gomez Discusses:   1. How to stay organized 2. Creating a structure to meet deadlines 3. Knowing when to rest your eyes from the computer screen 4. Her new projects...  

 Staying Motivated During The COVID-19 Pandemic Sharks aren't being affected by this and neither should you. Here are some reflections and lessons that you should consider:   1. Keep Moving: Set small daily goals. It is important to recognize that these aren’t normal times, and your productivity is likely not at its peak right now. That’s okay. Setting daily goals can help you to make your day as productive as possible, but be realistic with the goals you set. 2. Carve out time in your day for more work and less bullshit. Work more at night when it's quiet and  dark, then spend time relaxing in the morning before jumping into work later on. Get off Netflix and the F'n video game console. 3. Start a new project, invention, or business. Study American History. This country is littered with multimillionaires who came out of the worst of depressions, recessions, and regressions throughout the history of this country.

As a coach, I'm always looking for an edge to develop my athletes. I get caught up with equipment, new technology, the popular coach's book for the month, etc. But now I'm beginning to look at each athlete that I train different. This leads us to genetics by understanding  and respecting all of our historical and ethnic differences. Take a listen as we discuss biodiversity... Human Biodiversity (hbd) is very simply the diversity found among and between human populations that has a biological basis.* Each of us is biologically unique. Our genomes, our phenomes, our patterns of gene expression, our epigenomes, our microbiomes — none of these are ever exactly the same in any two individuals, even identical twins. Yes, you are all special! You’re not even the same person today biologically that you were when you were six — or sixteen (unless you’re still sixteen, of course).  Each individual human is biologically diverse when compared to all other humans and even across his or her own lifetime.  Human Biodiversity research is conducted in numerous academic disciplines and their subfields such as biology, genetics, medicine, neurology, psychology, and anthropology. HBD research also draws on social, historic, and prehistoric data related to human populations. (there is no separate academic discipline known as “human biodiversity.”)

1. Mentors believe in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself. 2. Supportive relationships are formed. A mentor gives a mentee access to a supportive relationship. A mentor becomes the mentee’s ‘go-to person’ which is someone where he/she can get advice from and assistance into how to deal with situations and how to respond or react. 3. Mentors give objective advice and constructive criticism. They are authentic and objective people. They will tell you straight up if you need to change your attitude or how to deal with situations. With mentors, there are no guessing games or feelings spared, but the criticism and advice are still constructive, tactful and supportive. 4. Mentors help with setting reasonable and reachable goals, creating necessary boundaries and practicing the right disciplines to align your professional and personal growth. 5. Mentors become the mentee’s cheerleader and confidence-booster. They motivate and inspire mentees to go all the way. To never stop trying, and through this, they motivate each of them to focus on developing endurance.
 
 6. Mentors are usually well connected within the arena they operate in. This opens up a lot of networking opportunities for mentees. Mentors usually introduce their mentees and try to assist them in climbing the ladder to success. After all, mentors want to see their mentees succeed. 7. The mentorship becomes mutually beneficial and personally rewarding for both parties. Mentors are proud to be part of the mentees journey and in turn, mentees feel honored and invested in. When you are a mentor it doesn’t mean that there is nothing to be learned from the experience. Mentors also learn from their mentees.

Muscle-To-Mind Relaxation Skills (Circle Breath) Taking slow, deep breaths can help performers/athletes/individuals be able to lessen muscle tension, racing heart rate, or stomach butterflies. There are a number of breathing exercises, but the simplest and most basic one is a Complete Breath (AKA Circle Breath). Basically, a deep breath from inhaling via nose, a slight pause, and then an exhale through the mouth. When a Circle Breath is done right, a person looking will be able to see the shoulders stay relatively still, and stomach go in and out (similar to filling a balloon). Usually, folks will lift and lower their shoulders as they breathe, which actually creates tension. Here's how to have an individual do a correct circle breath. Have a client put one hand on his chest, and one hand on his stomach and see which one raises up and down. When breathing is done correctly, the hand on the stomach should move, while the hand on the chest stays relatively still. As the breath is inhaled, paused, and exhaled, adding counts can be helpful to make sure that the breath is slow, and complete. Example: inhale for 4 seconds, holding for 1, and exhale out for 4. *For another athlete/performer, that may not allow for a complete breath to be taken so customize accordingly.  

To master the art of doing, you need to create habits and routines in the brain that are relatively resistant to quitting and paralysis-by-analysis.For the routine to become automatic, we need to design it with such conscious and deliberate precision that it's read made to run on autopilot. Step 1: Learn the pattern, crack the code A. Triggers B. Rituals C. Rewards Step 2. Make watertight rituals The ritual is the sequence of behavior steps you need in order to actually create a habit. You need to know exactly how it unfolds for you, and this takes some self-experimentation. If you're trying to start a new habit, you should design the ritual so it has a good chance of becoming automatic. Step 3. Know the rewards that do and don't work for you For some people, the reward is the driving force behind the habit. If the action you're trying to do isn't pleasurable or enjoyable, we need to find away to make it so. Learn more in this episode...

Need for Mental Health Services in Sport 1.Prevalence of clinical issues in sport *Anxiety, depression, eating disorders *Personality challenges/disorders *Issues with identity *Consequences of concussion history 2. How current structure of sport influences the need for services on all levels. *Multi-billion dollar industry *Pressure to succeed + stress *Life demands vs. sport demands 3. Social perspective and expectations of the "athlete" *How can we best service athletes at all levels. *Approaches and best practices *Rise of Clinical Sport Psychology *Clinical training vs. Sports Science vs. Knowledge in Both

In the fall of 2019, the NCAA decided to allow college athletes to earn compensation — but it says it's only starting to work out the details of how that would take place. The organization's board of governors said that it had voted unanimously to permit student-athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness. "We must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes," said Michael Drake, the NCAA board chair who is also president of Ohio State University. In a statement, Drake stressed the need for "additional flexibility" in the NCAA's approach. Drake added, "This modernization for the future is a natural extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken in recent years to improve support for student-athletes, including full cost of attendance and guaranteed scholarships." SPORTS California Governor Signs Bill Allowing College Athletes To Profit From Endorsements The NCAA, the national governing body for collegiate athletics, said its decision followed input over the past few months from "current and former student-athletes, coaches, presidents, faculty and commissioners across all three divisions.” Notably, the decision follows California's adoption of a law that bans schools in the state from preventing student-athletes from accepting compensation from advertisers and allows them to hire agents. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation late last month, calling it the "beginning of a national movement.” Indeed, it did spark a trend. Politicians in Illinois, New York, Florida and other states have introduced bills allowing endorsement deals for college athletes. And days after the California bill was signed, national politicians signaled they would push for something similar in Congress. Amid this groundswell of political support for paying college athletes, the NCAA has quickly eased its public resistance to the idea. After initially pushing back hard on California's measure, the NCAA has recently been taking a more conciliatory tone, suggesting it would "move forward with ongoing efforts to make adjustments" to the organization's practices. The NCAA has reported annual revenues topping $1 billion, largely on the strength of TV rights and marketing fees connected with its most prominent sports and events, such as the highly lucrative Division 1 men's basketball tournament. And though the organization long argued that it was converting those revenues into scholarships and other opportunities for students, that line had lately attracted prominent skeptics — such as NFL cornerback Richard Sherman and NBA superstar LeBron James.

                 In this episode, Angela R. Lewis discusses The Female Presence In Sports College Recruiting Process Distractions Time Management Angela has traveled the country giving presentations at colleges, universities, k-12 schools and conferences. Given Angela’s global experiences she offers insightful keynotes addresses, workshops, panel discussions and seminars. She has also served as a consultant for various educational institutions regarding community development. Partial List of Past Events Include: I Define Me Girls Summit Florida State University Athletics St. Louis University University of Missouri St. Louis Riverview Gardens High School National Youth Summit on Justice, Education and Economics

SETTING GOALS IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM THE SECRET IS DOING Do. Or do not. There is no try. - YODA, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK It turns out that "JUST DO IT" is pretty shitty advice. It might make for a good marketing tag line and it's certainly one of the most commonly shrieked instructions from exasperated coaches, parents, and teachers, but the scientific reality is that this call to action is almost always ineffective. In fact, some evidence suggests that it can actually undermine motivation, confidence, and enjoyment. The sentiment behind just do it is perfectly well intentioned - stop overthinking it, stop talking about it, stop procrastinating, and stop forcing me to keep asking you to take action. We must turn our thoughts, ideas, and goals into action. A goal: An aim or action usually with a specific time limit. So having a specific timeline is important for goal setting. SMART goal (Specific, Measureable, Achievable/Adjustable, Realistic, Time (time-dependent)) Why athletes benefit from setting goals: Increase performance – goals give focus and directs efforts. Performance can increase when goals have been set Increase positive thoughts – athlete sees himself make progress towards a goal, he/she is likey to have positive reactions Increase confidence – as challenging and realistic goals are completed, helps create stronger beliefs that the athlete/performer can cont to move forward Types of goals in sport psychology: Outcome goals: goals related to the desired result of a competition (i.e., winning the game) Athlete has not control over this Performance goal: refers to athletes performance in relation to previous performance (i.e., improving free-throw shot from 70% to 80%Athlete has more so control over this Process goals: how an athlete performs a particular skill. These goals usually focus on practice or training (i.e., a batter keeping his eye on the ball) Under athletes control So basically it’s important for athletes to essentially focus on process and performance goals because these are under their control. Ultimately focusing on these goals gets them to the outcome goal. -- The brave athlete Saying just do it is pretty silly advice or as the Brave Athlete books states, in ch. 4 “Setting goals is not your problem,” it’s pretty shitty advice. The just do it can be a challenge and can undermine motivation. Most things in life, it’s easy to know what to do but to actually do it is the hard part! The best way to mobilize the what, how, and do is goal setting! Most folks have an understanding of the important of goal setting – given that we are all human and carry a brain we are wired to be goal oriented. For example, our brain naturally gives us basic goals to accomplish like stay alive, eat, sleep. References Cheadle, C. (2017). Week 4 goal setting [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Website: https://www.nu.blackboard.com/ Marshall, J. S., & Paterson, L. (2017). The Brave Athlete: Calm the f*ck down and rise to the occasion. Boulder, CO: Velopress.

I DON'T THINK I CAN Building Confidence & Self-Belief Whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right. Henry Ford Self-confidence is the psychological wonder drug! Everything improves when an athlete's confidence is high. Athletes with high confidence feel less anxious, relish adversity, set higher goals, try harder, tolerate more exertional pain, feel more in control, are more optimistic and enthusiastic, and do better under pressure. They also give less of a $#!+ when things don't go according to plan. And these are just outcomes that have been studied extensively. KEY TERMS: Self-Confidence - A feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgement. Self-Esteem - Confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self respect Self-Efficacy - Refers to an individual's confidence in in their ability to complete a task of achieve a goal. Self-Worth - is based on deeply held feelings about your true value & worth as a person. What's the single-most -important psychological skill for an athlete to possess? It isn't motivation, tenacity, optimism, concentration, or attitude - it's SELF-CONFIDENCE, the belief that you can succeed.    

YOU NEED TO HARDEN THE F*CK UP Learn To Embrace Life When It Sucks Alaskans might have 50 words for snow, but athletes have 51 words for suffering. One thing that sets most athletes apart from others is that their success depends in large part on their ability to tolerate exertional discomfort. Its a fancy way of describing the personal suffering that comes from increasing practice, training, or exercise intensity. The harder you push, the more it hurts. All other factors being equal, the one who can suffer the most will rise through the ranks of competition. If you're new to athletics, you need to learn the difference between pain and suffering. Stay tuned as we explain both.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, success achieved. - Helen Keller   RESISTING THE URGE TO QUIT We've all been there. You've started a new training routine, joined a new team, learned a new position, or just something that is uncharted and challenging. Buoyed by adrenaline, motivation, and pride, everything seems to be going fine; perhaps you're even enjoying things. And then without much warning, things start heading south. The discomfort feels worse than normal, or perhaps the motivation to keep getting up early begins to wane. For some, it's the just the boredom of doing the same thing over and over again. Perhaps you don't actually stop but you mentally throw in the towel. You ease up or let the other athlete next to you win the sprints in team conditioning. It feels to hard to stay with him. You go into coast mode, even though you've got more in the tank. before long you just want it all to stop. The argument in your head gets louder and louder as parts of your brain frantically try to cut deals with other parts of your brain to avoid bailing or permitting your body to ease up or come to a grinding halt. Stay tuned as we provide solutions and fixes on "resisting the urge to quit."

Trigger warning: This story explores suicide, including the details of how the author’s mother took her own life. If you are at risk, please stop here and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for support. 800-273-8255 Many people may not show any signs of intent to harm themselves before doing so, but some actions can be a sign that a person needs help. People in crisis may show behaviors that indicate a risk of self-harm. The following can all be warning signs: Appearing sad or depressed most of the time Hopelessness; feeling like there’s no way out Anxiety, agitation, sleeplessness, or mood swings Feeling as if there is no reason to live Feeling excessive guilt, shame, or sense of failure Rage or anger Engaging in risky activities without thinking Losing interest in hobbies, work, or school Increasing alcohol or drug misuse Neglecting personal welfare; a deteriorating physical appearance Withdrawing from family and friends Showing violent behavior, like punching a hole in the wall or getting into fights Giving away prized possessions Getting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, or writing a will The following signs require immediate attention: Thinking about hurting or killing yourself Looking for ways to kill yourself Talking about death, dying, or suicide Self-destructive behavior such as drug abuse, weapons, etc.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE OUTCOMES YOU ARE CURRENTLY GETTING, THERE ARE TWO BASIC CHOICES YOU CAN MAKE. 1. You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O). In other words, you can blame the referee, the weather, a teammate, your parents, the coaching staff, racism, gender bias, the lack of support, the political climate, the system, and so on. If you’re a golfer, you’ve probably even blamed your clubs and the course MAKE THE MOST OF SETBACKS E (event) + R (response) = O (outcome) The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life (whether it is success or failure, wealth or poverty, health or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration) is the result of how you have responded to an earlier event or events in your life. No doubt all these factors do exist, but if they were the deciding factor, nobody would ever succeed. Lots of people overcome these so-called limiting factors, so it can’t be the limiting factors that limit you. It is not the external conditions and circumstances that stop you –it is you! We stop ourselves! We think limiting thoughts and engage in self-defeating behaviors. We defend our destructive habits (such as drinking and recreational drugs) with indefensible logic. We ignore useful feedback, fail to continuously educate ourselves and learn new skills, waste time on trivial aspects of our lives, engage in idle gossip, eat unhealthy food, fail to train, fail to study, avoid necessary conflict, fail to tell the truth-- -and then wonder why our lives don’t work. But this, by the way, is what most people do. They place the blame for everything that isn’t the way they want it on outside events and circumstances. They have an excuse for everything. 2. You can instead simply change your responses (R) to the events (E) ---the way things are ---until you get the outcomes (O) you want. You can change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures you hold in your head (your images of yourself and the world) ---and you can change your behavior---the things you do. This is all you really have control over anyway. Unfortunately, most of us are so run by our habits that we never change our behavior. We get stuck in our conditioned responses. We are a bundle of conditioned reflexes that operate outside of our control. You have to regain control of your thoughts, your images, your dreams and daydreams, and your behavior. Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, your values, and your goals.

Confidence in Sports Confidence defined: Believing that you can successfully perform a desired behavior or act. For example: “I have confidence to perform that jump shot.”Confidence actually has a direct correlation/link to success, but not saying they cause one another – instead there is a relationship between the two. Another definition of confidence: A person’s belief that they can do whatever it takes to be successful In their sport (Williams & Krane, 2014, p. 275) Confident athletes and even any performer believes in themselves, their ability to handle tasks and challenges – often you can see their confidence by the way they walk, their demeanor or body language. Building confidence: How? Before we begin on the how… confidence does not happen by chance instead athlete/performer/individual goes through a process at which athlete must commit and persist. Goals, strategies, and focus needs to be set, but first an athlete needs to choose confidence. Also take advantage of mental skills like goal setting, positive self-talk and imagery to name a few. Basically, fostering confidence should be a goal or focus. Strategies to build confidence: 1. Preparation 2. Recognizing athletes strengths 3. Seeing confidence modeled 4. Self-talk 5. High light video’s 6. Highlight list 7. Wins, but also things they learned in the win Moments they are proud of, qualities they possess... AFFIRMATIONS: “statements that reflect positive attitudes or thoughts about themselves” (Williams & Krane, 2014, p. 295) – this helps foster confidence and create strong positive beliefs about themselves. Example: I am strong; I am ready; I perform well under pressure. References William, J. & Krane, V. (2014). Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Education.

Relationships never get tested until they get tested. People are of infinite complexity and you can spend a lifetime watching them without ever fully understanding them. So it is all the more important, then, to begin your education now. In doing so you must also keep one principle in mind: Never discriminate as to whom you study and whom you trust. Never trust anyone completely and study everyone, including friends and loved ones. How can we better prepare for the dark side of others. We must first look within and better understand our own troubling emotions. What if we could understand why we are so compelled to desire what other people have, or to identify so strongly with a group that we feel contempt for those on the outside? What if we could find out what causes us to lie about who we are, or to inadvertently push people away. HOME WORK: Define Hindsight Define Insight Define Foresight

Mental toughness is… …when you, your body, the competition, nature, or the environment has the best of you so that you’re physically tapped out and need to figure out how to pull something out of yourself… not in a robotic way—in a way that’s mentally aware and engaged. It’s not just the ability to keep moving but to keep doing it in a way that’s engaged and competitive in the environment you’re in, whether that’s competing against the clock or other human beings. It’s easy when you feel good physically. It’s when that physicality leaves you. Why you’re stronger than you think you are... What you’re physically capable of in athletic environment is more determined by your mental strength than your physical capabilities… your body can go beyond what your physical perceptions of tiredness or fatigue are. Your brain will be telling you “You’re tired. Stop.” It’s trying to stop you from killing yourself. The mental limitations kick in before the physical limitations. On training for mental toughness Visualization is a piece of the training that is incredibly important. You don’t have to do anything physically—you can be meditating or walking, anything where you’re in your mind, playing it out in advance. You’re imagining the start, the route, the competition, those points that your body is saying, ”stop,” or that you’re suffering. You’re mentally training yourself to push through those barriers.    

How do you spot the potential in something thats looks ordinary? What does potential which has not yet found expression look like? How do you spot a superstar who is not yet a superstar? What does talent that whispers look like? These are some of the questions that we tackle during this episode. You'll also hear from two collegiate athletes that share a story of hard work, diligence, and belief. CONSIDERATIONS It's not about the performance - it's about the story behind the performance Understand the difference between a fatal flaw and an opportunity Put passion above skills What you should never forget about TALENT IDENTIFICATION The world is full of overlooked talent. If you look in the same way and in the same places as everybody else, you'll get what everybody else gets. Great potential does not necessarily manifest itself in current top performance. Hire for skills and fire for attitude. Talent identification is not about talking. It's about listening. Listen for what you can't tread in a resume.

SPORT SPECIALIZATION CONSIDERATIONS Skill Acquisition and Motor Performance Perspective Perhaps the greatest and most obvious benefit of specialization is the acquisition, development, and proficiency of motor skills related to success in a given sport. An athlete who practices a skill or set of skills with increased frequency and duration, considering he or she does so in a scientifically appropriate manner, may become more proficient at the skills than one who practices them periodically and irregularly, as may be the case with diversification. With the relatively short career of most athletes and a perceived finite amount of time with which an individual can reach peak physical performance, many athletes and coaches believe that it is foolish not to specialize. However, studies from the former Soviet Union, in which early specialization was widely practiced, have provided evidence against its effectiveness. It’s widely recognized that only a minority of Soviet athletes from single sport backgrounds were able to improve performance later in their careers and that most diversified athletes attributed success to a multi-sport background. Athletes who specialized early in their careers experienced quick performance improvement, they achieved their best performances by age 16, then performed much less consistently and quit their sport sooner than those whose training programs were diversified.  No sport program should restrict the diversification of physical skills or social development of athletes under the age of 15. The child must also be permitted the participation in - - other sport and non-sport activities without the associated guilt sometimes experienced by talented athletes who are pressured by adults to remain in a sport. Coaches and parents must understand and plan for long-term periodization of training. The phrase "a champion cannot be made overnight," while taught to athletes to ensure adherence and loyalty to a demanding schedule, ideally is the guiding philosophy by which a long-term training program is structured. Such a program should allow for appropriate training breaks crucial for physiological and psychological recovery from training, at which time an athlete could balance complete rest from the sport with participation in other sports or activities at a lower level of intensity. When a child reaches an age in which he or she is physiologically and psychologically mature enough to handle increased training loads, specialization at that time may be justified to optimize the positive adaptations accompanying the advanced intensity and duration of training. Most importantly, at the center of periodization should be the needs and wants of the young athlete and the incorporation of other important variables into a training season, such as educational and social opportunities outside of sport. Under these conditions, young athletes have an optimal chance of attaining athletic success under the proper physical, social, and psychological development afforded to them through sport.

Nevada shooting guard Jazz Johnson is looking forward to his senior season. He was the Wolf Pack's leading 3-point shooter last season. In a candid interview, he sits down with me and co-host Leland Johnson (Father) to discuss: Overcoming Adversity Training Mental Toughness After coming off the bench for all but one of his 33 appearances last season, Johnson was named the Mountain West's sixth man of the year. He averaged 11.0 points in 28.6 minutes per game. Stay tuned!

Self-talk is your internal dialogue. It’s influenced by your subconscious mind, and it reveals your thoughts, beliefs, questions, and ideas. Self-talk can be both negative and positive. It can be encouraging, and it can be distressing. Much of your self-talk depends on your personality. If you’re an optimist, your self-talk may be more hopeful and positive. The opposite is generally true if you tend to be a pessimist. Positive thinking and optimism can be effective stress management tools. Indeed, having a more positive outlook on life can provide you with plenty of benefits.  If you believe your self-talk is too negative, or if you want to emphasize positive self-talk, you can learn to shift that inner dialogue. It can help you be a more positive person, and it may improve your health. Why is it good for you? Self-talk can enhance your performance and general well-being. Research shows self-talk can help athletes with performance. It may help them with endurance or to power through a set of heavy weights. It’s not clear why optimists and individuals with more positive self-talk experience these benefits. However, research suggests people with positive self-talk may have mental skills that allow them to solve problems, think differently, and be more efficient at coping with hardships or challenges. This can reduce the harmful effects of stress and anxiety. Listen in to learn more.  

HOW TO HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE… A positive attitude–optimism, expectancy, and enthusiasm–makes everything in academics, sport, and life easier. A positive attitude will fuel you when you’re down and supercharge you when you’re already “in the zone.” Here’s how to cultivate a positive attitude, regardless of what’s happening at school, practice, or at home: #1 Link positivity, creativity and attention. In addition to physical benefits, a positive attitude produces a “broad, flexible cognitive organization and ability to integrate diverse material.” These effects improve your attention, creativity, and ability to learn. Positive emotions also improve a person’s ability to cope with minimal playtime, upsets, and a difficult coach. #2 Reframe negative moments as positive ones. Take time to reflect on your latest bouts with negative self-talk. Spend some time reframing these negative self-discussions in a way where you can get positive emotions out of these experiences. For example, if you experienced your coach yelling at you, reframe his intentions as positive constructive criticism . If you felt embarrassed about an error or mistake in a game, think about how it is actually silly or laughable to be thinking about it 3 days later. Even if your coach was upset about you throwing an interception, mistakes happen from time to time. With any luck, maybe your coach will see the humor in it also. If you don’t treat smaller mistakes as life-altering experiences, you will be able to handle situations better. One way to handle the game losing interception, is to watch more film with your offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. Next, you can offer to work on the plays that beat blitzing linebackers. #3 Recover from negative life events more quickly. Building and maintaining a positive attitude can help you be more resilient to negative life events such as a below average SAT score. People who experience positive emotions when discouraged tend to develop healthy long-term plans. Having goals and plans will result in an overall better sense of well-being after suffering setbacks. DeShawn Fontleroy

HOW TO HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE...   A positive attitude--optimism, expectancy, and enthusiasm--makes everything in academics, sport, and life easier. A positive attitude will fuel you when you're down and supercharge you when you're already "in the zone." Here's how to cultivate a positive attitude, regardless of what's happening at school, practice, or at home: #1 Link positivity, creativity and attention. In addition to physical benefits, a positive attitude produces a “broad, flexible cognitive organization and ability to integrate diverse material.”  These effects improve your attention, creativity, and ability to learn. Positive emotions also improve a person’s ability to cope with minimal playtime, upsets, and a difficult coach.   #2 Reframe negative moments as positive ones. Take time to reflect on your latest bouts with negative self-talk. Spend some time reframing these negative self-discussions in a way where you can get positive emotions out of these experiences. For example, if you experienced your coach yelling at you, reframe his intentions as positive constructive criticism . If you felt embarrassed about an error or mistake in a game, think about how it is actually  silly or laughable to be thinking about it 3 days later. Even if your coach was upset about you throwing an interception, mistakes happen from time to time. With any luck, maybe your coach will see the humor in it also. If you don’t treat smaller mistakes as life-altering experiences, you will be able to handle situations better. One way to handle the game losing interception, is to watch more film with your offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. Next, you can offer to work on the plays that beat blitzing linebackers.  #3 Recover from negative life events more quickly. Building and maintaining a positive attitude can help you be more resilient to negative life events such as a below average SAT score. People who experience positive emotions when discouraged tend to develop healthy long-term plans. Having goals and plans will result in an overall better sense of well-being after suffering setbacks.

Coachable athletes are obedient athletes. Being obedient means a player not only listens to coach's instruction, but is willing to complete the responsibilities of his role in that instruction. In an athlete, obedience breeds discipline, and discipline is a requirement for anyone hoping to reach their full potential. There are not a lot of paths to a player becoming his best. Discipline makes a player trust worthy in the eyes of his coach, and that trustworthiness reboots the process from the beginning, motivating the coach to find new ways for his player to grow and succeed. Sports-parents. The goal you should have for your student-athlete is for the sports experience to prepare them life. Most likely, working under a coach will be preparation for working under a boss someday. It's not hard to draw some parallels between the experience of being coached and a future on the job.

How To Overcome Adversity #3 Travis Daugherty explains in his book, THE LENS that the ability to overcome adversity is a hidden talent. He further explains that the ability to overcome adversity can be taught, developed, and cultivated in a student-athlete. Listen in as we supply the sports parent with answers to help their student-athlete overcome adversity. Below are 5 ways to help you get through adverse situations in sport or life. 1. Have the right mindset. Your thoughts are essential; they frame the triumphs or tragedies of your life. Getting past adversity requires a change in your belief about challenges. It is not what happens to you, but how you respond to it that is important here. 2. Stop making excuses. Excuses are the lies we tell ourselves when we’re too afraid of the future. Whatever you tell your mind will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don’t achieve your dreams, it will be because you made the decision to be detained by excuses. 3. Have faith. It takes more energy to live a life full of fear than to live one full of faith. To fear is to convince yourself to live in the walls you build yourself. To have faith is to convince yourself to embrace change. 4. Don’t take “no” for an answerTrials will occur in life, but endurance requires you to never stop trying. Trials are one of the greatest teaching tools of life. Dare to do the impossible! 5. Let each success energize you. With every success, we are strengthened and empowered for greater victories. You cannot become enslaved by disappointments. You must realize that every disappointment is being engineered for your destiny. The Takeaway Life can get us down, but we can pick ourselves back up. We must learn and not be limited by the experiences of our lives. We are strong, and we all have a dreamer inside of us. Anything is possible if we are willing to persevere.

TWELVE DISCIPLINE OF THE MIND 1. Right Hearing 2. Strength & Courage 3. Right Judgement 4. Love & Affection 5. Power of Expression 6. Imagination 7. Understanding 8. Will Power 9. The Discipline of Order 10. Praise 11. Enthusiasm 12. Detachment "Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways." Discipline brings stability and structure into a student athletes' life. It teaches a young person to be responsible and respectful. The observance of well-defined rules is the basis of society. If there were no discipline, athletes would coach themselves and make mistakes without putting the consideration of others first and foremost. Discipline promotes good behavior to make better teams, organizations, and society. The ability for an individual to have self-restraint allows them to behave in a consistently stringent and controlled manner.  "Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It's a state of mind -- you could call it character in action." — Vince Lombardi  

Mike Judy is going into his 13th season at Smyrna (DE), 6th as head coach. Judy has amassed a 42-12 record, winning 3 state championships in 5 years. Prior to Smyrna, Coach Judy served as Offensive Coordinator at Gar-Field HS (VA) and Hargrave Military Academy (VA) Post-Graduate Team. Judy has served as strength and conditioning coordinator at each of the schools, and worked one season in Major League Baseball as a Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League teams. A graduate of Wesley College (DE), with a B.S. Exercise Science, Judy served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater under former head coach Mike Drass. Mike was a 4 year starter at offensive line, 2x team captain, and was an all-conference, all-region, and all-American selection. In this conversation, Coach Judy shares insightful and reflective wisdom on the college football recruiting process. Below you’ll find bullet points that reflect our discussion. 1) visit/photo ops– just because you put on the uni doesn’t mean they are actually recruiting you…probably recruiting your stud teammate OR just want to keep good relationships with your coach/school 2) offers– there was a time once when an offer meant that you’ve made it! Not anymore. Offers mean very little until the ink is dry. Check to see if the offer is committable or not- schools will offer to get you to camp OR to be able to recruit another stud at your school 3) mailings– between social media and mail you will get bombarded. Not all the schools actually will recruit you. But it costs nothing to fill out the info card and send it back. Hand-written letters mean more. 4) timeline– everything is pushed up. high likelihood that very little will happen FBS recruiting-wise starting fall of your senior year. Don’t stop working, but please realize holding out for that big offer may cause you to miss out on the right fit for you. Calculated risk


* 5) recruiting questions– I’ve been asked this (in order of most asked): – does he love the weight room? – are there any issues with his parents and your staff? – do his teachers like him/can I speak to his teacher? – what’s his attendance like? Be a complete person. They saw film 6) camps You only have so many days in summer to get in front of coaches. 1 school told me 75% of all commits got offered in camp. With that said- don’t waste a weekend going 12hrs to a school that you don’t physically look like guys they recruit. Be real, go somewhere else 7) Film– this May be (besides GPA) the deciding factor. You HAVE to make “splash” plays that jump off the screen if you want to get $ for college. If the coach pulls up your film and there is no splash, there is no $. Put your craziest plays first. Film of 2-3min. No JV/7v7 film You absolutely have to stand out & “splash” plays do that. However, any college that recruits you has a different need for that position. Tailor your film for different needs, then position yourself & your film for that need. 8) 7v7 – it is a SUPPLEMENT to your TRAINING regiment. Not for recruiting in most cases. I’m a fan of 7v7 if done properly. It shouldn’t replace other sports/training/camp schedule… 9) other sports– play other sports in HS if you love them. Coaches always ask if he plays other sports…it must mean something to them if they keep asking. Just be sure to compete hard and be a great teammate. 10) Weight room vs Indy training– you do what you need to do. Some schools do it well for free, other schools do not. Assess the situation and do what’s best for you. Caveat- having a 1v1 trainer helps you but not your team, and the sum total of everyone’s effort dictates success 11) GPA-3.0 or bust. Let’s be real-the #1-20 ranked player at your position may not need anything other than to qualify. But many FCS schools cannot get you in with a GPA below a 2.75 (there are exceptions). Hard to call yourself a future college athlete when you can’t perform in high school classroom. 12) Never ignore a coach that reached out to you. Coaching careers often look like a scatterplot-they are all over the place. You never know – the coach you ignored could eventually end up being your position coach… And he won’t forget!

Mike Judy is going into his 13th season at Smyrna (DE), 6th as head coach. Judy has amassed a 42-12 record, winning 3 state championships in 5 years. Prior to Smyrna, Coach Judy served as Offensive Coordinator at Gar-Field HS (VA) and Hargrave Military Academy (VA) Post-Graduate Team. Judy has served as strength and conditioning coordinator at each of the schools, and worked one season in Major League Baseball as a Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League teams. A graduate of Wesley College (DE), with a B.S. Exercise Science, Judy served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater under former head coach Mike Drass. Mike was a 4 year starter at offensive line, 2x team captain, and was an all-conference, all-region, and all-American selection. In this conversation, Coach Judy shares insightful and reflective wisdom on the college football recruiting process. Below you’ll find bullet points that reflect our discussion. 1) visit/photo ops- just because you put on the uni doesn’t mean they are actually recruiting you…probably recruiting your stud teammate OR just want to keep good relationships with your coach/school 2) offers- there was a time once when an offer meant that you’ve made it! Not anymore. Offers mean very little until the ink is dry. Check to see if the offer is committable or not- schools will offer to get you to camp OR to be able to recruit another stud at your school 3) mailings- between social media and mail you will get bombarded. Not all the schools actually will recruit you. But it costs nothing to fill out the info card and send it back. Hand-written letters mean more.
 
 4) timeline- everything is pushed up. high likelihood that very little will happen FBS recruiting-wise starting fall of your senior year. Don’t stop working, but please realize holding out for that big offer may cause you to miss out on the right fit for you. Calculated risk


* 5) recruiting questions- I’ve been asked this (in order of most asked): – does he love the weight room? – are there any issues with his parents and your staff? – do his teachers like him/can I speak to his teacher? – what’s his attendance like? Be a complete person. They saw film 6) camps You only have so many days in summer to get in front of coaches. 1 school told me 75% of all commits got offered in camp. With that said- don’t waste a weekend going 12hrs to a school that you don’t physically look like guys they recruit. Be real, go somewhere else 7) Film- this May be (besides GPA) the deciding factor. You HAVE to make “splash” plays that jump off the screen if you want to get $ for college. If the coach pulls up your film and there is no splash, there is no $. Put your craziest plays first. Film of 2-3min. No JV/7v7 film You absolutely have to stand out & “splash” plays do that. However, any college that recruits you has a different need for that position. Tailor your film for different needs, then position yourself & your film for that need. 8) 7v7 – it is a SUPPLEMENT to your TRAINING regiment. Not for recruiting in most cases. I’m a fan of 7v7 if done properly. It shouldn’t replace other sports/training/camp schedule… 9) other sports- play other sports in HS if you love them. Coaches always ask if he plays other sports…it must mean something to them if they keep asking. Just be sure to compete hard and be a great teammate. 10) Weight room vs Indy training- you do what you need to do. Some schools do it well for free, other schools do not. Assess the situation and do what’s best for you. Caveat- having a 1v1 trainer helps you but not your team, and the sum total of everyone’s effort dictates success 11) GPA-3.0 or bust. Let’s be real-the #1-20 ranked player at your position may not need anything other than to qualify. But many FCS schools cannot get you in with a GPA below a 2.75 (there are exceptions). Hard to call yourself a future college athlete when you can’t perform in high school classroom. 12) Never ignore a coach that reached out to you. Coaching careers often look like a scatterplot-they are all over the place. You never know – the coach you ignored could eventually end up being your position coach… And he won’t forget!

Michael Judy, M.Ed. Mike Judy is going into his 13th season at Smyrna (DE), 6th as head coach. Judy has amassed a 42-12 record, winning 3 state championships in 5 years.  Prior to Smyrna, Coach Judy served as Offensive Coordinator at Gar-Field HS (VA) and Hargrave Military Academy (VA) Post-Graduate Team. Judy has served as strength and conditioning coordinator at each of the schools, and worked one season in Major League Baseball as a Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League teams.  A graduate of Wesley College (DE), with a B.S. Exercise Science, Judy served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater under former head coach Mike Drass. Mike was a 4 year starter at offensive line, 2x team captain, and was an all-conference, all-region, and all-American selection.  In this conversation, Coach Judy shares insightful and reflective wisdom on the college football recruiting process. Below you'll find bullet points that reflect our discussion. 1) visit/photo ops- just because you put on the uni doesn’t mean they are actually recruiting you...probably recruiting your stud teammate OR just want to keep good relationships with your coach/school
 
2) offers- there was a time once when an offer meant that you’ve made it! Not anymore. Offers mean very little until the ink is dry. Check to see if the offer is committable or not- schools will offer to get you to camp OR to be able to recruit another stud at your school
 
3) mailings- between social media and mail you will get bombarded. Not all the schools actually will recruit you. But it costs nothing to fill out the info card and send it back. Hand-written letters mean more.
 
 4) timeline- everything is pushed up. high likelihood that very little will happen FBS recruiting-wise starting fall of your senior year. Don’t stop working, but please realize holding out for that big offer may cause you to miss out on the right fit for you. Calculated risk


* 5) recruiting questions- I’ve been asked this (in order of most asked): - does he love the weight room? - are their any issues with his parents and your staff? - do his teachers like him/can I speak to his teacher? - what’s his attendance like? Be a complete person. They saw film
 
6) camps You only have so many days in summer to get in front of coaches. 1 school told me 75% of all commits got offered in camp. With that said- don’t waste a weekend going 12hrs to a school that you don’t physically look like guys they recruit. Be real, go somewhere else
 7) Film- this May be (besides GPA) the deciding factor. You HAVE to make “splash” plays that jump off the screen if you want to get $ for college. If the coach pulls up your film and there is no splash, there is no $. Put your craziest plays first. Film of 2-3min. No JV/7v7 film You absolutely have to stand out & “splash” plays do that. However, any college that recruits you has a different need for that position. Tailor your film for different needs, then position yourself & your film for that need.  
 
 8) 7v7 - it is a SUPPLEMENT to your TRAINING regiment. Not for recruiting in most cases. I’m a fan of 7v7 if done properly. It shouldn’t replace other sports/training/camp schedule...
 9) other sports- play other sports in HS if you love them. Coaches always ask if he plays other sports...it must mean something to them if they keep asking. Just be sure to compete hard and be a great teammate.
 
 10) Weight room vs Indy training- you do what you need to do. Some schools do it well for free, other schools do not. Assess the situation and do what’s best for you. Caveat- having a 1v1 trainer helps you but not your team, and the sum total of everyone’s effort dictates success   11) GPA-3.0 or bust. Let’s be real-the #1-20 ranked player at your position may not need anything other than to qualify. But many FCS schools cannot get you in with a GPA below a 2.75 (there are exceptions). Hard to call yourself a future college athlete when you can’t perform in high school classroom. 12) Never ignore a coach that reached out to you. Coaching careers often look like a scatterplot-they are all over the place. You never know – the coach you ignored could eventually end up being your position coach… And he won’t forget!


PERSEVERANCE….IS IT REALLY THE KEY TO SUCCESS? PERSEVERANCE IS THE HARD WORK YOU DO AFTER YOU GET TIRED OF DOING THE HARD WORK YOU ALREADY DID. How you do anything is how you do everything. Perseverance is a steady persistence in a course of action-trying again and again. It is the inner machine that keeps you going. I’ve realized that I have to be committed in all I do to have success and not give up, no matter the circumstances. There were times I felt like shutting down this podcast. I felt drained, discouraged and thought it made no sense to continue. Can you relate to this? Ask yourself this question which will determine if perseverance is the key to success for you: “If you give up, who will fight for you?”  You may be lacking perseverance as a coach, maybe you are as a student-athlete, struggling as a sports parent, or as an individual trying to overcome a specific challenge. Sometimes it takes very little to bring you to the point of giving up when you are not seeing the result you expected. Many want to achieve what they want comfortably, but if you’re not yet successful and you’re too comfortable; You are not far from experiencing poverty. Taking risks is not comfortable: If you were to ask the most successful people in the world how they reached success, they will talk about an uncomfortable time in their life that they had to persevere through. Let’s take a look at some practical steps you can take to move forward successfully. HOW TO PERSEVERE THROUGH CHALLENGES 1. Learn how to manage stress and make time for yourself 2. Ensure you set realistic goals and develop the mental capacity to reach them. 3. Have confidence in yourself. 4. Don’t compare yourself to others; we all differ in strengths and talents, and drawing comparisons will put unfair pressure on you. 5. Stay resilient at all times. How many times have you started an important task or project but gave up when faced with a challenge? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how much you would have achieved if you didn’t give up? How long are you going to make it to the starting line but not the finish line? Are you not aching to experience the feeling of success instead of getting excited by just watching others? So what is the challenge that you are facing now and have you been tempted to go back into your comfort zone? If yes, ask yourself this question; will I benefit more from giving up and continuing the vicious cycle – in a Rat race going nowhere or persevering to accomplish my desired success?

EMILY PAPPAS, M.S. EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY WHY is there a disparity of women in the weight room compared to men? It all derives from how women have been viewed in sport since the early 1900s. Why females view lifting as a guy thing stems from years and years of misinformation and cultivation of societal norms that are currently inhibiting our female athletes success. Emily brings to light these common myths: 1. Q angle, Hormones, and Injury risks ( Alluding it is due to a "structural deficiency" perpetuates a culture that assumes females are less fit for sport. When in fact SOME females have wider hips, some do not. ACL injuries were considered an epidemic 10 years after females were allowed to engage in sport under the NCAA umbrella....yet those females were not pushed to the weight room like men. Rather than explaining this epidemic as a structural or hormonal default, we need to consider the overall systemic strength of our female athletes). 2. Lifting makes you bulky: this statement is not only incorrect but fails to recognize the neurological adaptations gained in strength training (beyond a small amount of "mass") that aids in athletic performance 3. MISSED PERIODS ARE NORMAL FOR FEMALES: completely false and a disastrous mindset. Missing periods (outside of other health issues like PCOS) are defined by REDs as due to low energy availability. This could be a entire topic in itself talking about the relationship females have with food, fear of carbs, lack of protein, body composition anxiety, and how simple nutrition education is the key to helping solve these problems. 4. ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES:t o help regulate periods (again completely false and a misguided belief that could actually lead to long term low bone density as the female ages) 5. LIFTING TOO YOUNG IS DANGEROUS: this is a huge one that applies to males as well How we as coaches can help educate our parents, other coaches, and our athletes on the importance of strength training and how to create an environment that encourages females...   Emily Pappas holds a master's of science in Kinesiology & Exercise Physiology and is the founder of Relentless Athletics. Relentless is a company driven by science that specializes in the development of female athletes. Relentless consists of a team of passionate and well-educated female sport physiologists & athletic trainers who work to provide proper education and training centered around scientifically-based approaches to strength training, sports nutrition, and sports injury rehabilitation that is specific to the female athlete population. Emily R Pappas M.S. Exercise Physiology Founder of Relentless Athletics Adjunct at Temple University  

The Coaches, The Athletes, The Parents, The Referees... How Can We Do All Four Respectfully? With the rising concerns about player safety, the research indicates that 7-on-7 football is not a fad but instead has staying power as the next generation of the sport. With national tournaments, like Pylon, Players of the Future, Adidas, Under Armor, and Left Coast Elite:the verdict is clear. 7v7 Football is here to stay.  Love it or hate, 7v7 Football brings some of the brightest kids together to compete against one another during the off season. It allows young athletes to gain recruiting exposure through platforms like Twitter and Instagram. In this episode, we discuss cleaning up the culture and attitudes that surround the competitions such: Me first attitudes by athletes Verbally bashing referees Blatant disrespect Entitled parents & athletes The debate will no doubt continue over the staying power of 7-on-7 football. Nevertheless, it's an excellent supplement to traditional 11-on-11 football when the proper leadership, culture and environment are instilled. When we focus on more than just winning, the kids will go on to be contributors at their prospective high schools because their skill level is so much higher than kids who don't participate. Because 7-on-7 is an in-your-face type of game, it helps kids learn how to compete at a high level.

Jason Brown, the coach of the Independence Community College featured on season three of Netflix's "Last Chance U," recently resigned from the position. Brown's resignation comes on the heels of his text message to a player, in which he said the following: "I am your new Hitler." The player Brown sent the text to Alexandros Alexiou, a German native. In an exchange with Alexiou, Brown told the freshman he had 17 disciplinary points out of the 25 you're allowed before getting kicked off the team. "410pm on field u German f---," Brown texted Alexiou in an exchange Alexiou posted on social media. "u have 17 points toward your 25 points ... u got an extra point for not hanging the lion poster as instructed I'm your new Hitler figure out your life." To all my fans, supporters, both past and present players, and coaches, please read the following letter that I have posted and please respect my decision. Much love to you all, W.I.N. FOREVER! Once a Pirate always a Pirate! #DREAMU pic.twitter.com/M88TcQKvDQ — Coach Brown (@INDYHEADCOACH1) February 25, 2019   In this episode, we discuss... 1. Was what he said a bad thing? Why/why not. He uses vulgar language regularly. 2. Did team/coach success play a part in this occurring? 3. What is the take away from this experience?

Thomas Stallworth is in his first season as the Giants’ assistant strength and conditioning coach. He shares his thoughts on: 1. What would you tell a young athlete (high school), with NFL aspirations how to approach the strength training process? 2. What aspects, outside of football do you think a young athlete should try and master as they work toward an NFL career? 3. What are your top 3 pieces of advice for the strength coach wanting to work at the NFL level? What is the major difference between collegiate strength & conditioning and NFL? 4. How do you approach leadership as a S & C Coach at the NFL level? Stallworth came to the Giants from Western Kentucky University, where he spent the 2017 season as the football program’s head strength and conditioning coach.  Prior to his stint at WKU, Stallworth spent one season as the head strength and conditioning coach at Fresno State University. Prior to Fresno State, Stallworth spent time at Texas Tech University after a season at North Carolina State.  Stallworth was the associate strength and condition- ing coach for three seasons at Mississippi State. That included the best season in the program in 2014, when the Bulldogs rose to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll behind the play of quarterback Dak Prescott and earned their first Orange Bowl berth since 1941.  While Stallworth was at Mississippi State University, 12 Bulldogs were drafted into the NFL, seven of them in the first three rounds, including 2012 Jim Thorpe Award winner Johnathan Banks and 2016 NFL second-team All-Pro Bernardick McKinney.  From the 2015 N.C. State team Stallworth worked with, three players were drafted, including quarterback Jacoby Brissett and defensive tackle B.J. Hill, one of the Giants’ third-round choices this year.  Stallworth previously worked as the head strength coach at FCS schools Grambling State (2008-11) and South Carolina State University (2004-08). One of his players at Grambling State was former Giants tight end Larry Donnell.  Stallworth was a linebacker at the University of Tennessee from 1997-2001, a period in which the Volunteers played in five bowl games and won the 1998 national championship, 1997 and 1998 SEC championships.  Stallworth earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Tennessee in 2001 before earning his masters from the school in sports administration in 2004. He is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in sport psychology and sports science from the University of the Rockies. Stallworth is married to the former Ingrid Garvin, and the couple has two children, India and Thomas III.

Performing Under Pressure tackles the greatest obstacle to personal success, whether in a sales presentation, at home, on the golf course, interviewing for a job, or performing onstage at Carnegie Hall. Despite sports mythology, no one rises to the occasion under pressure and does better than they do in practice. The reality is pressure makes us do worse and sometimes leads us to fail utterly. But there are things we can do to diminish its effects on our performance. Performing Under Pressure draws on research from more than 12,000 people, and features the latest research from neuroscience and from the frontline experiences of Fortune 500 employees and managers, Navy SEALS, Olympic and other elite athletes, and others. It offers 22 specific strategies each of us can use to reduce pressure in our personal and professional lives and allow us to excel better in whatever we do. Whether you’re a corporate manager, a basketball player, or a student preparing for the SAT, Performing Under Pressure will help you do your best when it matters most. To learn more about Hank Weisinger, PhD visit: www.hankweisingerphd.com

The word “leadership” gets thrown around a lot. Recruiters, parents, and coaches rant about leadership and how the Student-Athlete needs to be a leader. What many do not understand, is that leadership is something that must be learned and developed. Yes, leadership is incredibly important in a Student-Athlete, but it is not something that happens overnight. Dr. Benjamin Wax is a strategic leadership specialist with the John Maxwell Team and winner of several powerlifting and bodybuilding titles. Dr. Wax understands the proven principles that create a great leader who is exemplified through their words and actions. Dr. Wax’s academic background includes a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi and Masters from Mississippi State University. He has conducted extensive research studies, published numerous scholarly works and spoken at numerous regional and national events. Listen and learn why leadership is so closely linked with influence. You’ll also discover the immense impactof leadership, the levels of leadership, and how your Student-Athlete can develop their leadership skills. Don’t know how to improve your Student-Athlete’s leadership skills or where to start? This episode will show you how! Dr. Benjamin Wax is a performance and leadership coach who assist people in making profound shifts in their lives though 1 on 1 coaching, leadership groups, and speaking engagements. As a member of the John Maxwell Team, his group has worked with major companies from Chic-fila, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines to training programs impacting our youth in the school system. Dr. Wax academic background includes a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi, Masters and Bachelor from Mississippi State University. He is also certified as a Breakthrough Specialist and Strategic Intervention Coach through the Madanes-Robbins Center for Strategic Training by Tony Robbins (World’s Leading Authority on Coaching) and Dr. Cloe Madanes (World Renowned Psychotherapist). Perhaps his greatest lessons, the value of hard work, ethics, honesty, communication, teamwork, and doing the right thing, was learned while working with his father (Rev. Benjamin Wax, Sr.) in the family businesses and ministry (5 churches). Find out more about Dr. Wax here: http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/benjaminwax/About

ADETOLA OGUNLEWE is a sports performance coach and sports attorney who helps young athletes navigate the world of sports by understanding the mental and physical issues stalling their growth and productivity. Find him at www.athletemaestro.com or listen to his podcast, Athlete Maestro, on iTunes and other platforms. In this wonderful conversation, we discussed: The sports business in Nigeria The Nigerian education system Sports academies Overcoming an ACL injury Getting a law degree    

How To Overcome Adversity #2   Travis Daugherty explains in his book, THE LENS that the ability to overcome adversity is a hidden talent. He further explains that the ability to overcome adversity can be taught, developed, and cultivated in a student-athlete. Listen in as we supply the sports parent with answers to help their student-athlete overcome adversity. Below are 5 ways to help you get through adverse situations in sport or life. 1. Have the right mindset
Your thoughts are essential; they frame the triumphs or tragedies of your life. Getting past adversity requires a change in your belief about challenges. It is not what happens to you, but how you respond to it that is important here. 2. Stop making excuses
Excuses are the lies we tell ourselves when we’re too afraid of the future. Whatever you tell your mind will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don’t achieve your dreams, it will be because you made the decision to be detained by excuses.   3. Have faith
It takes more energy to live a life full of fear than to live one full of faith. To fear is to convince yourself to live in the walls you build yourself. To have faith is to convince yourself to embrace change. 4. Don’t take “no” for an answer
Trials will occur in life, but endurance requires you to never stop trying. Trials are one of the greatest teaching tools of life.  Dare to do the impossible! 5. Let each success energize you
With every success, we are strengthened and empowered for greater victories. You cannot become enslaved by disappointments. You must realize that every disappointment is being engineered for your destiny. The Takeaway Life can get us down, but we can pick ourselves back up. We must learn and not be limited by the experiences of our lives. We are strong, and we all have a dreamer inside of us. Anything is possible if we are willing to persevere.

Most young athletes want things fast and easy – D1 scholarship, turning pro, going to the olympics. Boredom is their great enemy and fear. Whatever success they may have is short lived, it slips through their hands as fast as it comes in. You, on the other hand, want to outlast your rivals. You are building the foundation for something that can continue to expand. To make this happen, you will have to find the right coach, mentor, and support group. You must learn early on to endure the hours of practice and drudgery, knowing that in the end all of that time will translate into a higher pleasure – mastery of a craft and of yourself. Your goal is to reach the ultimate skill level – an intuitive feel for what must come next. If you are able to overcome your anxieties and forge a fearless attitude towards life, something strange and remarkable will occur — that margin of control over circumstance increases. At its utmost point, we can even create the circumstances themselves, which is the source of the tremendous power that fearless types have had throughout history. The people who "RESPECT THE PROCESS" in their lives all share certain qualities — supreme boldness, unconventionality, fluidity, and a sense of urgency — that give them this unique advantage over their rivals.” The episode goes on to break down this law into its components, and details examples of each, as well as actionable guidelines for student-athletes, sports-parents, and coaches.  It’s a conversation you should listen to and digest, and then refer back to constantly. This is one of my favorite episodes, it provides a set of principles by which you should live by. I definitely recommend. Quotes This must be the power and the direction of your mind whenever you encounter some problem — to bore deeper and deeper until you get at something basic and at the root.
 The real poetry and beauty in life comes from an intense relationship with reality in all its aspects. Realism is in fact the ideal we must aspire to, the highest point of human rationality.
 Keep in mind the following: what you really value in life is ownership, not money. If ever there is a choice — more money or more responsibility — you must always opt for the latter. A lower - paying position that offers more room to make decisions and carve out little empires is infinitely preferable to something that pays well but constricts your movements.
 Events in life are not negative or positive. They are completely neutral...Things merely happen to you. It is your mind that chooses to interpret them as negative or positive.
 Most people wait too long to go into action, generally out of fear. They want more money or better circumstances. You must go the opposite direction and move before you think you are ready.
 Understand: it is not only what you do that must have flow, but also how you do things. It is your strategies, your methods of attacking problems, that must constantly be adapted to circumstances.
 Forgetting is a skill that you must develop in order to have emotional flow. If you cannot help but feel anger or disgust in the moment, make it a point to not let it remain the following day.


After listening to this episode, you’ll understand that same lesson, how to eliminate this fear and how to help youR Student-Athlete grow in the process. RJ Hodges is a best-selling author, speaker, coach and empowerment entrepreneur who’s list of titles include: Mission Unstoppable, You Can’t Practice At The Game, The Art of Mastering You Volume One and an audio book series called Winner Status. RJ reminds us that fear, life-balance, self-confidence, organization, and planning, weave a delicate web among the lives of the successful Student-Athletes. To make it work you’ll need to learn how to take control of your life so that your life doesn’t control you. This calls for strategies, appreciation, and understanding. Want to be able to help your Student-Athlete get rid of their anger and emotional mood swings? Have them listen to this episode with you. Their expanding mind can overcome fear, increase confidence and improve prioritization. Lastly, I want every parent, coach, and Student-Athlete to read the following quote from RJ and really take it to heart. “Start your day in peace and end your day in peace.” RJ Hodges