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How Tiger Woods Can Help You

By Mike Tully

 
Tiger Woods had just won another golf tournament,
and the TV commentators were recapping the
victory.

It seems that Tiger had played brilliantly early
in the final round, and the not so brilliantly at
the end. He still managed to win the event easily,
and one of the commentators asked a golf expert,
"What will Tiger remember from this round? The
holes where he played very well, or the holes were
he didn't play well."

The golf expert's answer can make a profound
difference in the how much you achieve in
volleyball.

Here is what the expert said: "What Tiger will
remember about this tournament is HOW EASY IT IS
TO LOSE YOUR FOCUS."

Even for the best golfer in the world, one minute
you can be playing at the peak of your game. The
next minute, if you're not careful, things can
fall apart.

Some people think that ups and down are an
accident. "It's just something that happens. It's
the nature of the game." To a certain extent,
that's true. No one can be at their peak all the time.

However, there's more to it than the nature of the
game. It's a matter of focus.

Just think of some of the issues that may have
come up in your gym.

-We always seem to have trouble against that team
(or in that gym). 

-Our serving is fine until game point. Then it gets shaky.

-We look like world-beaters in Game 1, then fall apart in Game 2.  

All of these issues can be improved through
proper focus. They all come down to focusing on
the present, and on the ball, instead of on the
future, or the scoreboard. And when the focus
varies even a little bit, the results can be
dramatically unpleasant.

Remember, all of life comes down to the simple
choice of focusing either on the right thing or on
the wrong thing. As coaches, we can help our
athletes improve by keeping them focused on the
right thing.

Have them focus on consistent technique instead of
where the ball goes on any one particular play.
Have them focus on what they CAN do instead of
what they CAN'T do.  

If you begin to look at your practices through the
prism of focus, you will not only have better
practices, but you will be teaching your athletes a
valuable life lesson. 
 

-Mike Tully is a member of the "Yes, I Can!"
coaching staff. You can hear him now on his "Pep
Talk" hotline at (973) 773-2151.