Journey of a Dream

If you're in need of a little inspiration today, here is a poem written by Lanny that often gets over looked because it appears before the Table of Contents in With Winning in Mind. I hope you enjoy it and share it with friends and family.

Journey Of A Dream

A dream is born in the mind,
A picture of what might be
A vision of a new and better life.
But if it stays in the mind,
It becomes another wish unfulfilled.

It must move on

The dream moves to the heart,
Feelings surround it, giving it life.
But if it stays in the heart,
It becomes a “could have been,”
Dying in the fire of emotion.

It must move on.

The dream moves to the hands,
There to be put into action
Having been given life in the heart,
It comes to fruition through work.
But if the dream stays in your hands,
It becomes self-serving.

It must move on.

So place your hand in the hand of another,
And the dream moves on…forever.

-Lanny Bassham

Fort Worth Champions

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History has a new exhibit called Fort Worth Champions that features stories of hometown athletes who have created a lasting sports legacy for themselves. And guess who is featured at the exhibit?

Mental Management’s Lanny Bassham is honored to be included in the Fort Worth Champions exhibit. Lanny is sharing the exhibit with legends like Davey O’ Brien, TCU and Eagles football player, and Dallas Cowboy Bob Lilly and his 1972 Super Bowl championship ring.

Come and view Lanny’s medals and Olympic rifle! They will be on display at the exhibit.

The exhibit will feature not only the symbols of these athletes’ accomplishments, but video, photographs, interviews, statistics, historical mementos, and reasons for why they became so successful in their sport. The exhibit will also have a future champions section which showcases promising young local athletes who may be on their way to becoming legends themselves.

To find out more about the exhibit, click here.

If you visit or already visited the exhibit, write a comment to tell us about your experience!

Honda Classic - Congrats to Rory Sabbatini and Jerry Kelly

Congrats to Mental Management students Rory Sabbatini and Jerry Kelly for their success today at the Honda Classic.

Rory won and Jerry placed 3rd!

Rory attended Mental Management training in 2008.

World Archery Festival - Freestyle Bowhunter Champion, Chris Berry

Congrats to Mental Management client, Chris Berry for his recent archery WINS! Way to go Chris!! He sent us this email recently with some pictures for our blog.

The last 3 weeks on the Hunt for a Vegas Win:

First I got to go to Lancaster Archery Classic in Lancaster PA and shoot that shoot (My first time) I was able to win and set a new record for score.

Than off to Vegas for the World Archery Festival Vegas Shoot after setting up our Alpine Archery booth helping other sponsors with there set up.(Please notice the targets from out great shooters, we hung everyone’s targets and by the end of Sunday we had the whole booth covered.)

I was able to put up 3 solid scores for my first Vegas Championship on Sunday afternoon.

Helping the Frustrated Athlete

This article, written by Troy Bassham, appeared in the June 2009 Newsletter. It's a great article for parents and coaches who want to do more than simply coach their young athletes, but inspire and motivate them.

If this article interests you, you may be interested in attending our upcoming Coaches Training Seminar this summer. The seminar will cover concepts discussed in this article and much much more. For more information on the Coaches Training Seminar, call 972-899-9640.

HELPING THE FRUSTRATED ATHLETE

Sometimes we don't get the results we want in life. It could be a bad grade on a report card, or a loss in a competition, or not performing up to standard. There are going to be many situations that will occur when a parent and or coach will have to deal with the frustrated player. So how do you handle someone who is upset and frustrated over their performance?

Anytime I am dealing with a young athlete, whether they are 10 or 19, I always remember the "Principle of the Picture"! This principle states, "It's not important what you say, it's critical what you cause the other person to picture." I handle their situation like I handle most of them, I follow three steps and make sure I remember the most important opportunity that I have at that moment (we'll get to that at the end).

Step 1: You must recognize the accomplishment
It doesn't matter how the performance went or what happened, we must look at the good that can come from it. I remember working with a young golfer, he was 17, and he was very upset with his score. He shot a 78 on a course that he knows very well. "I should have had par or better, but I messed up! I hate this feeling", he said in a frustrated tone. I asked him, "What went well today?" He replied, "I had a birdie on the first hole, but it was the only one I had all day." I said, "Great! What an accomplishment. Imagine if you birdied every first hole of every tournament you entered. How would that make you feel? It's like you to start the tournament well. You have had several tournaments where you started off with a birdie, that's great."

Step 2: Get the athlete involved with the solution
Once I praised him for his accomplishment I needed to address the issue at hand with caution. I want the individual to come up with some ways to help improve his game and the best way to do this is to ask them a question. "If you had a chance to prepare for this event all over, what are some of the things you would do differently to help insure that your good play would last the whole day?" This forces the individual to look at solutions and not focus on the problem or his bad performance. Kids are ten times more motivated to do something if the idea comes from them, rather than from an outside source. So by asking this question they create a possible solution to do better next time.

Step 3: Replace But with What
This is a carry over from step two, but it's important. I can't tell you how many times I have overheard a parent tell their kid what they did well, only to follow it up with BUT... The conversation after the word but is not a positive one. Both my girls play soccer and after a game you will usually hear parents express their praise or disbelief to their players. One time a coach made this comment to his daughter, "You played so well the first half, but what happened in the second half? You played horrible; it was like you didn't want to be there. You couldn't pass the ball; you weren't getting open for a pass, what gives?" Now ask yourself, "What do you think his daughter was picturing in her mind. I'm sure this father is only trying to help, but what the kid is picturing is it doesn't matter how good I do, you only focus on the bad. This will tear up the self image of the player and in some cases, it makes them leave the sport.

Instead of pointing out the good and following it up with but, follow it up with what. Let your child know what you're proud of and give them the due props for their accomplishments and then address the issue with what can we do to improve type of question. This will get them involved in the solution and make them feel like they are on the right path to success.

When this situation happens we have an opportunity to help build the player, this is an important thing to do as coaches and parents. Becoming is just as important, if not more important, as accomplishing. This situation allows us to help them become the athlete, student, or worker they want to become. The reason for short falls in performance often lie in the individual not having the proper habits and attitudes of the person they want to become. It's our job to help guide them toward obtaining habits and attitudes of champions so they can reach their goals.

Written by: Troy Bassham, Master Level Mental Management Instructor and Director of Junior Development for Mental Management Systems - to reach Troy send an email to info@mentalmanagement.com