I used to listen to Whitney Houston’s I Want to Dance with Somebody before games and would get hassled by teammates (in a loving way of course) because it was different than the Eminem and Jay-Z  music blasting on their Ipods. I couldn’t explain it to anyone, let alone myself, but listening to peppy, sing along music while I got ready in the locker-room helped me in many ways. It would make me feel the way I needed to feel to tap into my “best athlete” mindset.

I would forget about whatever stress I was feeling related to school, family life back in Ohio, or drama with girlfriends/boyfriends. My endorphins would flow and I truly felt good. When I was in a good mood, feeling up, I would be excited to get out there to warm-up and play hard.

Just like self-confidence, our mood influences our mindset and behaviors. Understanding what triggers our mood is important. Working with young athletes and exploring their personal “mood changers” is exciting. I use specific techniques to help them discovery what gets them in the right mood for competition. It doesn’t take long before they realize everything we do together in my office can be applied on and off the field.

My true passion is in working with young people – helping them learn about themselves, apply techniques we’ve discovered together and watch them successfully tackle obstacles and challenges.  I am a happy professional!

 

I have a 14 year old dancer who, after a few weeks of therapy, has a goal to feel good about herself no matter what the judges write on her evaluation. She does not want to get down on herself and feel completely distressed if the judges do not like her performance, especially when she feels good about it.

To feel good about ourselves without relying on external things is important, especially for athletes if they want to make their careers last. Not every coach or judge is going to like your style of play and that’s OK; but, if we take to heart only the negative and forget why we are competing in the first place, the enjoyment and ability to stay motivated can be lost.

When I was playing in college, it was easy to only hear the things I needed to fix about my game, and it became draining. I found this quote and it really resonated with me. I put it up in my locker to remind myself about the “me” who is an athlete.

“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practices and the coaches who have pushed you…is a girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back…Play for her.”

My client, like many dancers and athletes, allow outside influences to be the dominant variable which gets in the way of their enjoyment and often their performance. How do you strike a balance between the external experience(performance, statistics, W/L) and your internal attributes(sense of pride, commitment, reliability, leadership, team player)?

I came up with an exercise to address this challenge and shared it with my client.  We started with the quote I used back in my “player days” and it prompted some insightful questions and answers. She started thinking about why she dances, what she loves (and doesn’t love) about dancing, how else does she define herself, separate from dance and together we created a more multidimensional picture of her AS a dancer and AS a person. To tell you the truth, it was really fun for both of us.

Next step, we create something together that reminds her of who she is. We both look forward to this next exercise.

http://www.podiumsportsjournal.com/2010/01/09/athletes-choices-can-help-or-hinder-the-development-of-confidence/

Like many people, I associated concussions primarily with football.  And, I definitely did not understand the significance of a client telling me they were having constant headaches after a fall.

I have been working with a top dancer in the Greater New York area. She recently had a fall where she hurt her back and hit her head on the floor. She was referred to me because she was struggling physically and emotionally after this injury.

We were working as a team – the dancer, her mom, the teacher, a physical therapist and me – trying to figure out the cause of her symptoms (headaches, fatigue, irritability, difficulty doing routine dance moves) so a treatment plan could be put in place to help her get back to “normal.” The dancer (I’ll call her Arielle) complained of headaches, but did not think much about them. Her back pain was of most concern and she dismissed the idea that she was anxious. Her dance teacher and mother felt the headaches were psychological, as it was coming close to performance time. The physical therapist was managing her back pain, so I wanted to know more about this long list of symptoms and what might be causing them.

When I looked more carefully at the symptom list and listened to Arielle’s complaints, I had an “ah-ha” moment. Arielle may have had a concussion. I remember hearing about post-concussive symptoms, hers fit the bill, and how they can linger for months. Bingo!

I spoke with the Arielle and the others and suggested they make an appointment with a neurologist to better assess whether she had a concussion and if her symptoms were a result of the mild brain injury. Everyone felt hopeful there might be an answer.

The neurologist was able to confirm Arielle had a concussion and the symptoms were a result of this “silent” injury. She had to stop all dance until she had 3 full days of no headaches. She is not allowed to watch TV or play on her computer, so her brain has time to heal. A concussion, in the simplest sense of the word is a bruise on the brain. It takes time and rest for it to heal properly. Although Arielle has a way to go before she is symptom-free, she is relieved to have a treatment plan that will help her feel better.

Link to more information:
http://www.hss.edu/conditions_concussion-in-the-athlete.asp

It’s worth discussing. As parents trying to be “Good Enough Sports Parents” we recognize the need to enroll our kids in organized sports to test out their interest in the sport and learn new skills. Our generation has ramped up this entry level experience to include sports camps, individual lessons, personal training, yoga, etc. mainly because we feel like being a good enough sports parent means enrolling our kids in everything available. To NOT do this almost feels like we’re letting our child down, depriving them of the chance to shine early… and often.

Much of the consternation among parents is about which programs to enroll her/him in to get the best sports experience to improve skills, gain an edge during try outs and improve the likelihood of their being recruited.

The discussion around the character evaluation of individuals who will coach our kids/teens/young adults is rarely top of mind. But, discussions about coaches do come up.

“Watch out for her, she is nasty to the girls. Her language – horrible! She singles out her players and let’s them have it.”

“I’ve had numerous parents tell me he belittles those boys to the point that they are in tears. I’m just glad my son got through it unscathed.”

“I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard he talks to the boys about his sex life and body parts. I think someone went to the A.D. to complain, but I don’t know what happened.”

“Because my daughter quit her team, she has taken every opportunity available to make snide remarks about my daughter, right in front of her! Most of these coaches are teachers so the kids still have to interact with them.”

All of these examples are troubling because they harm our kid’s sense of self. When a person in a position of power uses threatening language, shaming tactics to motivate or crosses a clear boundary, it effects kids in a negative way. The words and actions of our kid’s coaches may not be criminal, but they can certainly be harmful.

Joe Ehrmann has devoted his post-NFL life to helping coaches be the best they can be in service to improving their athletes’ lives. His “Coach For America: Winning In Life Is Everything” is a must read for parents and coaches. His books offer practical advise and real life insights for those working with or raising an athlete.

The Penn State abuse scandal has stirred up a great deal of pain. Thank goodness the media will elevate people like Joe, so we can learn how to heal and how to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again.