The Winner Will The Winner Will

The Three Rules, Ego and Being Your True Self in Sport:
Today's Winner Will Podcast is a recording of a presentation I gave in the fall at the Trinity Western University Virtual Leadership Superconference. The theme for the conference was student-athlete identity and transformational coaching in a world of change.
In this presentation, we start with "The Three Rules", which is an effective tool for athletes to utilize in the heat of competition. Then we go a little deeper and discuss ego, what it is, how it shows up in our lives and what we can do to manage it. We also talk about why it's so important to do this mental and emotional training so that you can be your true self in sport. Thank you to Carol Hofer for hosting this presentation and to three TWU student-athletes, Andrew Samual. Meaghan Mealey and Dora Komlodi, for sharing some of their athletic journey and how this training has been beneficial in improving their performance in sport, school and life. Full Podcast can be accessed at www.thewinnerwill.com

Training to become great in your sport is an amazing place to be in your life. Training your body, your skills and your mind is what it takes to become a fierce competitor. Most athletes are very
good at training their body and their skills, but in today’s competitive environment it’s not enough. If you’re training hard and still not getting the performance results you want, maybe
the issue is not physical, perhaps a tweak in your mental and emotional training is all you need. Often, a small change can make a big difference in your performance.

My guest on today’s podcast, Anna Dunn, shares her journey as an elite soccer athlete and focuses on the importance of being your true self. She talks about some major factors that can
keep athletes from progressing on their athletic journey and what she did to deal with and manage those things so that she is free to be herself and compete with confidence.

We know that when a young woman (man) knows herself, wants to be her true self, and gives herself generously to whatever she does…she will perform well when she has to.

Performance comes from a person who says, "You know what, I’m just going to be me! This is who I am and I’m going to do what’s necessary and stay in the struggle."

Have you ever competed against an athlete like that? It’s nearly impossible.

I often get the question…How do I train my mind to become the athlete who can perform under pressure? Today’s guest, Kacey Otto, shares her athletic journey and answers this question with some of the strategies she used to train the mental part of her performance.                                                    
Because Kacey trained her mind along with her physical body and skills, she overcame two very common obstacles that many developing elite-athletes face…fear of making mistakes and worrying about what other people think. At The Winner Will, we believe you can learn how to compete with confidence and perform under pressure when you do the work. I hope this episode will encourage you in your athletic pursuits!
 
 
 
 

I love the word strategy. It simply means a plan of action designed to achieve an overall aim. If your overall aim is to perform in the heat of competition, I'm going to share my strategy with you.
This simple plan of action works when you need it most. With more than three decades of experience with elite athletes as both a player and a coach, I've seen a lot of talented athletes struggle with underperformance. Despite being smart, driven athletes with big aspirations, there’s often something that keeps many of them from reaching their full potential in their sport.
Many times all of the things that are going on inside their head are holding them back. What you think about yourself, about your abilities, about pressure and competition, and the messages you're telling yourself matter a lot. Your dominant thoughts can impact your performance, whether positively or negatively. If you want to know how you can get in the right mindset for your highest performance, listen to this episode.

Making true connections can bring your game to the next level. Your connection with others will either make you or break you as an athlete.  
Have you ever had a moment when you were struggling to perform in competition, and just at the right time, someone shows up and provides the encouragement or exactly what it is that you needed and you were able to perform when you had to?  
The true connections in your life will allow you to overcome obstacles so that you can take your performance to the next level. Good or bad, the fact remains that others influence our success.  
As a student-athlete, it’s crucial to consider the kinds of connections you make in your life if you want to be able to perform under pressure. Figure out which connections will help boost you to the next level in this episode.

When it comes to talented athletes, many of them are held back by their own self-doubt more than any physical challenges that they face. They can’t stop thinking about a mistake they made when the score was tied and everyone saw, how disappointed their parents were when they lost, or the look on their coaches face when they missed an easy shot. They become trapped in their own head, stressing out over every little mistake they've made. Maybe they feel like everyone is looking at them and scrutinizing every move.
Does any of that sound familiar to you as a developing athlete?
If so, there’s a good chance that you are suffering from the ‘burden of self’. You’re carrying unnecessary mental and emotional weight into competition with you, and it's keeping you from performing your best. If you want to overcome the constant worry that you feel, this is the episode for you. You will finally be able to understand what this block is and how you can move past it by doing this mental and emotional training.