On Monday,Dansby Swanson was selected as the #1 overall selection in the Major League Baseball draft. It was not an accident or a stroke of luck for the Vanderbilt shortstop who has been intentional in his growth and develop as a baseball player from a very early age. We are constantly telling our team that success leaves clues and Swanson's story certainly bears that out. Ironically, Lipscomb coach Greg Brown has forwarded me an article last week on Swanson that was written by Adam Sparks of The Tennessean. It was very well written and you can read it in it's entirety here. Below are a few of my take aways from Adam's article to share with our team. My comments will be listed in gold-bold-italics:
The large majority of success stories and a strong vision of where they go. They also are locked in on that vision to the point that they can become tunneled vision. As Vince Lombardi said, "Success demands singleness of purpose." Adam's wrote of this part of Swanson: Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson had no plan B for his life other than baseball. Dansby opted for the one-track career path.
"I never had another one (besides baseball)," he said. "I couldn't even tell you a different one right now."
Another characteristic of high achievers is that they set goals -- goals that are specific and lofty. Then they make a plan and go about working on achieving those goals. I absolutely love this part of Adam's story on Swanson meeting with Vandy Coach Tim Corbin:
Swanson's goals were always set high. As a freshman, he told Commodores coach Tim Corbin, "I want to be the best player that's ever played at Vanderbilt," and that was before he even played a college game.
Earlier this week, the two-time All-American was named, along with teammate Carson Fulmer, one of four finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the top amateur player in the nation. This weekend, he leads his team in the NCAA Super Regional against Illinois for the chance to defend the Commodores' college baseball title.
Goals are not enough to get you there however. Once the plan is laid out you have to go about working the plan. This always includes obstacles and sacrifices. Adams points out that Swanson not only invested in his dream with hard work but also financially as he paid a major portion of his tuition to Vanderbilt:
But his path wasn't certain. Swanson took out student loans to come to Vanderbilt, supplementing his athletic scholarship and financial aid to pay for the private school's pricey tuition rather than choosing a less-expensive option at a state university.
Swanson did not disclose the amount of his debt, but he recognizes the trust he put in his own talent. "I was willing to take whatever risk there was – 100 percent," Swanson said. "I knew coming here would be the correct first step in getting where I wanted to be because of Corbs. He's the best at what he does. ... Everyone who comes here excels, and not just in baseball."
In an era of helicopter parents who constantly work to eliminate adversity and obstacles for their children (which ironically become adversity and obstacles for their children), Swanson's parents were the exact opposite:
Corbin said Dansby's parents are ideal for an accomplished college athlete because they step away.
"They aren't hovering over him. I haven't heard from them. It's perfect, perfect!" Corbin said. "... Just give me your son and I'll get him back to you, hopefully a little better than he arrived. He's a helluva kid, something special."
The other part of Adam's story that resonated with me was how Swanson handled himself. He was a servant leadership which certainly is another piece of Vanderbilt's baseball success. Any baseball person will appreciate the story of Swanson and the rain delay:
But Corbin said jealousy hasn't bitten Swanson's teammates because he "does everything top shelf … including picking up buckets and serving other people."
At the SEC Championship game in Hoover, Ala., the stadium grounds crew saw that first-hand when Swanson led the team out of the dugout during a downpour to help pull out the heavy rain tarp. Florida players later followed before quickly returning to shelter.
As the rain continued, the grounds crew kept Swanson and his Vanderbilt teammates on the field to shake their hands and thank them for the much-needed help.
"That's our family's Christian background," Cooter said. "The leader is the servant."
And for us as coaches, its important to share with our teams that character still matters as Adam writes:
In draft scouting reports, Swanson's character and leadership qualities are listed in equal portions to his hitting prowess, arm strength and fielding range.
"What you've got on the field is obviously what you see, but he's even better off the field," said Fulmer, the SEC Pitcher of the Year and Swanson's roommate.
Ten minutes after his team was eliminated from the SEC Tournament by Vanderbilt, Texas A&M coach Rob Childress called Swanson "a superstar human being … (who is) going to play for a long, long time — not just because of his great talent, but because of his great character."
I thought this would be appropriate since it is "Meyer Monday" and we are all in the beginning phases of running/attending summer camps.
The following is the camp philosophy utilized by Coach Don Meyer and his staff to run one of the greatest camps in the sport of basketball. Coach Meyer's camps went beyond the mas-sive numbers they accumulated each summer but also impacted the institution where they were located. Elite coaches would travel the country to watch Coach Meyer teach and oper-ate his basketball camps. The philosophy is simple but imagine if you change the word "campers" to "student-athletes" the impact it would have on your basketball program.
1. Our campers come first. 2. We will give our campers and their needs our highest priority.
3. We treat campers and each other as we wish to be treated.
4. We provide excellence in teaching basketball to all of our campers.
5. We continue to evaluate and improve our efforts. 6. We will take personal responsibility for finding or creating a solution to any problem or complaint that a camper or family member may have. 7. We will do our part to ensure the success of the Wolves Basketball Camp.
This past spring at the A Step Up Assistant Coaching Symposium, the "Legends Speaker" was Lin Dunn. She gave an outstanding keynote address which included three things she thought necessary for success:
1. Strive everyday to be the best you can be Make sure that you are all in in all you do. She loves coaches that our gym rats. Goals: Have short, medium and long range -- write 'em down
2. Expect failure Know it is a wonderful opportunity to improve Be better, not bitter Hold yourself accountable...No excuses Maintain a positive attitude
3. Know what real success is What are you striving for Health, happiness, friends and family
The following is some excerpts from an article written in the San Francisco Chronicle by Ann Killion. You can read the entire articlehere but below are some take aways from Killion's piece that delves into a philosophical decision that Golden State made in developing a championship contending program:
The most successful path to a championship seems to be when owners hire smart people to run their teams and then let them do their jobs. When leaders, as in the coach and general manager, are able to put aside their individual egos and collaborate. When teams acquire high-quality athletes and astute coaches push them to become better.
The Warriors made a conscious decision a few years ago, before Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the team, before head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers arrived, before executive Rick Welts and consultant Jerry West came on board. Former general manager and current director of scouting Larry Riley decided to make character a priority. To acquire players you could be proud to have wearing your jersey. After knuckleheads like gun-wielding Stephen Jackson or scooter-crashing Monta Ellis, the Warriors wanted something different.
And they found a high-character guy in Stephen Curry.
That doesn’t always work. The Warriors, after all, drafted a super nice player named Todd Fuller once upon a time. The key is the right talent packaged with high character.
The Warriors’ path is similar to the direction the Giants took after the team’s reputation was tainted by Barry Bonds’ steroid scandal, and its clubhouse had been a divided, unhappy place for years. The Giants wanted a leader, a new face, a “rock-solid guy,” in the words of general manager Brian Sabean. So they drafted Buster Posey. And now everyone has three rings.
A high-character leader sets the tone. As Warriors forward David Lee said this season, if your best player isn’t a jerk, no one else is allowed to be. A high-character guy won’t pout if his coach is replaced, won’t make trouble about his salary, won’t stiff the media or the fans. Won’t stop working to get better on both ends of the floor.
A close relationship between the general manager and the coach is useful. We’ve seen that with the Giants. The Warriors have it as well.
Kerr calls Myers a facilitator.
“He generates a lot of conversation,” Kerr said. “A lot of calm, healthy dialogue in a really productive way. In a business where things can become very emotional, Bob is kind of the soothing hand.”
Ask Kerr, who has five rings and a Ph.D. in championship teams, what such groups have in common and he doesn’t hesitate to answer:
“Defense.”
Luke Walton, who won two rings with the Lakers, agrees.
“At the top of the list is defense,” Walton said.
Hard-working defensive teams are, by their nature, unselfish and collaborative.
“It all ties together,” Kerr said. “If you can really count on your defense, it probably means you have guys who are high character. They care about winning and about each other, so they’re going to make the sacrifice. Maybe it’s their points, maybe it’s their shot attempts, maybe it’s their minutes.”
Walton said that having the right leadership is important.
“It’s really hard to win an NBA title,” Walton said. “It’s the coaches’ job to keep everybody calm and level. Character comes into play in the rough times. When guys can count on each other and know their teammates are still going to do the right thing, even if they’re down by 15. You have to be able to trust people.
“Guys on a championship team sacrifice their own personal talents or success for the better of the team. A lot of people in the NBA pout when that happens. But on the top teams, they embrace it.”
Make no mistake: Jerks can win championships. Stupid and selfish players can get rings.
But what we’ve learned in our petri dish of Bay Area sports is that the path to a championship is easier — and arguably more rewarding — when you have talented players but can also add brains, collaboration and quality character into the mix.
Thanks to Point Guard College who tweeted this story out on the importance of communication on defense that ran on The Cauldron. It was written by Jared Dubin and is the best thing I've seen in my 30+ years of coaching on defensive communication. It's a lengthy and outstanding piece and you can read it in it's entirety here. However, here are some key take aways I got from the article:
Ask any coach or player in the NBA what the most important aspect of a good defense is, and without fail, they will give you the same answer: communication. Gasol, one of the league’s best defenders himself, understands the paramount importance of talking while defending.
“Communicate early. That’s one key that I think basketball is losing, is how important it is to know, not just to know what action is happening, but to let your teammate know where his help is at,” Gasol said. “I think that we don’t practice that enough as basketball players. Not only as a team, but as players. Knowing where your help is, and knowing what’s happening, really helps.”
Defensive chatter sounds simple enough, but it often eludes NBA teams, especially the younger ones.
“Communication, it boils down to, as much as anything, just understanding what you’re doing,” Flip Saunders said. “If you’re talking, you’re not worried about what you have to do. Young players, many times, they’re thinking about what they have to do because it’s new to them.
“It’s probably the biggest thing with young players, is their lack of communication. They don’t come out [of college] as good communicators. That’s something we all try to instill. KG (Kevin Garnett) will try. I believe that when they see him practice, and when they see how much he communicates and they see the impact it has, they’ll try to do it. But it’s one of those things that sometimes it takes a long time. It takes a year. It took KG a long time to get (Kendrick) Perkins to be a communicator, and he wound up maybe talking too much at times.”
The Timberwolves’ acquisition of Garnett at the February trading deadline reeked of nostalgia for a floundering franchise, and Minnesota gave up 26-year-old forward Thaddeus Young to get him, but there was a huge reason Saunders wanted Garnett beyond giving the fan base a throwback to the team’s greatest era: He might be the most legendary defensive communicator in the history of the league.
Shaun Livingston spent the 2013–14 season playing with Garnett on the Brooklyn Nets. He’s played with nine teams in his 11-year career.
“Garnett was the best,” he said about defensive communicators. “At all times, no matter what arena, no matter what atmosphere: you’re gonna hear him.”
Glen Davis also played with Garnett on the “Big Three” Celtics teams that were consistently among the best in the league at point prevention. Right from the jump, Big Baby said, Garnett hammered home the importance of always talking on defense, always letting your teammates know what’s happening, where you are, and where they should be. “Communication was one of his biggest things [with the Celtics],” Davis said. “We really figured out that had a lot to do with our success. Everybody started buying in.”
Ask anyone involved with the Clippers (who isn’t named Glenn) about the team’s defense, and they’ll name three catalysts for the success they have on that end: Chris Paul, Matt Barnes and DeAndre Jordan. Together, they form the backbone of a stingy starting lineup. Paired with Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick, that trio allowed just 100.0 points per 100 possessions this season. That’s the full-season equivalent of the Wizards’ No. 5-ranked defense. When even one of those players sat down, the Clips’ defensive rating jumped to 104.8 — or, the NBA’s 22nd-best defensive unit.
Within that group, Paul is the first line, the advance unit. His job is to relentlessly pressure the ball, shaving precious seconds off the shot clock and forcing poor decisions. He helps in the post, swipes at drivers who pass too close to his area, and Richard Shermans his way into passing lanes for steals. Barnes is the stopper, sinking his teeth into the opposition’s best perimeter scorer on any given night. And Jordan is the back line maestro, standing tall and getting his KG on, using that baritone voice and those gargantuan arms to conduct the action from the back line.
“Calling out screens, calling out plays, calling out situations late in the shot clock where we’re gonna switch,” Jordan said. “I’m usually in the back, so I can see everything that’s going on or that’s about to develop. So I try to give us a head start on plays.”
“We all talk, but myself and DeAndre are kind of the anchors of our defense,” Barnes said. “We just try to quarterback everybody, cover for each other’s mistakes and play hard. DeAndre knows every play. I take my hat off to him. He really studies the scouting report, and whenever they call a play, DJ calls it out. We all go with his call and get ready to play defense.”
There may be no team in the NBA that talks more than the Golden State Warriors. For the Dubs, Andrew Bogut is the man the middle, the anchor, the last line; he’s responsible for both deterrence and disruption should any opposing player dare venture into his paint. But above all of these things, he’s responsible for letting his teammates know what’s happening around them.
“I think it’s an important role for me,” Bogut said. “I need to be loud and verbalize everything that’s going on because otherwise the guards are going to get hit by screens and our defense will break down. That’s one of my main roles defensively, to make sure guys know what’s going on.”
Bogut credits the veterans he played alongside early in his career with teaching him the importance of studying sets and tendencies off the court. By being mentally prepared for his opponents, he would see a play starting to develop and know what was coming. Perhaps more importantly, he’d be able to clue his teammates in, too.
“It’s easier [to communicate a switch when you know you’re going to be doing it],” said Shaun Livingston, now a backup guard on the Warriors. “You’ve got to communicate it anyway though, because if you don’t, then that’s how breakdowns happen.”
The Dubs don’t just talk to make things easier on themselves, though. Livingston, like many other players around the league, feels it plays a role in gaining a psychological edge over your opponent.
“You learn, as you get in the league, communication can become contagious and also it can be intimidating for other teams,” he said. “If we’re playing cards and I already know your hand, then it’s like I already know your next move.”
Sniffing out actions before they develop is the kind of thing that can happen when you spend a long time executing the same system, with the same players. If you see the same plays from opposing teams over and over, and you’ve reacted to it — together, as a unit — hundreds, if not thousands, of times, you can cultivate a sixth sense not only for where the opposition wants to go, but where your teammates will be, and when. Five guys who have been through a lot together and know each other’s tendencies can even develop a system of communication that goes beyond words.
The San Antonio Spurs are the model organization when it comes to stability. They’ve had the same core of key players — Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili — for what seems like forever, Gregg Popovich has been running things since George Bush was the Governor of Texas, and R.C. Buford has been with the organization almost as long. Even the “newer” pieces, like shooting guard Danny Green, have been there for a couple years and have picked up on the Spursian language.
“It’s easy with communication or with the look of an eye, or a facial expression, of what we want to do or where we want to be,” Green said. “It’s easy to communicate without having to talk every play or every possession. We can use gestures or communication with hand signals for us to be in the right places.”
Green knows that if he points a certain way when guarding a pick-and-roll, Tim Duncan will help him ice the ball-handler into the short corner and away from danger. That kind of “corporate knowledge,” as Popovich calls it, is the key to the Spurs’ success on both ends.
“Corporate knowledge is always good if you have a group that’s been together,” Popovich said. “You need to have that to have the trust and the rhythm. Everybody talks about rhythm offensively, but defensively it’s just as important to have that same crew who knows how to react to each other.”
Gasol: “I always try to get the call as soon as we can. If one man is really close, especially on the free throws, the coach will tell the opposing team, and Mike is right there to listen and pick it up.”
Conley: “I normally relay the play back to him. I yell it back to him and he’ll start putting people into position.”
Gasol: “And once I hear it, I know what the play is and I try to get my teammates ready for, not just the play call, but the action that they want to score off. After that, it’s reads and reactions.”
Gasol is not blessed with the physical gifts of a Dwight Howard or Nerlens Noel. He’s not what you’d call a springy athlete. He doesn’t jump out of the gym. His high-level defensive play is, first and foremost, a result of intellect and communication. He relies on copious film study, play recognition, and communication from his teammates to put himself in the right position for every play.
“There’s other guys, they have athleticism that I don’t have. They don’t have to foresee the play or try to get ahead. They are so athletic that they can wait, and let the play happen and still get out there and block it. I can’t do that,” Gasol said. “It’s not my game. I have to get there before the other guy gets there or I’m going to get a foul. I have to get there before the play even happens.”
And unlike most big men, Gasol said he’s been drilled on the importance of defensive communication for nearly his whole basketball life. “I was brought up that way. I was always taught basketball that way. How important it is.” Gasol credits his coaches and the development staff in Spain for teaching him the game like that.
The following comes a wonderful book"How Champions Think" by Dr. Bob Rotella. Below is one of the most important concepts that today's athletes must understand. We live in an instant gratification era where we all want what we all want and we want it right now. That includes rewards, awards and glory. But those are difficult to obtain, as they well should be. It is critical that athletes understand the grind of achievement and that they embrace the grind. Here is a great story from Dr. Rotella: The easiest way to keep a commitment is to love what you’re doing, as
Anthony and Michael love basketball and Keegan loves golf. But you have to love
the entirety of what you’re doing, not just the occasional glory and rewards. I
remember a few years ago, Tom Kite and I were asked to speak about attitude to
a group of PGA Tour rookies. Tom spoke first. “I’m going to let Doc do most of
the talking,” he said. “I’m only going to tell y’all one thing.” I was
immediately eager to know what the one thing was. Tom didn’t disappoint me. “If
you’re going to play the Tour, you have to love golf all the time,” he said. “It’s not going to work if you can only
love it when everything’s going your way, every putt’s going in the hole, and
every carom Is bouncing into the fairway instead of out of bounds. It’s not
going to work if you practice every day and only love it when the ball is going
where you’re looking. You’ve got to love it when you practice day after day
after day and you can’t find it. You’ve got to love it when every putt looks
like it’s going in and then lips out. That’s what it’s about.”
There is so much talk and thought given into the organization and design of practices. Good coaches understand the importance of detail -- of stringing practice together in a conducive matter to learning...part-whole. But great coaches understand the importance of finding ways to make practice enjoyable. They give thought to teaching but they also figure out ways to make sure the players are excited about practice each day.
The following is an excerpt from the New York Times of a story written by Scott Cacciola:
The Golden State Warriors are a joy to watch. Their offense is based on movement and spacing, all five players working together to create open shots. If Coach Steve Kerr is the conductor, Stephen Curry is his soloist, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound virtuoso in high-tops.
So their practices must be incredibly organized and disciplined, right? Laser-beam focus and all that? It is the only reasonable conclusion, given the way the Warriors steamrollered their opposition en route to the N.B.A. finals. But Golden State, whose best-of-seven series against the Cleveland Cavaliers starts Thursday, has a dirty secret.
“I’ve told Steve, if someone came in and watched the way you practice, it would be embarrassing for you as a coach,” said Bruce Fraser, one of his assistants.
Specifically, it has to do with the way the Warriors start their practices. The players form four lines to jog and get loose, which is normal enough, but then things get weird.
They warm up by launching a series of court-length shots — heaves that graze light fixtures and ricochet off shot clocks, total prayers that occasionally reach the rim but more often than not leave members of the coaching staff scrambling for safety.
Yes, the Warriors typically turn the first five to 10 minutes of every practice into something that looks more like middle-school recess.
“When we’re warming up and stuff,” Curry said, “you see balls just flying everywhere.”
Kerr, in his first season with the Warriors, contributes by having Nick U’Ren, a special assistant and the team’s manager of advanced scouting, blast loud music to ratchet up the energy. It all happens behind closed doors, so there have been few witnesses to the actual chaos, but players cite those first few minutes of practice as surprisingly important, a subtle key to their success this season.
“The whole atmosphere of our team is very relaxed,” said Festus Ezeli, a backup center. “It’s only basketball, so why not have fun?”
You can (and should) read the entire article here.
Rick Majerus Concepts of Summer Pick Up Games A great set of guidelines for Coach Majerus who was obviously dedicating his team's off-season to pressuring the ball and the passing lanes. The key question is what guidelines have you gave your team to help develop in the areas that important to you.
Individual Ball Handling Drills from Coach Don Meyer No better teacher in the game than Coach Meyer. Here is one of our blog posts that includes a video of some of Coach Meyer's players executing some of his dribbling maneuvers.
Morgan Wooten: Post Season Evaluations The ability to take a reflective look back on the season and be able to decide what needs to be adjusted is a key to growth. Here is a good checklist from one of the greats in our business.
Off-Season Shooting Program This post has some good guidelines for how to operate a summer shooting program as well as a good video of a shooting drill by J.J. Reddick .
Creative Strength & Conditioning Good stuff here from the Florida men's basketball program. Strength and conditioning in the summer is difficult -- it has to be for gains. But it can be made enjoyable for competitive athletes. There's a video attached of some of the stuff done at Florida.
The following is an excerpt written byDr. Bob Rotella. I have become a big Dr. Rotella fan having read his book"How Championships Think."This particular piece, he wrote for Golf Digestback in 2009. I came across it a few days ago and it is still incredibly relevant. You can read the entire price in it's entirety here.
#1Believe you can win. I still remember my first major, the 1985 city championship in Charlottesville, Va. Back then I didn't play a lot of golf, but I wanted to see how good the players in my town were. I shot in the 80s and finished third from last. When I got done, I decided to follow the leaders so I could see how my game compared. After watching them for 18 holes, my evaluation was this: They hit it farther than I did. They hit it straighter. Their bunker play was fantastic. And they chipped and putted better. But I left there believing that if those guys could win, so could I. I worked on my game, and over time I got better, including one winter when all I did each day after work was hit bunker shots. Eight years after I first competed, I made a 12-foot putt on 18 to win my city championship.
#2Don't be seduced by results. How can Trevor Immelman get to the 18th green of the final round of the 2008 Masters and not know where he stands? It's called staying in the present, and it's a philosophy I teach all the players I work with. It means not allowing yourself to be seduced by a score or by winning until you run out of holes. Instead, you get lost in the process of executing each shot and accept the result. Before Trevor teed off on Sunday with a two-shot lead, he decided he wouldn't look at leader boards. He had a plan: Pick a target, visualize the shot and let it rip. As Trevor walked up the 18th fairway, Brandt Snedeker put his arm around him and nudged him to walk ahead. Trevor told me it was the first time all day he allowed himself to think about the outcome. After marking his ball, he asked his caddie how they were doing. His caddie said he had a three-stroke lead over Tiger. Trevor said he went from being quiet and calm inside to thinking, How can I not five-putt this?
#3Sulking won't get you anything. The worst thing you can do for your prospects of winning is to get down when things don't go well. If you start feeling sorry for yourself or thinking the golf gods are conspiring against you, you're not focused on the next shot. When Padraig Harrington won the British Open in 2007, he got up and down for a double-bogey 6 on the last hole to make a playoff after knocking two balls into the water. Padraig told me he had a level of acceptance that earlier in his career he didn't have. He said it never entered his mind that he might blow the tournament. His only thought was getting his ball in the hole so he could win the playoff.
#4Beat them with patience. Every time you have the urge to make an aggressive play, go with the more conservative one. You'll always be OK. In a tournament, the rough is thicker, the pins are tougher, and the greens are faster. The moment you get impatient, bad things happen.
#5Ignore unsolicited swing advice. Not too long ago, I was working with this player who was struggling. But a couple of strong finishes had him feeling better. At the next tournament he makes, like, eight birdies in the first round. Now he's feeling really good. He stops by the putting green to hit a few, and a player he knows walks up to him and says: "I don't know what you're doing with your putting, but that's not the way you used to set up." A few minutes later another player comes over: "You don't have your eyes over the ball the way you used to." Now my guy doesn't know what to think. He went from making everything he looked at to being a mess the next day. You'll have lots of well-meaning friends who want to give you advice. Don't accept it. In fact, stop them before they can say a word. Their comments will creep into your mind when you're on the course. If you've worked on your game, commit to the plan and stay confident.
#6Embrace your golf personality. Some players like Anthony Kim love to socialize on the course. Others like Retief Goosen keep to themselves. The key is to find what works best for you. The toughest player, mentally and emotionally, I've ever worked with is Pat Bradley, the LPGA Tour Hall of Famer. She was like Ben Hogan -- she didn't talk to anybody when she played. She told me she didn't have time to chat with players because she had an ongoing dialogue with herself. I still remember the day she called to tell me she was done. She'd been on the range before a tournament giving tips to other players. Later, on the first few holes, she found herself chitchatting with her playing partners. "I can't play golf this way," she told me. "I'm done. I've accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish."
#7Have a routine to lean on. I tell players to follow a mental and physical routine on every shot. It keeps you focused on what you have to do, and when the pressure is on, it helps you manage your nerves. A pre-shot routine helped Curtis Strange win his first U.S. Open, in 1988. Afterward he went home and watched the tape with his wife and kids. He told me they kept commenting on how cool and calm he looked. Curtis said to me: "I'm thinking, Who in the world are they talking about? They can't be talking about me. I couldn't get any moisture in my mouth. My heart was jumping out of my chest." Curtis said he had so much emotion in his body it was unbelievable. He was working his tail off just to stay in the present, hit one shot at a time and not think about what it would mean to win the U.S. Open.
‘It's easy to build up a tournament into something so huge that you can't play.’
#8Find peace on the course. When you practice hard and admit to yourself that you really want to win, it's easy to build up a tournament into something so huge that you can't play. I've seen amateurs not used to competing arrive two hours before their tee time and try to rebuild their golf swings. They become panicked practicers and try to perfect every area of their game. They get themselves so tied up in knots it's ridiculous. Tour players do this, too. I've seen guys come to Augusta, rent a big house and invite their family and friends. When Thursday comes around, they start worrying: What if I miss the cut and disappoint everyone? The golf course has to be your sanctuary, the thing you love, and you can't be afraid of messing up. #9Test yourself in stroke play. I'm a big believer that stroke play is real golf. I know lots of people who are good in matches who can't play a lick at stroke play. But most guys who are good at stroke play also thrive in matches. When you have to count every shot, it's a tougher game. Too often guys go out as a foursome and play "our best ball against your best ball." That has its place, but stroke play makes you mentally tough.
#10Find someone who believes in you. The greatest thing I've got going for me is my ability to believe in other people's talents. I can see people doing things they can't see themselves doing. Every champion needs that. Hogan once told me he considered quitting the game several times early in his career because he didn't think he was providing for his wife the way he should. But Valerie wouldn't let him quit. She knew he'd never be satisfied until he won majors. Having confidence in yourself is important, but it helps to have someone who believes in you, too, whether it's a spouse, a friend, a teacher, or even a sport psychologist.
