Mind Games: Meditations for Great Coaches

by William J. Chandon

Most coaches believe that their athletes and their teams can perform better. If we're honest with ourselves, we know that we can also be better coaches. Every coach has had under performing individuals and teams. The athletes and teams may have all the talent they need to be superb performers, but they just can't seem to get out of their own way. Technique and physical ability are essential, but we find with some athletes and teams, that technique and physical ability aren't enough to make them into top competitors. If we're paying close attention to how our athletes practice and compete, we notice that they sabotage and limit themselves. We also find that they unconsciously sabotage themselves because they keep doing things that are counterproductive, but they can't seem to recognize it or stop.

The most significant challenges our athletes and teams usually face are the mental ones and not the physical ones. The key problem that some of our athletes and teams have is that they don't know how to stop sabotaging themselves. Even if they recognize how they are sabotaging ourselves, they may not be able to stop. Intellectual knowledge is helpful, but it isn't sufficient to make deep and powerful changes. They need something deeper and more powerful.

There's a deeper way of knowing and a deeper self-knowledge that we find when we develop a meditation practice. We find our center where we are in touch with our deep wisdom and passion. When we live, train, compete, and coach from our center, we find more clarity about our strengths and weaknesses. We find more clarity about our athletes' and teams' strengths and weaknesses. We learn that the barriers that appear to be holding us and our athletes back are actually invitations to develop, change, improve, and tap into the deep strength that we find inside in order to follow through on what will help us more forward as coaches, athletes, and teams.

This book of meditations for coaches in all sports has a different theme for each chapter and individual meditations on different aspects of the coaching mental game. Each meditation has some thoughts for your reflection and has a unique affirmation at the end, which you use for your meditation. You mindfully read the reflection and then meditate on the affirmation. The book includes chapters on performing in the zone, confidence, planning success, being a strong leader, having powerful conversations, dealing with barriers to success, have a powerful vision, training well, being health, being a free spirit, being centered and creative, and being mentally tough.

This book teaches you how to coach in the zone and how to coach your athletes to perform in the zone. This book teaches you how to improve your effectiveness by acquiring some new tools to manage your thinking, emotions, and physical states in different ways. You will also learn to relate to your athletes in ways that help them maximize their ability. Meditation may not be what you think it is. This form of meditation is active and imaginative. You don't have to sit for hours in silence. You can learn to meditate in as little as 15 minutes per day. This book assumes you have no experience with meditation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1502507358
• ISBN13: 9781502507358
• Release Date: November 2014
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"