Adversity: (N.) Fortunate Misfortune

Imagine that right now, you are given a piece of paper. On this paper is a list, and this list contains all of the painful, frustrating, and heartbreaking experiences that you will have within the future of your athletic career. You are then given the option to cross off any or all of the items, thereby eliminating them from your life’s timeline and saving yourself from facing these setbacks down the road. Would you do so? Or what if: you are given the list, but you cannot change anything on it. You can, however, move to a new sport so as to avoid these otherwise inevitable experiences. Would you change […]

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Perfectionism and Burnout: There’s More to it Than You Think

Burnout—as an athlete, this word carries with it associations of apprehension and dread. We hear warnings about the phenomenon from coaches and teammates alike, and we see its effects when the most hard-working, success-driven athlete—whom we would least expect to quit—suddenly decides that they no longer want to compete. The emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion which comes with prolonged exposure to stress and pressure is all too common in high-level athletics. This leaves many of us asking: what puts us at risk for burnout, and more importantly—how might we be able to avoid it? Motivation is a key player in any athlete’s drive to compete and perform. Aside from looking […]

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Rivalry: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We’ve all heard our coach say, “We are going up against our biggest rivals tonight. Let’s go out there and beat them!” Our rivals may be our greatest enemy, but they are also our best motivators. Why else would we fight so hard to beat them? If we didn’t have any rivals, there would be no one to play against. Rivalries can actually boost our performance in sport, business, and everyday life because everyone has that drive to be the best. Multiple studies have shown that rivalry increases both effort and performance. “An analysis of competitive runners showed that they shaved more than four seconds per kilometer off their times […]

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Why Sleep is so Essential for Athletes

School has started. Days are getting shorter and darker. As an athlete, are you focusing enough on sleep this time of year? Or at any time of the year? Sleep is essential for our body’s regulation of internal processes, maintenance, and rhythms. It is also essential for muscle repair and vital organ function and is a key ingredient that influences mental health and resilience. Not getting enough sleep has been associated with a decreased ability to concentrate, perform, and make decisions, higher levels of irritability, and increased cortisol levels (stress hormone that damages our bodies when we are exposed to it over a long period of time), for starters. Sleep sounds important, […]

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The Ryder Cup: Sticking to Your Game Plan

Last week, Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota was home to the 41st Ryder Cup Championship. This unique three day golf event only takes place every two years. It is one of the most intense, competitive, and exciting tournaments that these players will ever experience because even the most competitive rivals turn into the greatest of allies. This tournament is all about pride, teamwork, and being aggressive on the golf course. Some of the best golf in the world took place right in Chaska, Minnesota over the past week. Stakes were high because these competitors were no longer just playing for themselves, but also their nation. With the tournament […]

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Under Pressure: The Ryder Cup Mindset

“You think you know what it’s like and you think you’ve played under pressure, but you haven’t.” These were the recent words of professional golfer Rory McIlroy, who just won the PGA Tour Championship last week and has his sights set on the Ryder Cup this week. Great champions and high level athletes seem to have a very unique perspective and relationship with this emotional-biochemical-physical-body-reaction thing we call pressure. It’s the mindset approach and optimization that allows these champions to be aware and respond effectively that makes all the difference in their performance. Pressure is very real and exists for all of us. It stems from thousands of years of […]

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