Many people say that there’s magic in the air during October baseball, but what really makes that “fall magic” happen? And what does it look like? To first answer the question of what this fall magic looks like, consider Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, which from an outsider’s perspective went down in history as one of the greatest baseball games of all time. As Skip Schumacher (a Cardinals outfielder who was on the winning side of the game) put it, “This is the best game I’ve ever been a part of, ever seen.” The Texas Rangers may have been the only ones who did not see the game through the same “best game” lens that late October night. Up two runs and one strike-out away from winning their first ever championship – twice – the Rangers could not seal the deal. They had chances in the 9th and 10th innings to close the game, but the St. Louis Cardinals erased those multiple two-run leads and walked off in home run fashion in the bottom of the 11th. That’s fall...

Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. The athletes who strive to Be. Better. are the ones that dive into deeper levels of mindset training and excel into the highest levels of peak performance. To Be. Better. is to always strive to improve at what you’re doing – regardless of how good you already are or what circumstances surround you – and it extends further beyond physical performance. To Be embraces the process of accepting who we are as an individual and allowing ourselves to exist in the present moment. Only then can we begin to understand ourselves more deeply – the pros and cons, the strengths and weaknesses – so that we can use that awareness to our advantage. Being Better means putting in the time and effort each and every day with the intent to improve ourselves – from a physical, tactical, and mindset perspective. When we combine these concepts while maintaining focus on a growth mindset each day, we become efficient, a...

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, doesn’t it? It is. As the research on sleep and its effects on the human body and mind has advanced, the old adage of, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” begins to hold less and less weight. In fact, people who sleep a healthy amount every night are found to live longer and healthier lives than tho...