December 19, 2012

Well, we have finished another Mental Mastery Program just before Christmas. I'm so glad we got it in before the holidays and now the players have this type of coaching under their belt before entering into their spring sport season.  I see the athletes mature and figure out better ways to practice in class and I get so fired up about that!  I don't think you athletes appreciate how much you plow through all of  that mental debris that gets piled up.  When this has happened, you go back to your sport and the practice sessions are way more effective and now the development really starts to show!  I've seen it many times.

I've heard these questions from parents,"Why would I put my younger athlete in a Mental Mastery Program?  Shouldn't we wait until they are more  advanced?  Isn't that when the mental game is maybe more needed?" 

My response is:  When I am with a player for a Mental Mastery Program and we spend 12 hours going through simulated practice sessions and  explain and demonstrate how to start a practice session, beginner golfers can really absorb so much more than they would have if they were not aware of some of the converstions we had in our program.  They are coachable, and they actually are aware of when they stop being coachable.  When they have that skill alone, it doesn't take the beginner student as long to learn certain physical skills in lessons.   They progress faster becasue they are aware of the steps involved in the learning process.  They know themselves better and they are aware of what they are learning during the initial first attempts. That makes the job of the coach so much easier when the athlete is a good student!