In an April 12, 2020, interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Rule, New York Times columnist David Brooks said that the coronavirus was like “an x-ray on our society…we know ourselves better when you are in a valley. So I am hopeful that we’re going to have a great reset.”
Tag: sports psychology
Building a Team Culture in the Digital Age: A Program for New Hampshire Athletic Directors and Coaches
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 6–8 p.m.
Victory Club, UNH Wildcat Stadium, 155 Main Street, Durham, N.H.
FREE for all N.H. Athletic Directors and Coaches!
No matter what the sport, young people today—from middle school to Division I—are lacking in two areas: the ability to really bond and create old-school camaraderie and accountability and to generate and enjoy even basic confidence. Coaches are often at a loss how to connect—or even just communicate—with these “Digital Age” kids. Even high-functioning student-athletes today need confidence training that literally gives them the skills and habits of mind to have that ability to shed stress, connect, and behave with true, organic confidence on game day and in life.
In this program, we explore these Digital Age kids and provide concrete techniques for how to communicate with them, motivate them, and get them to bond with each other and your coaching staff.
Speakers Include:
Jeff Levin, Jeff Levin Coaching
Sean McDonnell, Head Coach, UNH Football
Jimmy Lauzon, Merrimack Football
…and others to be announced!
This program explains why modern kids are so different from the players we coached even just a few years ago. The old-school coaching mentality doesn’t always work, and we’ll explain how that came to be. We’ll discuss the issues holding these kids back, what’s keeping teams from building unity, and what adjustments coaches can make to relate better with their players and to get players to relate better with each other. Learn how to build team camaraderie and commitment, and how, by dealing with these Digital Age issues, you can build a team that has as much, if not more, dedication than the teams of old.
Many thanks to Coach Mac and UNH for allowing us to use the Victory Club!
This program is presented by The Reconnection Project: A Jeff Levin Coaching Program.
An RSVP would be appreciated, but isn’t required. RSVP by text or phone call to Jeff Levin at 603-496-0305 or use this contact form:
The Importance of Mission
“Our own life has to be our message.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
The recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, terrible tragedy that it was, also ended up bringing to the fore something positive that is sorely lacking in many of today’s young people: a mission. Although I wish it weren’t mass shootings that were the reason, the way students around the world rallied around the cause of “no more school shootings” couldn’t have been a better demonstration of how kids are brought to life around a mission. Read more
Massachusetts Football Leadership Summit for High-School Players & Coaches
Join Coaches Jeremy Cameron of Mass. Maritime, Dan Buron of Bridgewater-Raynham High School, Ryan Brown of St. Thomas Aquinas, and yours truly on Saturday, May 5, 9AM–1PM, at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, for a unique program on leadership for high-school players and coaches.
Coaches, you are invited to bring your top leaders, captains, or leadership council for a half-day workshop where you and your players will learn how to empower your leaders to be the engine for change on your team. Experience new methods to motivate and communicate better with modern, “digitized” kids so they can be more confident, resilient, team-centered athletes who learn to embody the virtues required to drive a great football program from within.
Kids are hard-wired the same as they have always been; in today’s “Digital Age” we just have to learn new ways to reach th
em. We will take you and your players through a step-by-step methodology so your team leaders can learn hard, concrete skills to
- Shed stress
- Let go of mistakes
- Develop confidence, mental and physical toughness, and resilience
- Improve focus and accountability
- Think and behave like leaders – be great teammates and highly coachable athletes.
You and your players will build confidence together and then take that home to motivate the rest of your team.
We will provide specific techniques so you can incorporate what you learn in your off- season workouts. Our blueprint will help you develop a culture of confident, high-performing student-athletes who take pride in striving to be great!
New Hampshire Football Leadership Summit for High-School Players & Coaches
Join Coaches Sean McDonnell of UNH, Joe Adam of St. Anselm’s, Ryan Brown of St. Thomas Aquinas, and yours truly on Saturday, March 10, 9AM–1PM, in the Victory Club at the UNH Wildcat Football Stadium for a unique program on leadership for high-school players and coaches.
Coaches, you are invited to bring your top leaders, captains, or leadership council for a half-day workshop where you and your players will learn how to empower your leaders to be the engine for change on your team. Experience new methods to motivate and communicate better with modern, “digitized” kids so they can be more confident, resilient, team-centered athletes who learn to embody the virtues required to drive a great football program from within.
Kids are hard-wired the same as they have always been; in today’s “Digital Age” we just have to learn new ways to reach them. We will take you and your players through a step-by-step methodology so your team leaders can learn hard, concrete skills to
-
- Shed stress
- Let go of mistakes
- Develop confidence, mental and physical toughness, and resilience
- Improve focus and accountability
- Think and behave like leaders – be great teammates and highly coachable athletes.
You and your players will build confidence together and then take that home to motivate the rest of your team.
We will provide specific techniques so you can incorporate what you learn in your off- season workouts. Our blueprint will help you develop a culture of confident, high-performing student-athletes who take pride in striving to be great!
Here is more information and registration information.
Mastering the Mental Side of Hockey—Or Anything Else
I was working with a Division I hockey team when an assistant coach asked the D men to stand up. “Now, boys,” he said, “Sit down when I hit the right number. Ready? Hockey is 20% mental.”
No one sat.
“Thirty percent.”
“Forty.”
He kept going: 60, 70, 80… at 90% his guys started to sit down.
The coach went on to say, “We spend 90 to 100% of our time on our bodies, lifting, conditioning; on our hockey skills, shooting, skating; and so on. But how much time do we spend on our mind and our emotions?” Read more
The Anatomy of Leadership Camp
We have had many requests from student athletes for a more intensive program. Here, now, is the opportunity: a three-day leadership camp for high-school athletes called The Anatomy of Leadership.
This camp is a unique, multi-disciplinary, three-day enrichment program for athletes that teaches them the mental skills to be leaders in their chosen sport.
The camp will include both group activities and one-on-one time with Jeff. Every participant will develop a personalized performance leadership plan on the mental side of their game in order to improve their athletic performance and their lives.
As with all of Jeff’s programs, The Anatomy of Leadership will be inspiring, eye-opening, and, most of all, fun.
What people are saying about Jeff’s leadership program…
I am a senior on the softball team. I just wanted to take the time to email you and let you know that I really enjoyed the leadership workshop with Jeff Levin last night. Going into the meeting I figured it was going to be someone just talking at us giving us pointers on how to grow as a leader on an athletic team. However, Jeff made it so much more than that. The workshop was interactive and everyone participated. I feel like after only an hour long meeting with him I have learned more about myself and how to grow into a better leader than I have in any other way. After talking to a few athletes who were also at one of the workshops last night, I have heard nothing but positive feedback. I just wanted to take the time to personally let you know how much we enjoyed the workshop and how much we learned from it.— Emily M.
The Anatomy of Leadership will be held June 28-30 at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and to register.
One-Day Camp for Wrestlers
Attention, all high-school wrestlers:
We’re holding a one-day camp for you in November!
New England College wrestling coach John Archambeau and I will be covering both the mental game and working on the mat for high-school and PG students who want to take their wrestling to the next level. Players will leave with both a Personal Performance Plan to help them with their mental game as well as a Physical Performance Plan to help them be better athletes and wrestlers.
The camp will be Sunday, November 20, 11am-5pm, at the New England College Field House in Henniker, New Hampshire.
Here is more information and the registration form.
Life Coach vs. Sports Psychologist
How is a Life Coach Different from a Sports Psychologist?
Working with athletes is a regular part of my practice, so one question I get all of the time is “how are you different from a sports psychologist?”
Like a sports psychologist, I deal with the mental side of the game, but our approaches are quite different. Say a player is missing shots. A sports psychologist talks with the athlete about the problem or challenge the athlete faces on the field and then provides ideas and interventions on how to manage that problem. The operative word is “how” because that’s what sports psychologists focus on: how can you focus better so you stop missing shots?
I, on the other hand, am more focused on the “why.” Why is that player missing shots? Are they nervous? Worried they’re going to miss? Thinking about what their teammates, or the refs, or the opponents are doing? Or is their grandmother dying of cancer?
Although discussion centers, naturally, around the game, the athlete’s approach and experiences in the game and so on, I’m always listening for and learning about the tapestry of the person’s whole life and experience. It’s clearly not just about performance on the field; for me, that performance has to be seen in the larger context of the athlete’s entire emotional life. Read more