S.J.S.U. football coach Ron Caragher

Ron Caragher is the current head coach of the San Jose State Spartans football team. Originally from Morgan Hill, CA. Caragher played college football at U.C.L.A. and later became an assistant coach for U.C.L.A. football, first as a graduate assistant then as a wide receivers coach. Caragher served as a running back coach for the Kentucky Wildcats and was part of the 2006 Music City Bowl championship coaching staff.

He first became a head coach at the University of San Diego in 2007 and remained in that position until 2012. During his coaching career there the Toreros won three Pioneer Football League championships. In 2012 then S.J.S.U. football coach Coach Mike MacIntyre left S.J.S.U. for the head coaching position at the University of Colorado, and S.J.S.U. hired Caragher beginning in 2013.

SZ: Is it good to be back in the bay area? 

RC: Yes, it’s nice to be home. I grew up here and my mom lives in the same house in Morgan Hill. It’s good to be back home.

SZ: How old were you when you began playing football? Who were your athletic role models growing up?

RC: I was in fourth grade. My first experience was flag football. But probably the first big influence in my life was in fifth grade playing Pop Warner football for the Morgan Hill Raiders. I ended up having chicken pox and missed two weeks of practice. When I came back the games had started and I just got plugged in at corner back. The next year I came back to Fall camp and had a chance to practice. The coach put me at tail back which was fun because you get to carry the ball. A funny story that goes with this is our quarterback was really the best athlete on the team but he kept forgetting the plays. One day I was throwing the football back and forth with him and our coach Ernie Hill comes over and says, “Ronnie - Brian come here I want to try something. Ronnie I want to put you at quarterback and Brian you are going to play tail back.” This coaching move changed my life.

SZ: That’s amazing isn’t it.

RC: It’s amazing because I would not have gotten a scholarship to college playing tail back. I’m not that kind of athlete. I would have fizzled probably in high school. I really enjoyed the quarterback position and ended up getting a scholarship to U.C.L.A. So I always think my role as a coach is player identification, player evaluation, player assessment and putting guys in the right position so they can succeed. It goes back to me personally when I was in the fifth grade.

SZ: Who were some of the sports figures you admired when you were growing up?

RC: I was a sports junkie as a kid. I loved football, basketball, baseball. On the football side of things I admired Joe Montana. He was a big professional role model for me when I was in middle school. I remember John Elway playing at Stanford. I loved following the N.B.A. and Doug Collins who played for the 76ers. Also Rick Barry who played for the Warriors.

SZ: What were the qualities of these player’s you admired?

RC: The qualities that stood out is the ability to play in a big time arena and be able to keep their poise. That comes to mind obviously with Joe Montana. He was able to take the team on a two minute drive under pressure with all the adversity and a big crowd and I just envied that. It was my dream to be able to do that and be like those guys. I was also influenced during my time walking the campus at U.C.L.A. Each day I’d walk through Pauley Pavilion and I’d look up and see those banners from Coach John Wooden. It led me to start reading some of Coach Wooden’s books. The first one, “They Call Me Coach,” just jumped out at me. I realized that athletes are at college to help build a foundation for success in their lives. I loved Coach Wooden and studied his pyramid of success. I loved that he is a great man and nice guys don’t have to finish last. They can actually be champions. From then on I think that kind of made a big impression on me. The college players I coach aren’t all going to play professional football. Their career is going to end some day. But we want for them that when it does end that they can go on and live productive lives, as husbands, fathers and community leaders.

SZ: You received an athletic scholarship to U.C.L.A. and played back up to future Pro Football Hall of Famer, Troy Aikman during your college years. Did you know going in that there would be a chance you’d be a back-up? What did you do during those years to remain motivated, engaged and ready to play each week?

RC: I went in full speed ahead wanting to be the starting quarterback at U.C.L.A.

SZ: Was Troy already there?

RC: No he wasn’t. Troy transferred in from Oklahoma. It quickly became apparent how good he was. It was a tough blow. It was probably one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to deal with. I was knocked off track from what I wanted. But yet it was the best opportunity to grow and develop as a young man. I just learned a lot through they whole thing. I can’t say that I learned it all then and there. I learned that you have to come prepared. You have to bring your best effort and some things are beyond your control. You have to be able to adjust. Attitude is everything and it’s so important that we keep our attitude. I learned not be be defined. Up until then I had made the mistake of letting myself be defined by how I preformed in a sporting event. I think I came to realize I can’t be defined by that. No-one should be defined by their performance or their outcome. It shouldn’t determine our self-esteem or confidence. I think it was a tremendous learning experience for me and one that I’m thankful for as challenging as it was at the time.

SZ: What did you do during those years to remain motivated, engaged and ready to play each week?

RC: I realized that I am one play away and I have to be ready. I remember a quote by John Wooden, “I will get ready and then my opportunity will come.” Because it can’t be once my opportunity comes I will get ready. That’s too late. I do remember that quote and I remember just working hard with the hope that the opportunity will come.

SZ: What are the mental skills an athlete in your situation needs to develop to stay sharp mentally since you may not be called upon? Or conversely to be called upon after sitting for thirty or more minutes watching from the sidelines? It’s such a unique challenge.

RC: Coach Terry Donahue said to me, “Hey Ronnie, I want you to chart the plays and chart the coverages of the defense. Lo and behold did I know that was the start of my coaching career. I was the quarterback with the clip board and I’d break down coverages of the defense. It kept me mentally in the game so that if the opportunity arose I certainly had a feel for the coverages the opponent was playing. During the week at practices I threw the ball but the back up quarterback does not get as many reps as the starting quarterback. I remember the coaches telling me that if I wasn’t getting the physical reps I could get the mental reps. By that they meant for me to be watching Troy. So I watched him like a hawk so I could see what he was seeing and the decisions he was making. I was getting mental reps. It’s not the same but it could be almost as good.

SZ: Your first head coaching opportunity was at the University of San Diego where you are credited with building the program into a winning team. As head coach of S.J.S.U. you are currently in a re-building phase. What are the key components to transitioning into your position?

RC: Getting everyone to buy in and get on the same page. There are different ways to succeed. You can run a spread option offense, a wishbone offense or a run and shoot offense. They are all different ends of the spectrum. The key is to get guys to buy in and do their position as best they can. That’s what makes transition difficult because when you step into a program sometimes the veteran players who might have tasted success doing it another way need to buy into doing it differently. Not that the previous way was wrong or that there is a right or wrong way but there are alternative ways and getting everyone on the same page is the key.

SZ: Football teams consist of teams within teams being coached by different coaches at each position. What do teams do to create team chemistry?

RC: We have the position coaches that coach specific positions. Then there are coordinators. An offensive coordinator calls offensive plays, defensive coordinators call defensive plays and a special teams coach coordinator who calls those plays. I oversee the whole team and you are right it is a challenge because you can have many groups within the groups. You can have fractions and you don’t want that. What we try to do is to integrate the team and one thing we do is call them families. We may have ten different families and one family is comprised of a player or two from each position on the team. We have get togethers with these groups of player representatives (families) or sessions during Fall camp or in August when the team is in a preparation stage. Sometimes we gather in different groups and we’ll talk abut issues and talk about what our goals should be as a team and how we can accomplish those goals.

We try out different ways of integrating the team. I think we took the team every year to Dave & Buster’s just to have some fun. I took a team while I coached at USD to a paint ball park. It was really fun but let me tell you it hurts. It hurts and you don’t wear a t-shirt when you go to one of those things because you get a welt on your arm for a week. When we travel as a team and go to a unique city I do try and show the team something that’s special about the city so they can take something back above and beyond football.

SZ: Does sport psychology have a place in the training program? Is there a place that’s part of the training program in terms of a player’s preparation or recovery?

RC: Most definitely. I was a psychology major and I find it fascinating. I try and read things of value that I can pass on to my team. I try and do visualization with our players and have seen it to be very effective with these young men. I can improve and do a better job in this area but I do think it’s important. We’ve all seen very talented athletes, very skilled but lacking the mental toughness and drive, those intangibles that make the difference in a very successful athlete from an average athlete.

SZ: Who have been influential coaching mentors along your way in becoming a head coach? Has coaching football changed significantly in the last five/seven years?

RC: Terry Donahue, my football coach at U.C.L.A., John Wooden who I met and had a chance to visit when he was alive had a big impact on me. I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Walsh and driving him home from U.C.L.A. when he was down there visiting. Those guys were all very influential and impressionable on me.

Yes, coaching the game has changed in the last several years. It’s sped up. Instead of the traditional football huddle up, send a player in with the play, give the quarterback the play, he calls it in the huddle, break the huddle, go up to the line of scrimmage and start the play, it is now all up tempo. Many teams run a no huddle offense where it’s all about speed and get the next play off. From a coaches perspective you have to factor in the wear and tear of the players. Offenses now average eighty to ninety snaps a game instead of sixty-five. Teams are also playing twelve or more games, thirteen with a bowl game. The schedule can take a toll on the body. Football has become a year round training sport and we have to consider how much our players can handle and have proper recovery.

SZ: There are many hats you wear as a head coach. Do you have any favorite quotes, tips or stories that keep you focused on your role as head coach?

RC: I’m a quote guy. As a team we went through a tough time this past season. We have our challenges here at S.J.S.U. But one quote jumps out because of it, “The bigger the challenge the bigger the reward.” I like telling the players, “A rising tide lifts all ships.” Meaning as a player increases his level of play the accolades come at the end of the year when the team does better as a whole. It’s not about individual accolades those will come thereafter. I love the saying, “Iron sharpens iron.” it’s a biblical quote. Competition can bring out the best in all of us. As we compete and battle we’re making our opponent better and he’s making us better and it raises the bar.

SZ: Is there anything you’d like to add?

RC: Sports can be and are a pretty fascinating preparation for life. I think we can learn almost more during losses than we do during wins. After a loss you reflect back and get introspective. It was a tough year for S.J.S.U. football and to look back at what we did and how we can do it differently, keeping our players healthy and developing players makes for introspection. When you lose you really dig down trying to learn about yourself. Another quote on that note is, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” So I can say that and know that this challenge we will overcome.

SZ: Thank you Coach Caragher for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this chat.

*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @ Examiner
*Picture credits: Terrell Lloyd, San Jose State University athletics

Bubba Paris - Born for this moment

William Paris Jr. better known to many friends and fans as “Bubba” Paris grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. As a star high school player who attended DeSales High School. His football development continued as he was recruited by the University of Michigan and played for coach Bo Schembechler. While playing at Michigan, they won two big Ten titles. One Rose Bowl Championship and a Blue Bonnet Bowl Championship. In 1982, he was the San Francisco Forty-niners first draft choice. He played with them for nine years; eight of which he started at left tackle. In those nine years, they won three Super Bowl Championships, eight Western Division Titles and played in five NFC Championship games. They were known as the team of the decade. Since his retirement from professional football he formed Paris Enterprises, a marketing and promotional firm. It specializes in creating marketing plans, creating and placing media, implementing promotional speaking, educational seminars, self-esteem workshops and promotional appearances. He also serves as a sports analyst. Bubba has a new book coming out soon titled, “Born for this moment,” in which he shares the road that his life of an athlete as taken and the lessons learned along the way.

SZ: How old were you when you began playing football? Did you play any other sports besides football growing up?

BP: As a kid I played basketball and football. I began playing football when I was seven years old. One day my friend Roland Starks, was walking by my house coming home from football practice. He was looking like he’d just been through the desert without a sip of water. I asked him where he had been. He said to football practice and he started telling me about this activity called football. He told me how difficult it was and just like most kids did at that time he judged me. Roland said, “Junior you couldn’t never make it through one of those practices.” I thought about it all that night. The next day I went to sign up for the team. Players were supposed to be eight years old. I was only seven but I was so big that no-one asked for a birth certificate. But by the end of the season they did question my age. They thought I may be too old. My football days started off as I wanted to prove to my friend that I was capable of playing in this sport.

I’m just about to complete a book I’ve been writing called “Born for this moment.” In my book I mention how I was called names like, uncle Fester, and baby Hughie. I felt ostracized for being big. But when I was at football practice there were other guys with nicknames like, tubby, big Al, and Moose, where it was alright to be Big Junior. I found my place.

SZ: Who or what were major motivators in your life that helped you develop your vision of success in football?

BP: When I was growing up I played for two little league teams, the Shawnee Trojans and West End Warriors. The West End Warriors was a team in the south end of Louisville, Kentucky that was known for their great players. The kids with the most potential ended up going to one of the Catholic schools in Louisville, which from my house was about a thirty-five minute car ride. I ended up attending a college predatory school called DeSales High School. DeSales had a pretty decent football program. It was obvious just because of my size I had potential. I was the size of a starting line-man in college but I was only sixteen and not fully developed. Even though I had this mammoth body that looked like it should be able to just dominate on demand I was still immature for my body and mind. I was just beginning to learn how to use this thing which was my body.

When I attended DeSales I had a coach, Jim Kennedy, and it was obvious that I was a big kid and needed conditioning but I was clumsy. I didn’t have perfect footwork. I didn’t know how to play football at the top levels. This was a top level league and DeSales was known for producing great athletes. So kids that went there usually were already accomplished athletes. Jim didn’t know how to deal with a kid who was willing to be good but not there yet. To make a long story short he discouraged me so much that at the end of that first year I was about to quit playing. Before the next school year began though Jim left to go to another school and the new coach Ron Madrick came in and he just saw me for for I could be. Ron came in and said, “Man you’re going to go to college.” He told me I was great at this sport and he went about helping me to discover how to use this thing that was me. When I was at DeSales coach Madrick took the time to help me develop this thing. He helped me become one with myself. He helped me to understand that this big thing I had is a tool that could be used in this sport. Coach Madrick taught me that my size was something special and unique. He told it to me so much that I began to manifest it, not that I felt this inside, but I started manifesting the potential he saw in me. As I started to get in control of my mind and body Coach Madrick saw the greatness in it. He took the time to call every college in the country to make sure that they understood that I was a player coming up and had unbelievable potential.

Examiner: So Ron Madrick took the next step for you by picking up the phone when you when you were in high school and making phone calls to…

BP: Ron Madrick made phone calls to every - and that’s what really bothers me about some coaches. Some coaches are so stuck on the fact that they are the coach and they have these players that play for them but they don’t understand if a child entrusts his/her life with you, because football is one of the few sports that it’s hard to go through a full year of high school and not be maimed in some kind of way. Players are going to have a hurt finger, leg, ankle, knee something is going to get hurt. It’s impossible to go through very much time without a part of your body sustaining a substantial injury. As a high school player or a little league player I am entrusting my life to someone. I think that if someone entrusts their actual well-being to you that you have an obligation and responsibility that if you show any athletic promise to make sure that everyone in the world knows about it. That you give that child a chance beyond your job. Ron Madrick did what a whole lot of coaches now days don’t do.

SZ: Ron Madrick was a pivotal point in your career moving forward.

BP: Even before Ron Madrick came along, during my childhood I was bullied as a child by kids that were twelve or fifteen years old. I was six years old and would always run home. I didn’t like to fight. I didn’t like to defend myself because there was such an awkwardness as to who I was and what I was capable of doing. So I got bullied a lot when I was young. I spent much of my time running. I wrote about this recently in a newspaper article for the Chronicle.

One day my father made me fight two kids that were bullying me. When I faced them during the confrontation there was only one shove. When I shoved the kid it was the first time that I had defended myself. Honestly it was like an epiphany for me. The other kids reacted like, “Oh god this kid that we’ve taken for granted, this kid that we’ve terrorized is now brave enough to defend himself. He’s more capable than we are. He’s bigger and stronger than us.” The awakening for me was that this big body when necessary could defend itself. That new mind set was the only thing that gave me the confidence that when I did start little league (football), and I did start other things that when I stood my ground I was able to prevail.

SZ: Did you plot out and target goals for your football success or did you ride into the next opportunities that came from past success?

BP: I had a crazy life and I write about this in my book. In high school now I am 6’7” and 305 lbs. and it’s time for me to make a decision of where to go to college. I was one of the most highly recruited athletes in the nation. I narrowed my choices down to Purdue University and the University of Michigan. At the time I wanted to become a physical therapist and Purdue had a physical therapy school that was second to none. Purdue also had a quarterback named Mark Herrmann. He was a young promising kid who would have been a sophomore my freshman year. Purdue didn’t have a strong offense and the head coach Jim Young felt that I was capable of starting for the team my freshman year which was something unusual at the time. Coach Young recruited me heavily and personally. The night before making the decision to sign my letter of intent Coach Young was at my house. Michigan also also had a representative, that was at a hotel and would come over to the house to sign me if I chose Michigan. In a last ditch effort to convince me to go to Purdue Coach Young told me, “We believe that you’re the best prospect in the country and we’re going to make you the first person that we sign. When you walk onto the Purdue campus you’re going to be our starter. If you go to Michigan I just want you to know that your reality is that they see you as a project player. You’re going to go there and spend a few years on the scout team and maybe, when you are a junior or senior you’ll get a chance to play.”

I said, “Hold on Michigan said that they would give me a chance.” I got ahold of Bo Schembechler, the Michigan coach by phone, who was at Chuck Roland’s house recruiting him and I told him that Jim Young was at my house and that he told me that you’d rather start Chuck Roland. That he was more important to the Michigan program. Coach Schembechler said that I was important to the program as was Chuck Roland. I said that Coach Young also told me that if I went to Michigan I would be put on the scout team and used as a human practice dummy. Coach Schembechler said I would be put on the scout team because they put all the players on the scout team. The last thing I said to him was, “Coach Schembechler if you come to Kentucky to personally sign me I will commit right now to go to Michigan.” After he listened to me he said, “I will not come to Kentucky to sign you. If you want to come to Michigan you’ve got to make up your mind to come to Michigan. I’m not going to fly to Kentucky to sign you.”

Everything that Coach Young had said to me was basically true. That Coach Schembechler didn’t see me as a strong enough prospect to come to my home town to sign me. That had been my only condition to agree to attend Michigan. I now knew that I was going to be a practice dummy if I went there. I knew he liked Chuck Roland better than he liked me. The next morning I was going to have to make a decision between the two schools. That night I had an epiphany that changed the course of my life. First of all I am a very motivated person. If you tell me I can’t do something then I am very motivated to do it. I couldn’t believe that Coach Young saw me as good enough to start for Purdue but not good enough to start for Michigan. One of the reasons he said this is because in the eighty-two years of Michigan football there had never been a true freshman offensive line-man to start a game at Michigan. Coach Young had a basis for his belief.

My epiphany that night was that I needed Michigan more than Michigan needed me and Purdue needed me more than I needed Purdue. I needed the structure, challenge and everything that was associated with Michigan football. I chose Michigan and went there with the idea to become the first freshman in the history of Michigan football to start. I didn’t go there with the idea that I was going to fall in line with the tradition of offensive line-men of the last eighty-two years. I went with the mindset and model of a plan that I would use to actually start at Michigan. My mindset was that I was going to practice as though I was playing in the biggest Bowl game you could go to, which at the time was the Rose Bowl. I practiced everyday on the scout team as though I was playing in the Rose Bowl. The first day of practice I hurt a first team defensive corner. The next day at practice I hurt a second defensive corner. The coaches didn’t want to put good players against me on the scout team because I was hurting them. Michigan then took me off the scout team. During the summit game of the year when Michigan was playing NorthWestern I became the first freshman in the history of Michigan football to ever start a game as a true freshman.

SZ: In the nine years you played for the S.F. 49er’s the team won three Super Bowl Championships, eight Western Division Titles and played in five NFC Championship games. When you reflect back on those years is there anything you wish you’d known then or done differently in preparation for the transition phase of your career from football to the next stage of your professional goals?

BP: I was drafted by the S.F. 49er’s in 1982. I was their first pick and twenty-ninth player picked overall in the draft. The 49er’s called me up and told me, “Bubba we are so impressed by your career at Michigan and the fact that you were able to start at Michigan. We feel as though you are able to start for the 49er’s.” The day that the 49er’s called me on the phone and said that I am their first pick at starting left tackle it meant that I was going into the NFL as a starter. It’s funny because as a professional I went to the 49er’s the same way I was going to go to Purdue. I didn’t have to compete for a job or anything because I had shown through my history that I had the capacity of doing it. My career was tainted by the fact that I was one of the first big line-men to ever play. I played ten years which is a long career considering most athletic careers. I played ten years, nine with the 49er’s and during that time I would hear people say that I was big not that I was good.

I blocked for Joe Montana, this marquee quarterback who is in the Hall of Fame and was at pro bowls every year. The reality of it was that there was just me and the best pass rushers one on one who were trying to get to Joe. Some people don’t notice that because they only noticed I was big. I wish when I was playing that people would have seen that I was the beginning of a new era of line-men. Big line-man who are athletic and can do the job well. Before me line-men that were 6’5” and 330 or 360 lb players were considered too fat or big to play so they were never extended the opportunity. But after me teams went looking for these kids that had been previously discarded. Now these players had a chance. The landscape had changed.

SZ: Your twin daughters Courtney and Ashley play professional basketball. What advice do you share with your daughters regarding having a professional sports career? What do athletes need to stay aware of along the way of a professional career in sports?

BP: My twin daughters, Courtney and Ashley are 6’4” and are big women. One of the things I tell them is that from the top of their heads to the souls of their feet that they are perfect in every way. They are not little women. They are not going to be thin. But they can be athletic and graceful. My daughter Courtney played for the University of Oklahoma and achieved numerous basket ball records that are unparalleled by either male or female college players. Tim Duncan who is one of the best players in the NBA while in college had ninety double doubles which is considered a big record. Courtney hit one hundred and nineteen in a row. She found a way to sustain success which is a key lesson I learned from football. When people judge my daughters by their size and looks I tell them not to worry about it. Either you change the world or the world changes you. It’s alright to be this 6’4” heavy set lady and show people that you can be tenacious on the court. I know from the hard way that it’s possible to change the landscape by doing something so well that in the future teams will look for people to do it the same way as you.

SZ: Where are they currently playing?

BP: Courtney plays for the WNBA, Tulsa Shock. In the WNBA off season last year both Courtney and Ashley played on a team in Turkey. This year Courtney is in Turkey and Ashley is playing in Russia. Women players make more money over seas. This is their fifth year playing.

SZ: Through your years as an athlete and now as a minister and motivational speaker are there any quotes, stories or tips that keep you motivated?

BP: There is a quote that motivates me as a minister and professional speaker. This is my quote, “I believe you are born, not to do something, you are born with something to do.” That people are born to do something is not a strong enough statement. That people are born with something to do. That there is something that people have that is so precisely perfect and in tune with themselves. When they discover it, when they become confident in it, that they will give the world something it never had before. When I look at innovation, innovation is something that someone just like you discovered within themselves and gave to the world. I consider myself having an extremely successful football career because I changed the landscape of the game. Now big people like me can play.

I believe that people are born with something to give and to make it a point to be on a mission to give it. This is what I bring out in my speeches whether it be a corporate event, whether it be a spiritual event, or talking to kids at a school assembly. If people can believe that they are born with something to do it helps them understand and manifest the thing locked inside of them.

Three weeks ago I was inducted into the Happiness Hall of Fame. It was something that I thought was funny when it first happened. Depok Chopra is going to be one of the inductees in 2015. There were twelve inductees this year and I was the only football player. I was surrounded by people who are some of the foremost experts on happiness. I was the last speaker and as I listened to these experts I realized that I am seeing and thinking about the world exactly like them. I was being honored not as a football player but as a person who has lived a life of making people happy. I talk about this in my book that one of the foundational pillars of happiness is to understand that you are born with a purpose. Understanding that you are perfect for that purpose is one of the foundations of success.

SZ: Bubba thank you for taking the time for this interview. I look forward to reading your book.

*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @ examiner

Cycling for a cause

John Garza has been involved in endurance events to support good causes since 2008, when his daughter Marie died of leukemia. After Marie’s passing John found peace in cycling which helped him cope with her loss. John began signing up for endurance events with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the American Diabetes Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundationand American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Multiple Sclerosis and LAM disease. He felt that if he was going to ride his bike one hundred miles he might as well raise money to help others. This month John is focusing his fundraising efforts on Breast Cancer Awareness and riding for the local breast cancer non-profit, The U’ilani Fund. The U’ilani Fund is committed to providing support for complementary treatments for women with breast cancer.

John and his wife Claudia in their Tour de Cure jerseys which they earned as Champion fundraisers, with their six year old grandson.

SZ: How many fundraising events have you participated in since 2008 when you began raising money for different non-profits?

JG: I’ve probably participated in about twenty fundraising events since 2008. I average around three or four a year.

SZ: You have participated in fundraising activities that began with biking, then moved into an Olympic length triathlon and eventually a full Iron Man triathlon distance. When you first began these events what was the most challenging part?

JG: The most challenging part were events that included running. I have a full knee replacement in my right knee, which I received about a year after I started cycling.

SZ: Do you need to regulate your training to work around the injury?

JG: I don’t push myself on the running portion of events. My running began as a brisk walk and over time has turned into more of a speed walk. So I consider my running more like speed walking.

SZ: Each event you participate in is very different. What have been your favorite events and why?

JG: My first century was quite special as my oldest son, Joseph cycled the entire on hundred miles at my side. Another special event was training my wife for her first century and riding at her side for the one hundred miles as we crossed the finish line together. Also special to me was training for the Iron Man. I met some really exciting people. It was very family oriented and we were training together five or six days a week. We trained constantly after work and on the weekends. I’ve made some pretty long lasting friends in all of my events but probably my favorite one has been the Iron Man.

SZ: The training teams supported your training by…

JG: They taught us open water swim techniques, cycling, run/walk techniques and nutritional information. We learned to listen to our bodies, to push ourselves to the limit but remain injury free. I became aware of the difference between soreness and an injury.

SZ: It’s not uncommon for people to be fearful when they first begin swimming in large events like an Iron Man. There are so many people in close proximity. How was your first experience, were you prepared for it?

JG: In the beginning because of the mass start, swimming with 30-40 other swimmers with everyone trying to get into their rhythm, the first ten or fifteen minutes are hard. People around you are all over the place, kicking and thrashing, trying to get to the open water. But our coaching prepared us for what to expect out in the water. I actually enjoy open water swimming now.

SZ: What have you learned over the years about training for long distance events that you can pass on to others who are thinking about participating in a long distance cycling, running, or swimming event for the first time? Do you have any head’s up advice that you wish someone had shared with you regarding training, nutrition or the mental aspects of the task?

JG: I would like to say that anything is possible. My motto is that I set out to complete endurance events and not so much as to compete in endurance events. Its possible to succeed at any long distance type of endurance event. It doesn’t matter if you are a big or little guy. I started training for the Iron Man and weighed 267 lbs. By the time of the event I had dropped my weight to 250 lbs. It’s hard work, dedication, and you need to put the time in and continue to move forward even when something sets you back. But for any type of endurance event you need to put in the time and training.

SZ: What about nutrition? Do you alter your diet prior to events?

JG: For certain events I do. For example I just attempted the Death Ride, Tour of the California Alps which is a 129 mile cycle event with 15,000 feet of climbing at altitude. I was able to finish one hundred miles of the ride with approximately 13,000 feet of climbing, but I ran out of time. I was fourteen hours on a bicycle. As I trained for that event my goal was to drop my weight to 225 lbs and I did drop my weight to 240 lbs but training so hard my body wants to be fed. I dropped some weight but gained weight from muscle

SZ: After all these events have you developed a training routine?

JG: I take a lot of the knowledge that I’ve learned from past events especially in cycling and I share that knowledge with a lot of my friends. I’ve been on a softball team for many, many years and those guys have given me a lot of support. Now I am getting some of those guys into cycling. I started a group of beginning cyclists and work with them once a week or as much as I can to give them the knowledge that I’ve learned in an unofficial type of coaching environment.

SZ: What do you do around body recovery after all the hours of training?

JG: I get deep tissue massage. Those are the most painful type of massages but have a lot of benefit. I also use a foam roller quite a bit. I should stretch more but I don’t as much as I should.

SZ: How did you hear about the U’ilani Fund Ohana Ride for Breast Cancer? What was your decision to participate this year?

JG: I am on various distribution lists for cycling. The Ohana Ride came up on one of the lists and I’ve been wanting to do participate in more local events for smaller organizations. Also in 1983 I lost my mother to breast cancer at the young age of fifty-four, which is my current age. I think this ride is going to be close to my heart. I am hoping to meet nice people and maybe make this one of my annual events.

SZ: Well there are very nice people who run and participate in this event. There are also masseuses afterwards, and the food is excellent! An extra bonus is that riders are fed well at each rest stop. I think people actually have the opportunity to gain weight on this ride.

SZ: You attend fundraising events in memory of your daughter Marie who lost her life to leukemia in 2008. As you continue to participate in these challenging events are there are stories, tips quotes that keep you motivated to continue to participate in these events in her honor?

JG: Since Marie was called home my faith in God has increased one hundred times. I refer a lot to scripture to keep me going. When Marie passed away my father gave up his slot in my mothers grave site to Marie. On my mother’s headstone is the quote, “With God all things are possible.” I share my story quite a bit and there are three things that I like to say that keep me moving forwards, 1) Only by the grace of God am I sane and able to move forward. 2) The support of my family, which is my wife Claudia, my children and grandchildren. 3) I have a passion for cycling and for raising funds for non-profit organizations. For some reason cycling just caught on to me. I never cycled the way I do now prior to Marie being called home and it’s just a great feeling to be out there. If I am going to ride my bike sixty-five or one hundred miles I might as well raise some funds for someone.

SZ: I have great appreciate for your story. Thank you for taking the time for this interview. Have fun on the ride!

*Photo by Sonia Ordaz

*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro

*This article can also be read @ Examiner

Paul Goldstein, Stanford tennis men's new head coach

Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

Former Cardinal Paul Goldstein has shifted his career focus back to tennis as he takes over as Stanford’s men’s tennis head coach. Goldstein is the tenth men’s head tennis coach at Stanford. “I am humbled, honored but most of all inspired by the opportunity to lead a program with such a strong inter-generational legacy of athletic and academic excellence,” said Goldstein. Goldstein was an outstanding junior player ranked among the top-10 juniors in the world and made tennis history by becoming the first player to capture three consecutive national championships (Boy’s 16’s in 1992, Boy’s 18’s in 1993, Boys 18 in 1994). He then had an outstanding collegiate career from 1995-98, becoming the first player in NCAA history to compete as a starting member of four consecutive national championship teams. Upon graduation Goldstein shifted into a professional tennis career which lasted ten years. Goldsteins ATP world ranking reached as high as no. 58 in singles and no. 40 in doubles. In 2008 Goldstein left the tour and became involved with sales and business development roles at Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley based clean energy fuel cell company.

SZ: Who have been the influential tennis coaches in your life? What did you learn from them that helped you succeed as a junior, collegiate and professional player?

PG: I’ve been very fortunate and worked with some amazing coaches over the years. Too many to count but if I were to pick two, I’d highlight my junior coach, Matz Claesson. I was thirteen years old when I began working with Matz and continued to work with him until I left for Stanford. While I was at Stanford I maintained a relationship with him. We maintained a close relationship to the point he was a groomsman in my wedding. He really helped me develop both on and off the court through-out my adolescent years. The help he gave me on the court taught me a lot about commitment. He was fairly young, 25/26 years old when we began working together. He had great energy and a lot of passion for tennis and a passion for helping me become a better player. The word that comes to mind when I think of Matz is, “selfless.” He was absolutely selfless. It’s a huge lesson for me to learn now that I am in this coaching position. As a coach I’m there to support my guys on the team as best I can and in a selfless manner. If I can be as half as selfless as Matz was with me I think I’d be doing the guys a good service.

Then of course coach Gould. Having four years at Stanford with coach there were so many lessons to learn from coach and the least important of which was anything he taught me about a forehand, backhand, or serve. I don’t even know where to begin considering he’s still the director of tennis at Stanford and I’m over at his office four times a day asking him for advice. Coach Gould is forty-eight years in at Stanford and still works 60-70 hour weeks. The way he runs the program is unparalleled in all of college sports. Through his empathy for others, the way he builds relationships with others, his passion for Stanford tennis, is just a humbling thing to have the opportunity to be in the position that coach Gould handled with such aplomb for thirty-nine years.

I think I’d say that the biggest thing you learn from coach is the proper spirit of competition. As a player you go out there and you compete between the lines. The way you compete between the lines is you don’t give an inch. You fight for every point and you are competitive. One of the things I always thought when I was playing for him was he wanted his fifteenth national title more than most coaches wanted their first. So he’s a competitive guy but he did so in a manner that engendered respect from those against whom he competed. But I don’t think you’ll ever find a peer coach in the collegiate community who doesn’t have incredibly warm things to say about coach Gould. They respected the way he competed. They respected his competitiveness but they also respected the way he went about it which was with high integrity. I think that’s the biggest lesson I learned from coach Gould.

SZ: In April of 2006 you reached a professional career singles high of fifty-eight. What was the shift that raised your match play success?

PG: As I progressed through my professional career my training habits changed. At the beginning of my career I might have been on the court everyday for three to four hours for every one hour in the gym or off court. At the end of my career it was inverse. It became three to four hours a day in the gym for every one hour on the practice court. That work load obviously changed a bit when I was in a tournament. I started emphasizing my off court strength and conditioning more later in my career which I found to be very beneficial from the standpoint of I was healthier longer and I was mentally fresher when I was on the court. I wasn’t any longer killing myself on the court six hours a day. I can probably count on one hand the number of bad practices I felt I had the last four years of my career because when I was on the court I was there for the right reasons and in the right mental frame of mind. I was also in great shape and had good energy when I was on the court. I think that was the big adjustment I made in the later part of my career.

SZ: Do you think that piece of the game has changed?

PG: I think that athleticism, power, explosiveness and agility is more important now than it ever has been in sports history. Obviously people are spending a lot of time off court but I think they are still spending a lot of time on the court. It’s a difficult thing because there is a point in a player’s development where they really do need to hit, to take a line from Malcom Gladwell, to put in 10,000 hours on the court to become elite. Tennis is a small motor skills sport and very much a muscle memory sport and you do need to put a lot of time on the court during the adolescent years. But I can see some of these player’s perhaps spending too much time on the court and would benefit by a little bit more time in off court training so they are mentally fresh when they play. It’s important when a player is competing that they are enjoying themselves. I think that perhaps we’re spending a little too much time on court and so player’s aren’t fresh when they are out there competing.

SZ: You’ve mentioned that, “The landscape of competitive tennis in the U.S. has changed dramatically since you attended Stanford in the 1990’s.” What are a few changes you’ve seen and what do you hope to create in the Stanford men’s tennis program to address these changes?

PG: One of the things I was referring to is that a lot of junior tennis players use distance learning for their form of education which is okay. It’s just the landscape is that they are specializing in their chosen sport at an earlier age and emphasizing development in a sport sometimes perhaps at the expense of academics. As you know Stanford is looking for student athletes that are committed to pursuing excellence and athletics and being able to maintain that balance.

SZ: The balance of academics and the amount of time participating in a high level year round sport.

PG: In a lot of cases the international kids basically are professional tennis players by the time they are thirteen years old. I think this puts pressure on our American players to feel like in order to keep up they have to take the same approach and that sometimes comes at the expense of pursing academic excellence.

SZ: In your view in what ways has the men’s game changed physically and strategically? What mental skills do successful player’s need to be in command of to compete at the highest collegiate level or professionally? 

PG: Very clearly the game has become more physical than at any point in our history. Look no further than Rafa Nadal who really changed the game from a physical standpoint. The other major change is with technology. Not so much with the rackets but more so with the string which allows you to take really, really big cuts at the ball and create massive amounts of RPM’s, meaning spin and rotation on the ball to keep it in the court. The ability to generate these massive RPM’s has made moving forward and finishing points at the net much more difficult. Because a player can take these huge cuts at the ball the game is more violent, more physical, and more laborious than it was in the early 90’s. This is why the emphasis on physicality is so much greater now.

SZ: What mental skills do successful players need to be in command of to compete at the highest levels of the game?

PG: Winning begets winning and confidence is the most important mental competitive advantage I think any tennis player can possibly have. That comes from winning and a player putting him/herself in situations where when playing competitively they find a way to get through. That’s really what separates player’s who win consistently and those who don’t. To a certain extent there are skill sets involved as well but I think at some level there’s a lot of parody in tennis of how a player is able to hit the ball and the players that are more successful are those who have been there before and find a way during the most critical points of the match to execute the same way that they would execute on the practice courts or at the beginning of a match. It’s a very difficult thing to do.

SZ: It’s the experience of doing when it counts the most. Are there any mental techniques, visualization, breath control that you feel are important to apply to this?

PG: I am sure there are. Frankly that’s an area of growth and development for me to become better at.

SZ: It’s not something you utilized in your professional experience.

PG: No, I didn’t utilize visualization. I am aware of the technique. I didn’t apply that myself perhaps to my detriment.

SZ: You competed on the professional tour for ten years what kept you motivated/inspired during your professional tennis career?

PG: More than anything my family. I was fortunate to be supported by my parents through-out my adolescence and then through-out my professional career. My girlfriend at the time who later became my wife gave me amazing support. Her support allowed me to travel around and play on the tour and her support of that endeavor meant the world to me. More than anything my families support was what kept me motivated. I felt that when I was away competing I was doing so at the expense of being close to my family and it would be doing them a disservice if I wasn’t putting everything into it.

SZ: It’s a nice change to be home and local and still involved in tennis.

PG: It’s been a great change over the last six and a half years at Bloom Energy. My wife and I have had three children over those years and I’ve been home quite a bit. But with this new position as the men’s head coach at Stanford I will be traveling a lot more. That will be a transition but not as big a transition as when I was playing professionally.

SZ: It may be too early to know but do you think the six and a half years of job experience at Bloom Energy will contribute to your coaching success?

PG: Absolutely. No question. I’ve had the opportunity get experiences in the business world. In sales you are a communicator. As a professional player in an individual sport communications skills aren’t necessarily the most important attribute to be successful. It’s a nice thing to have though and certainly as a coach who’s responsible for not only the ten to twelve members of the team but also relationships with the administration, athletic department and alumni having communication skills are absolutely essential to be successful in this position. I think the experiences at Bloom which is made up of an amazing team and being surrounded by people who are passionate about an important goal that I firmly believe in, that’s to make clean energy reliable for everyone in the world, has been very inspiring.

SZ: Are there any upcoming Stanford men’s tennis events that you wish the public to be aware of?

PG: All of them. They should come out and watch all of them. I am very excited and it’s a priority for me to have myself and the team invested and engaged in the Stanford community so I welcome everyone’s attendance at the matches. We are hosting a regional event in late October. We begin the dual match season in the winter and certainly our matches against USC and UCLA will be a lot of fun.

SZ: Are there community events where the public gets to know you as a coach?

PG: We have a fundraiser event Sept. 27th for EPAT which is the East Palo Alto tennis and tutoring program. The program is for at risk youth who come over to Stanford everyday and not only receive tutoring from Stanford students but also the opportunity to play tennis as well. It’s a wonderful program and the Stanford tennis athletes are involved.

SZ: Paul congratulations and best of luck to you in your new job, and thank you for taking the time for this interview.

*Featured interview guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @ Examiner
*Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

Nadine Waeghe: Elevate Performance & Physical Therapy

Nadine Waeghe, MPT, ATC, is the owner of Elevate Performance and Physical Therapy located in Redwood City, CA. Elevate Performance offers comprehensive sport science services whether the athlete needs a complete bio-mechanical analysis or rehabilitation of an injury.

Nadine has expertise in bio-mechanics, equipment analysis, manual therapy and therapeutic taping. These specialties have allowed her to vary her work experience across a broad spectrum of clientele. Nadine has provided sports medicine services for athletes at high schools, NCAA Division I,II & III colleges, the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Special Olympics and for seven years worked on tour with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Beyond sports Nadine has outpatient orthopedic clinical and inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation experiences.

SZ: You worked on tour for the WTA for seven plus years helping all levels of professional players. Are there experiences you encountered along the way working with WTA players that make your physical therapy practice unique?

NW: As a health care practitioner working on the WTA tour brought me an opportunity to work with some of the best sport science and medicine professionals in the world. Collaboration with this amazing team of experts really helped me become more comprehensive in my approach to every person that I work with. As a primary health care provider working on the WTA I was responsible for coordinating all aspects of health care for the athlete. WTA players are on the road and can’t just go to one single doctors office. Health care providers on the tour are players primary contact for health services. I helped coordinate all disciplines of care for that athlete from a distance.

Working with various specialists from different areas taught me to be more thorough in my evaluation and to differentiate diagnosis, as well as treatment options available to help the individual. Working in this capacity gave me knowledge as well as confidence in my own skills to really question what is right for the athlete. It also allowed me to kind of push the traditional or current health care system to look at other options to fully service the athlete. In my own practice I think my assessment perspective is a little more broad than other physical therapy practices.

My specialty is bio-mechanics and I didn’t grow up playing tennis. On tour I learned a lot about tennis mechanics which sharpened my skills in all areas of bio-mechanics because tennis is so technical. Combining my bio-mechanics knowledge with current technologies and the ability to do video analysis also allows me to provide a unique service to the clients I serve.

SZ: Describe a Functional Movement Screen (FMS) test and how this tool helps you assess the risk for injury.

NW: The FMS is basically an assessment tool that is used to provide a simple way of quantifying and qualifying fundamental human movement. The human body is specifically designed to do movement and tasks that makes us different from other animals. The FMS is an easy way to help identify imbalances, weaknesses or joint restrictions, anything that is a little off in the body that may effect the efficiency of those basic movements. If those low level movements are inefficient then the ability of an athlete to perform a more complex or higher level movement is diminished and can increase an athletes risk for injury. FMS helps identify those issues and then the athlete is able to address them through a corrective exercise program usually guided by a professional physical therapist, athletic trainer or strength coach.

SZ: Through the years I’ve sprained my ankle several times. I have been told that a weak glute may be involved in these sprains. Personally I think my glutes are just fine but, is this part of a FMS test?

NW: The FMS doesn’t get that specific. It really looks closely at seven fundamental movements for example, like a squat, a lunge, a step, core stability with anterior, posterior movement, or rotational movement. The test is designed to look at how the body performs in these simple movements to evaluate whether the athlete can do these tasks or not. The FMS is not going to identify whether or not you have a weak glute or whatever. That’s where the practitioner interprets the results and identifies your imbalances. For instance I may say to a client, “There are three areas of weakness I found and are probably related to this issue.” Then I would go on to provide a more detailed evaluation of the biomechanical link between the imbalances and the injury, or a past injury that may be affecting full function.

After the FMS, step two, is called the Selective Function Movement Assessment
(SFMA). After an athlete completes the FMS the practitioner figures out where the imbalances or weakness are originating from and performs a few other specific tests which help identify specific joint or muscles that might be contributing to the weakness in the body. From there the imbalance is treated.

SZ: What are some standard errors social/recreational athletes make that are a set up for injury that can be prevented fairly easily?

NW: Three common mistakes that I see happen or hear about happening when people describe to me their routine are and this is in no particular order:

1) Either inappropriate, inadequate or complete lack of a warm down after a work-out, or
competition. After physical activity not stretching or partaking in recovery activities that can help the athlete in their next performance. Therefore the athlete has increased risk of injury going into the next performance.

2) Core postural adjustment and core postural awareness or just lack of focus on posture in general while performing any kind of sport or fitness activity. Athletes can have inefficient movement because their body isn’t in proper position.

3) Inadequate hydration or nutrition which directly affects flexibility, mobility, power and endurance. If an athlete isn’t properly hydrated or fueled he/she risks running out of energy which impedes having the resources to get where they need to during their activity.

SZ: Frequently athletes miss making a connection between nutrition, sport psychology and physical wellness. How do these fit into the bigger picture for you in your view of athletic fitness?

NW: I believe it comes down to sound mind, sound body and looking at three fundamental or innate functions of a human being. Those are breathing, eating and sleeping. We can’t survive without those three things. If any of these are not functioning at an optimal level the whole body is affected. If an athlete is functioning in a suboptimal range, for example, isn’t breathing properly, not getting enough sleep, or has inadequate nutrition, then their body tries to compensate for those deficiencies. This taxes the mind and requires the brain to work harder in an attempt to make up for the suboptimal functioning which can cause the brain to work at a more diminished capacity. When the brain is not functioning at it’s optimal level it can affect physical performance.

I also think it happens in the opposite way. If an athletes mind is not in the right space it can affect their choices to eat, sleep and breathe in a beneficial way. I think it’s all very much linked. When clients come in for an evaluation I ask questions about these three areas. I try to guide them to make sure that they are enhancing their optimal levels of performance by making sure they are getting enough sleep, breathing effectively and have an adequate diet, which helps them have a sounder focused mind.

SZ: Basically you’re describing de-stressing the body.

NW: That’s exactly right. The ability to function at the optimal level requires a sound and focused state of mind. My discussion with clients always starts with, “What are your biggest stresses in your life?” From there looking at how those stressors affect the quality of their sleep, alters their diet or proper breathing. All of which affect performance.

SZ: In your experience when a high school, collegiate or professional athlete incurs a serious injury how important is it for them to receive mental/emotional support? How does this support impact their recovery?

NW: The first thing to remember is that every athlete at any age is a human being first. Any human being when impacted by a serious injury can use some mental/emotional support. A life altering event like a major injury has a profound effect on a person moving into the future. From that day on everything is a little bit different because the person is altering the course they thought they were on. I think it’s really important for an athlete to be able to accept the change in their life that occurs at the time of an injury. For competitive athletes, whether high school, collegiate or professional, many of them identify themselves as being an athlete. They identify with their role on a team, or their position, and when injury removes them from competition or takes them away from their sport involvement it can create a bit of an identity crisis.

Some athletes can begin to have serious doubts or insecurities and may even become panicky about their future, who they are, what their future as an athlete is and can feel very lost. I think that having some mental/emotional support can really help them curb those feelings of hopelessness or frustration which can negatively impact their ability to recover their physical responsiveness. Whether having a friend or professional to support them and tell them it’s okay to have those feelings, that the feelings are normal and part of being a human being, can really help them get through the stages of recovery. It benefits their body as well as their mind and is a key component for complete recovery.

SZ: What are favorite questions you like to hear from your clients regarding injury?

NW: One thing I love to hear is, “What can I do to recover faster?” The emphasis is on the letter “I.” What can “I” do to recover faster. The other is, “What do “I” need to do to prevent another injury from happening in the future?”

SZ: Taking more responsibility for it.

NW: Absolutely.

SZ: Are there any upcoming events at Elevate Performance & Physical Therapy for practitioners or the public?

NW: August, 16 & 17th we are holding a seminar for healthcare professionals presented by Lois Laynee, Ph.D. “Restoring Movement Through Breathing.” Details can be found on Elevate Performance & Physical Therapy Facebook page and restoringbreathing.com.

Sept. 5-7 FMS & SFMA Certification Course, is a course for healthcare professionals presented by Functional Movement Systems. Details can be found on Elevate Performance & Physical Therapy Facebook page and functionalmovement.com.

Sept. 20th,” Amputee Sport and Running Clinic.” This event is intended to give the participant the opportunity to return to or try out new sports and activities, including fitness routines, running etc. Age, experience and ability are not a factor. The clinic is free and open to everyone. Our goal is to promote mobility through sport and fitness. Details can be found on Elevate Performance & Physical Therapy and Prosthetic Solutions Facebook page.

SZ: You’ve seen a lot of people with injuries over the years. Do you have any quotes, tips or stories that keep you motivated as a physical therapist?

NW: What motivates me is that there are always people that need help. There’s always another phone call or e-mail from someone that is looking for help. What I want for clients is for them to really understand the ways in which they can help themselves. My job is to help people discover the motivation and inspiration to help themselves. I can provide them the tools and point them in the right direction. One of my favorite quotes that goes along with my motivation is from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”

SZ: Nadine thank you for taking time from your very busy schedule to share your knowledge and thoughts.

*Featured guests are not current or former clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can be read @ Examiner

*Photo was taken by WTA media, photographer unknown (Nadine on court with Venus Williams during a U.S. Open).
*Clinic photo by Mindee Thyrring

Turning down the noise and turning up the focus: help for distracted athletes

What do Kobe Bryant (basketball), Derek Jeter (baseball), Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings (volleyball), Novak Djokovic (tennis), Seattle Seahawks (football) and many other top athletes and sports teams have in common? They all use mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness meditation is utilized by these athletes to maintain high performance during pressure situations, sharpen their mental focus and clarity, and recover from distractions during competition. In the world of sports psychology, traditional interventions such as imagery, self-talk and goal setting have been the standard methods to help athletes manage distracting thoughts and emotions while training and in competition. More recently, there has been a shift in sports psychology away from these traditional methods, because they have been found to actually increase the focus on distracting thoughts and emotions, which interfere with performance. Current research is discovering that, rather than trying to control distractions, it may be more beneficial for athletes to develop skills to notice the distractions in a non-judgmental way and let go of them in the moment. These skills are gained through training in mindfulness meditation.

Both professional and amateur athletes experience emotional distractions such as frustration, anger, anxiety, self-doubt and worry. The brain and body, acting together through the connection of the autonomic nervous system produces emotions. The sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system usually work in harmony with each other, but emotional stress cause them to be out of sync, which blocks performance capacities. The following are some examples of the consequences of negative emotional distractions on the athlete:

*Less ability to think clearly
*Less efficiency in decision-making
*Less ability to communicate clearly
*Reduced physical coordination
*Inability to perform at the highest skill level the athlete is capable of

Mindfulness meditation is a practice that helps the athlete access their highest performance level by managing negative emotions in a way that helps the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems stay in sync. Sport psychology professionals can help athletes learn the skills of mindfulness. Even a small amount of meditation training can be useful to reduce distracting thoughts and emotions and help the athlete to be able to focus attention on what matters and only what matters during competition.

To learn more about mindfulness meditation for sport performance, find a sport psychology professional in your area who teaches mindfulness or find a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) class that teaches basic mindfulness skills.

This article may also be read @ Examiner

Bob Carney, Golf Digest

Bob Carney is a Contributing Editor at Golf Digest, writing for the magazine, it’s web site and sister publication Golf World. He’s an avid golfer and single-digit handicap who has earned awards for his writing of the golf industry and recreational golf. He is co-author, with Davis Love Jr. and Bob Toski, of “How to Feel a Real Golf Swing.”

Carney shares his thoughts on golf and the psychology of golf

SZ: What sports did you play growing up?

BC: I took up golf at about fourteen, when I began caddying at a country club near our house.

SZ: What was your first introduction to golf? Did you fall in love with the sport early on or grow to love it?

BC: Caddying was scary at first. There were so many things to remember – where to stand, how to hold the bag, how to tend the pin, etc. With the help of empathetic members of the club, I got to be pretty good at it. The course was so beautiful, so well kept and the game itself so interesting. I immediately wanted to play. They let us play on Mondays at the club. We had to play from in front of the tees, rather than on them, so that we wouldn’t beat them up. (Pretty lame on the club’s part, but I understood). The first time I played I used clubs my uncle had given me, some of which were old wood-like shafts. I sanded the 3-wood he gave me and re-varnished it. It must have looked ridiculous to the members. But we loved playing. I can’t tell you how magical it was to be able to play Dearborn, CC, not a great course, but a good one in perfect shape. One Monday we arrived at six, teed off in the mist, and played four rounds, 72 holes. On days we weren’t able to play at the club my brother and I and a couple of buddies would take out a map, find a golf course icon, and drive to it sight unseen to play. I can still remember eating Twinkies in the car on the way.

SZ: When did you begin writing professionally about golf? Did you have other sport writing jobs prior to your involvement in golf?

BC: I was hired by Golf Digest in 1984 after a temporary stint at Time Magazine as a reporter. I got that because the magazine I’d been working on, TV Cable Week, a Time Inc. start-up folded. Fortunately for me the editor of Golf Digest at the time was an old Time Inc. guy and we hit it off. Otherwise I probably would have taken a job at BusinessWeek, where I had a chance at an entry level position. Prior to TV Cable Week, after attending (not graduating) from Columbia Journalism School, I’d worked for another start-up that folded, Sporting Guide, a kind of TV Guide for sports. In between I worked at a strong suburban daily. The Record, in New Jersey, as a local reporter. It was great training. As far as writing about sports, I began in grade school, writing about school sports for the church paper, and then for the school paper in high school. I covered a variety of sports for the Michigan Daily at the University of Michigan.

SZ: Many sports have altered their playing formats to speed up the sport or try to make the sport more exciting for spectators. I recently read one of your articles for Golf Digest, “Our games obsessions with fast greens is killing us.” In it you describe how fast greens are slowing down the game of golf. Explain the concept of fast greens, and how they effect the game. What are your thoughts on how to speed up the game and does the game need to be sped up?

BC: The greens on which golfers putt can be made very fast or very slow, depending on the grass, cuttings, rolling etc. Good golfers tend to prefer fast greens and clubs and courses try to imitate the courses they see on television, Augusta National being a prime model. The problem is, it’s expensive to do this. It requires more water and chemicals, and more care. These fast greens are also harder for most amateurs to putt, meaning they take more time and more putts. As an industry, golf is faced with some serious issues these days and greens have an impact on all of them: water conservation, enjoyment, and pace of play. Greens of moderate speed are fine for everyday ( as opposed to tournament) play, and can help on all of those issues. It’s another example of how the game is controlled mostly by accomplished players and how it’s having to find news to make itself more attractive to less accomplished ones who don’t want to be “tortured.” There’s lots of research being done on pace of play these days. Individual golfers need to be educated about how to play faster, but the pace begins with course owners. They need to space groups properly, maintain greens at reasonable speeds, eliminate extreme roughs and give everyone a chance to have fun by creating enough tee choices. I of course think caddies help too, but most courses have lost caddies to carts, which you’d think would speed up play but really don’t. Slow play is a huge problem. Consider our leisure activities these days – a movie, a book club, dinner a jog, a workout. None take more than two hours and most are far less. Golf, especially slow golf, eats up five or six hours. So the game needs to offer alternatives. More nine (or fewer) hole events or 18-hole events that move faster. The fifteen inch cup is one experiment that works, though you wouldn’t do it everyday. Smart course owners are creating “time par” for their particular courses, and then enforcing that time. So when a player begins a round he knows how long it’s going to take. Golfers like that. For my own part, golf is still a chance to walk and get some exercise. I want it to move as fast as possible. Three and a half hours if we can and I’ll stay away from places that go a lot longer. Finally, I think we tend to take score far too seriously in this country. We count every shot and worry about what we shoot (though breaking rules, taking mulligans, etc.) and that adds to round time. In Ireland my son and I played in a tournament that used the Stableford scoring system. You earned a point for a bogey, 2 for par, 3 for birdie. Worse than bogey scored zero so when you messed up a hole, you just picked up. I think kids should learn that way because it’s how they play other sports – score points.

SZ: I think of the mental game of golf as being built around skill confidence and having an uncluttered mindset. What do you feel are the biggest psychological challenges of golf?

BC: The first is distraction. It’s so seductive and so easy to give into thoughts about what your score will be, how you’re swinging, what other people are thinking about how you are playing…when really there is only one thing to think about: How to get this ball in the hold. Period. The second is forgiveness. Golf is a game of mistakes. We tend to think it’s mature and honest and “tough” to criticize ourselves for mistakes…a huge waste of time, energy and focus in golf. Being your own best friend, as Bob Rotella puts it, is the goal. The third is expectation, usually of a particular score, but sometimes of how shots “should” feel when you hit them. Having a scoring goal is fine. Having a plan is ideal But once you start playing, you get what you get.

SZ: Besides practice what are some of the mental preparations you know about that professional player’s utilize to prepare for tournaments?

BC: Player’s work with their caddies to map and chart courses. Michelle Wie said recently she was benefiting from the notes that Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler made on Pinehurst No. 2. Secondly, players create a game plan for a round, what club they’ll hit off a given tee, where they want to land the ball, what side of the green they want to hit, etc. They plan while not in the heat of the moment, and then can concentrate on execution when in it.

SZ: You are preparing to write an article about how golfers improve. What are you learning about the process of player’s improving? When will the article be out?

BC:The article should be out in our October issue, about Sept. 1. It’s been an interesting research project. What I’m learning is that having a goal and seeing everything on the way to that goal as part of the learning process, having the patience to stay in that “learning” mindset, is key. Most golfers can’t do it. They think a certain result or defeat means they’ve failed and they’re done with that goal. In many cases, they’ve just begun. Failure is part of the process, a necessary part.

SZ: Someone can go on-line and there are thousands of tips on the mental game of golf. What’s the best advice you’ve every heard about the mental game of golf?

BC: Enjoy the shot.

SZ: What’s your favorite golf course and why?

BC: Cypress Point Golf Club. It is near the ocean, it is gorgeous, it is a great challenging design, it is walkable, and it’s not perfect. Though it’s 15th and 16th holes are among the most beautiful anywhere, the 18th is just ordinary, so after taking you to heaven, Cypress kind of sets you back on earth in the end. It’s an amazing place.

SZ: Bob thank you for taking time out of your busy work schedule to share your knowledge and thoughts.

*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
*As published on Examiner