Emilio Sanchez-Vicario, The Spanish Way

Spaniard, Emilio Sanchez-Vicario is a former ATP professional tennis player. Over his playing career he won fifty men’s doubles tournaments, including three Grand Slam doubles titles, and attained a world ranking of number one in men’s doubles. On the ATP tour he reached a singles ranking of number seven in the world and competed for the Spanish Davis Cup from the mid-1980’s to the mid 1990’s. After retiring from professional play he captained the Spanish Davis Cup team for three years and in 2008, under his guidance, Spain won the Davis Cup championship. Sanchez-Vicario’s post playing coaching accolades include coaching his sister Arantxa, the winner of multiple Grand Slam’s and number one player on the WTA in 1995. In 1998, he and his long time doubles partner, Sergio Casal, opened the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Barcelona Spain, where such players as Andy Murray, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Grigor Dimitrov, and Daniela Hantuchova have trained. The Sanchez-Casals academy has recently opened a new branch in Naples, Florida bringing it’s unique training system based on the Spanish method of understanding tennis to the U.S.

SZ: What age did you begin playing tennis? Did you play other sports growing up?

ES: My father was an engineer and worked in the city of Pamplona. We belonged to a multi-sport club there and I played soccer and swam competitively. When I was eight years old we moved to Barcelona and my parents tried to find a similar type club. They found a club that was going to have many sports but at the time only had ten tennis courts. The owner of the club left with the money from the members and the club was left with ten tennis courts.

SZ:That’s one way to stay focused on your sport. How long did you continue in the other sports you were playing?

ES: I played soccer and swam competitively until I was twelve. Most of the competitions were on the weekends so there were scheduling problems.

SZ: What did tennis training look like when you began to play seriously?

ES: Training was a way of life, and I had to learn how to love it. Tennis is a repetition sport and needs lots of dedication which was difficult at a very young age to understand. I played more frequently after quitting swimming competitively because I had more time. But the biggest change came when I was fourteen and stopped attending normal school to go and train at the Spanish Federation. The Federation maybe takes fifteen people and I was one of the good players for my age. But I struggled when I was fifteen because I was not growing. I couldn’t compete with the guys my age because they were much bigger and they were better. Then at age sixteen I grew and I started to do well.

SZ: How many hours of practice a day were you training and number of tournaments were you playing when you began to focus on tennis as a primary sport?

ES: During the week I trained at the Federation and played tournaments at the national level on school holidays. I didn’t start traveling until around sixteen years old. At  eighteen I stopped school and began to travel and play a lot.

SZ: How did your mental toughness develop to take you to the heights you achieved as a player?

ES: Actually my mental toughness developed when I began to win. I couldn’t think about a career in tennis until I was sixteen years old. Before that time I couldn’t compete with guys 20cm taller. I was losing all the time and not mentally tough. The only thing that helped me become mentally tough was when I became good. When I grew I started to beat everyone. That developed my confidence and helped me become mentally tough. Winning makes you believe. When I began to win my career changed completely and I felt very fresh. All the previous loses didn’t affect me. It’s like I had erased a data disc. When you grow into a man you start over and that gave me lots of strength.

SZ: What kept you playing when you were losing? A lot of kids just drop out when they are not doing well.

ES: Probably my background and the effort that my family gave for us to be able to play.  I had a drive to do something, I had a dream. It was also a good time in Spanish sports. My coach at the time also gave me lots of tips on the mental aspects to make me believe in myself.

SZ: You coached your sister Arantxa to the number one ranking on the WTA. There are many distractions along the way in professional tennis. Were there things you did or talked about with Arantxa to help her with her mental toughness?

ES: Arantxa was the national women’s champion of Spain when she was thirteen years old. So at thirteen she was the number one player in the country. She had the drive from scratch. At sixteen she was the first female tour player to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros. At seventeen she won the tournament. Players like Arantxa are born with mental toughness. The thing with tennis is that it’s such a long career there are let downs and the player begins to struggle. She was in a let down stage in her career when I began to coach her. Her WTA ranking had slid from number two or three to almost twenty. After so many years at the top competing with Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, Arantxa began to lose. Changing someone that’s been a winner and suddenly forgot how to win is a difficult task for a coach. You have to help the player find the drive and discipline again to work hard and do well. But she was so determined and talented that after many months she began winning again. The most difficult part of the process for me was changing hats from being the coach who needed to push her to the limit and when I needed to act as her brother. I admired her a lot in making the effort to make it back when she had accomplished so much in her career. When a player like Arantxa is winning and then for some reason, either your opponents improve or someone new comes along and challenges you, and you lose belief in yourself that’s when coaches and psychologists have to find ways to help a player. The experience made me grow a lot as a person. I also found that there are differences between the men’s circuit and women’s circuit that I wasn’t aware of before. The physical and mental stresses are similar, but emotion in women’s tennis is a roller coaster and much more difficult to control.

SZ: I don’t think people realize the challenges for players week after week on tour. There are different time zones, different countries, different surfaces, the time of day you are scheduled to play, weather, different hotels, pressures of maintaining a winning season demands consistency, remaining healthy, not injuring oneself, there is a large host of challenges each week.

ES  Nadal recently won the Rogers Cup in Montreal on a Sunday and was very happy. But by Tuesday of the next week he is playing again. At the end of a tournament a player starts all over again. All the effort is put forth again and it’s very, very tough because everyone is trying to win. There are a lot of factors that have impact on players.

SZ: It’s important for players to have a strong support team around them.

ES: On tour now the top five guys are traveling with five or six support people. They have a physiologist, a mental coach, a playing coach, a nutritionist, managers and lawyers. There are a lot of things the guys are going through to play their best.

SZ: What were the biggest challenges for you in making the transition from ATP player to coach?

ES: The biggest challenge is that when you are a player you only think about yourself. You have to believe you are the best. When you switch to being a coach you are teaching someone else. The most difficult is passing from thinking about yourself to thinking only about your students needs. To do your job and support your player you have to do this. Once you do this it’s easier to do your job. Your goals change. That and figuring out how you are going to talk to the player and make the player believe in the changes you are trying to help him/her with. With Arantxa it was helping her develop an all court game, not only counter punching but being more aggressive in matches.

SZ: During your playing career you won three Grand Slam doubles titles and fifteen singles titles. Did you experience nervousness before or during big matches?

ES: If you want to be a big player you will be nervous. At the moment you are not nervous before a match it means you don’t care and if you don’t care normally that match is going to go in the wrong direction. But it’s a good nervousness. The line you keep with positive emotions and negative emotions are very thin. You can pass from one side to the other very fast. But the big players are capable of controlling those nerves, that why they are better players.

The ideal scenario is to know you are going to be nervous but also know you are going to compete and to compete is what you are looking for. During an interview at the French Open after Nadal won, a reporter asked him how he did it since he had an injury? How was it that he cared so much about winning? Nadal said that, “People who think I like to win are wrong. What I like is the challenge to be ready to compete and when I compete well I win.”

Another thing is everyone who plays for something is nervous. But good players are the one’s who control their emotions. They remember how to play in important points so they do their best. It’s a learning process handling those situations.

SZ: Are you focusing on where you are going to serve or do you go through mental routines prior to beginning a point?

ES: I always tried to focus on what I was doing well. Tennis is about the physical need to do what you do well in the important moments. 

SZ: During close or important matches what did you say to yourself or focus on prior to beginning your serve or returning serve?

ES: I decided in my mind the next drill. I decided where to serve or return, gave options to my opponent by where I hit the ball, then knew the different options of his response. I worked on starting from the baseline and finalizing at the net. Building the point was the goal.

SZ: You are president of the Sanchez-Casals academy in Barcelona, Spain and the new site in Naples, Florida. You’ve mentioned many times that the road to success is a long developmental process. What are your markers that a young player (13/14 yrs. old), is on track developmentally to make inroads to a higher level?

EM: Every stage of development is different. At age thirteen and fourteen a player is still in a phase of fundamentals and beginning to know themselves. At this age we focus on basics, on making the player understand the areas of the court and build a system to become an all round player. Not thinking about winning, just being competitive. Skill development is key for later success. The best is to build a very strong base for later.

SZ: What do you say to parents that are anxious that their child isn’t improving fast enough?

ES: Career development can be between twelve to fifteen years or longer. Today to win you really need to be a mature player. The successful male players today mature around 23/24 years of age. When I was playing we were getting there around 18/19 years of age. Parents with no patience end up becoming the child’s rival. The child has chosen a difficult career and some parents don’t understand. There are few spots available on the tour, maybe a rotation of five players per year. So if you look at all the schools, academies, federations and probably only five players will make it, parents may think it’s easy but it’s a very difficult process and incredibly tough. It’s a huge success for a player to make it on tour.

SZ: When a player is living at the academy and playing many hours each day what does the academy do to keep the game fresh, interesting, fun, motivational for young players in training so they avoid burn-out?

ES: Training can be the most boring thing that exists but it’s also addictive. You do well, you want more. Because of my training experiences we try to do lots of rotations and don’t play more than thirty minutes with the same opponent. We mix in a lot of drills and have fun. Tennis is a game of repetition and unfortunately there is not a shorter road. Players have to play many hours to do well so we do that and try to keep it fun. When the coaches give 100% to the players the player’s tend to do the same and that’s very rewarding. You asked me before why when I was losing a lot I didn’t quit? I had the drive to continue but I was also lucky enough to have a coach at the time who followed me. I had a coach who when I lost could explain why I lost. When there is an explanation for why I lost then I could have a goal to improve on that. I didn’t lose faith. One of the problems I see in the U.S. is that there is a lot of private coaching but not so many competition coaches to help the player understand what happened when they lose.

SZ: Are there any players from the academy we should keep an eye on as an up and coming player?

EM:  Sixteen year old Ana Paul Neffa from Paraguay.

SZ: You’re traveling an interesting athletic professional path. Do you have any favorite quotes, tips or stories that guide your professional life as a player/coach?

ES: Rafa’s statement after winning at Roland Garros, “I don’t like to win. I like being competitive.” Also what I learn as a coach in life is that apart from technique and tactics you have to create the ideal state of competition. You achieve that by finding your best energy in the physical, mental, emotional and inner self. With that you can play any tennis match or any other type of match. Everyday you play lots of matches with family, friends, work and and finding that energy in all those matches allows you to be a winner in life.

SZ: Emilio it’s been a great pleasure chatting with you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for this interview.

*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @ examiner.com
*Photo of Emilio universalsports.es

Catching up with Leigh Steinberg

Leigh Steinberg has spent over four decades immersed in his passion for athlete representation and being an agent of change. His client roster has included a multitude of premier athletes and “Hall of Famers” spanning over multiple professional sports, including Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Ben Roethlisberger, Erick Karros, Dusty Baker, Lennox Lewis and Oscar De la Hoya. He has pioneered the convergence of the sports and entertainment industries and is credited as the real life inspiration for the lead character from the film “Jerry Maguire.” During his forty plus years in the industry he represented the #1 pick in the NFL draft a record setting eight times and has negotiated well over three billion dollars in contract deals for his clients. 

SZ: In the early stages of your career representing players you had a unique perspective. In your representation of athletes you encouraged that every contract negotiated for the player include clauses that required the athlete to give back to their hometown, high school, university, national charities or foundations. What in your background inspired you to ask the athlete to step up as a role model for social responsibility?

LS: My father had two core values. One was to treasure relationships especially family. The second was to try to make a positive difference in the world and to help people who couldn’t help themselves. The corollary to that was that when there was a problem in the world that needed fixing that was especially disturbing, that looking for “they” or “them” to solve it was not the right answer. My father used to say, “The they is you son.”

When I was at U.C. Berkeley in the late 60’s the same philosophy was reinforced so I was hard wired to believe that I had a duty to try and effectuate positive change in the world which I thought I was going to do through politics. But then the fortuitous circumstances of Steve Bartkowski asking me to represent him occurred. I remember leaving Berkeley to sign his first contract with the Atlanta Falcons, which was the largest rookie contract in NFL history at the time.  When we arrived at the Atlanta airport the night prior there were huge search lights flashing in the sky and a crowd was pressed up against a police line. The first thing we heard was, “We interrupt the Johnny Carson show to bring this special news bulletin. Steve Bartkowski and his attorney Leigh Steinberg just arrived at the Atlanta airport. We switch you live for an in depth interview.” 

I looked at Bart and it was really then that I saw the tremendous idol worship and veneration that athletes were held in for communities across the country. The athlete was equivalent to a movie star or celebrity and I saw them an an avenue to trigger behavior change, trigger imitative behavior and good values. If they could emphasize a sense of self respect, nurture family in being a part of a community where people cared for each other they could permeate the perceptual screen that young people erect against authority figures. Young people don’t particularly want to listen to their parents, teachers or authority figures but an athlete because of their celebrity and elevated profile can get through and make an impact. So I asked of each athlete I represented to retrace their roots and go back to the high school community that had helped shape them and set up a scholarship fund, at the high school or do something with their church or set up a program with boys and girls clubs. Something to root them back in. 

SZ: Was there buy in for the idea from the athletes? Did they get it?

LS: I learned how to try and profile those athletes that might be most open to this approach. It took me about a year to realize that this was not a universal aspiration (laughing). Player’s like Troy Aikman and Erick Karros, endowed a scholarship fund at UCLA, as did Steve Young at BYU, as a way to reintegrate into that alumni community. 

I also challenged the athletes I represented to find some cause in their life that they would like to try and tackle. We then set up foundations in the city that the athlete was playing in that had on its advisory boards leading business figures, political figures, and community leaders as resources to be able to deliver a fund raising program around their particular cause. Rolf Benirschke, a place kicker for the San Diego, Chargers participated in one of the first programs, “Kicks for Critters”.  For every field goal he kicked he donated money to a fund for endangered species at the San Diego Zoo. He then challenged people in the community to match at their own level. There was a poster of him kicking a field goal off the flipper of a sea lion one year and the next year off the hoof of a baby elephant. Those posters proliferated around the city. In addition if we had the head of Southland Corporation (7-Eleven stores), or a bank president on the athlete’s advisory board the posters would appear in all those locations. “Kicks for Critters” spun off an ancillary program called, “Cans for Critters,” where school children collected aluminum cans and donated the money. Those programs generated millions of dollars that actually led to the saving of endangered species and raised community awareness. 

These type of programs were the genesis for hundreds of later programs you’ve seen that attach an athletes performance on the field with a matching program with a business or the public. Another example, Warrick Dunn, who was a  running back for Tampa Bay and the Atlanta Falcons. His program, “Homes for the Holidays” enabled single mothers to buy the first home they ever owned by making the down payment and having Home Depot outfit it. These programs allowed the athlete to discover other talents and abilities that they had that would lead them to satisfying second careers and to defeat the concept of self absorption. It also allowed players to network through-out the community which could ease the transition into a second career. 

The second aspect of it is role modeling. When I had Lennox Lewis, the heavy weight boxing champion do a public service announcement that said, “Real men don’t hit women.” It could do more to influence rebellious adolescent attitudes towards domestic violence then a hundred authority figures could. 

SZ: In 1998 you along with Michael D’Orso wrote the outstanding book, “Winning With Integrity.” How has the role of representing athletes shifted since that time? What are the aspects of the rules of negotiation that remain the same?

LS: My motivation for writing that book was to refute the concept of situational ethics. That somehow it was acceptable to have one set of morals and standards at home and another in the work place. That being a good parent or a good neighbor or a good friend and then going out in the work place and using social Darwinian tactics because after all it’s just business and the ends justify the means. This behavior creates a type of soul death for the person using those tactics and disastrous consequences for society. I was hoping to show, by writing the book, that there are effective methods where people can be successful in their business and their own lives without resorting to unethical tactics. 

The field of sports agentry has dramatically changed partly because of the economics. When I started out in 1976 each team in the NFL shared the national television contract and made two million dollars per team per season. This year those teams will make one hundred and seventy million dollars. The two expansion franchises that came into the league in 1976, Tampa Bay and Seattle had a purchase price of sixteen and a half million dollars. A year ago the Cleveland Browns, not perhaps the most successful franchise in the NFL sold for a billion dollars. The economics are on a different planet. The NFL has taken over as America’s passion and behind that is college football. Even baseball where the owners used to complain about losing money has basically quadrupled it’s gross receipts in the last ten years. 

So money has changed dramatically but the principles of win/win negotiating haven’t, because they revolve around the fundamentals of human psychology. I used to tell my kids when they were growing up that the one course I wanted them to master was psychology. They could pick up math, language and a whole series of skills but if they could understand what actually motivates people to act the way they act and be able to understand that and influence it, that would take them through every situation in life.  The key is to be able to put yourself into the heart and mind of another human being. Understand their value system and see the world as they see it. Only then can you construct a mutually satisfactory conclusion to any set of negotiations. 

SZ: Are players more focused on the end result of what they want financially?

LS: What player’s want when they hit veteran status is to be paid what similarly situated peers are being paid. The money is so colossal that it’s not as if they were evaluating the difference between ten and twelve million dollars. They aren’t thinking how the money will allow them to fix the roof on their house, buy a winnebago, or take an extra vacation the way that most people do. They are far past that economically. What motivates them is the comparison between their performance and another players and being equally or better compensated. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is attention span. Young people growing up in the world of big screen high definition surround sound television and a computer screen that allows them to you-tube, e-mail, text, play video games and have the illusion that they can control every millisecond of stimulus is subversive to attention span. It is necessary to compress information to a younger generation into much tighter bites.

SZ: You mean when you are talking to athletes trying to explain ideas?

LS: Yes, so if you are asking me about differences of this generation of athletes one of them is attention span.

SZ: I notice that a lot as well. (laughing).

LS: The point is that you may have five minutes of focus instead of twenty. 

SZ: In “Winning With Integrity” there is a wonderful segment on “facing your fear” in negotiating. Where did you learn the psychology of “facing your fear” in negotiations?

LS: Fear is the most paralyzing of all emotions and steals from people the ability to exercise free will and to achieve their objectives. When we are young if you are a male we fear being hit or beaten up in a fight. Once you are in a fight and you realize the worst thing is temporary pain and some bumps and bruises it takes the fear away because fear tends to be apprehension and anxiety about a result that can alter one’s approach. 

I was on a trip to Mexico when I was young and I got very ill. We were at the Aztec pyramids and I happen to be fascinated by Egyptology and the anthropology of the Aztecs and I wanted to climb that pyramid, but I felt very, very sick. What I said to myself was that I would forget whatever the pain was of that day but I would always remember the view from the pyramids. I went ahead and climbed the pyramid. So first of all there’s the whole concept of actually playing out and facing fear and anxiety and realizing that in most cases the anxiety is worse than the actual result. 

SZ: To engage in the process versus focusing on the fear.

LZ: Right. The second thing is that in many, many situations people don’t have leverage. They don’t have a choice. In every athletic negotiation unless a player is in free agency the rules restrict him so he has no alternative. For example a draftee in any sport is sitting at their college campus living on scholarship. If they are trying to sign a contract for x millions of dollars rather than x minus 25%, x minus 25% is a fortune compared to what they are making. The alternative if they don’t sign with a team that drafts them is to go back to their college campus. If Steve Bartkowski didn’t sign with the Falcons was he going to go back to Cal Berkeley and work in the Lawrence radiation lab and develop a new theory of super conductivity? Or is he going to play cello for the Philharmonic? Whatever the drafting team is offering the players is eons better than his choice. Which really is no choice but to sit out. So under that premise it would be impossible to do anything other than take the best last offer from a team or the first offer and sign it. 

It takes compartmentalizing that threat, that fear, that reality and changing the conversation from the players ultimate fear and weakness to what the teams needs are are, what they do without that player, and what the players market value is. Unless someone is able to make that flip from the fact that perhaps they don’t have another job, perhaps there’s not a single other house that’s in their price range that will meet their needs, whatever it is, the inability to put that fear on hold and reality on hold will distort and paralyze someone in negotiation.  

SZ: Do you believe that there are parallels between an athlete facing his/her fear in negotiations and the athlete facing  his/her fear of playing up to their potential in their sport?

LS: Absolutely. Let’s take another situation. The most valuable position in sports right now is a franchise quarterback. What defines a franchise quarterback? It’s a player you can build a team around. But ultimately it’s a player who can elevate his level of play in critical, adverse situations to lead his team to victory. For example let’s say in a game a quarterback has thrown three interceptions. He’s having an off day. He’s put his team in harms way. The crowd is booing him mercilessly. The team is down by a score but there really isn’t enough time to comeback. They are undermanned, every adverse situation you can think of is happening. So is that quarterback able to block out all the negativity,  the reality that he’s on the edge of the apocalypse and attain a quiet mind and elevate his level of play? The key is that faced with multiple negative stimuli and discouragement can someone perform by blotting those things out and focus on the moment at hand? 

SZ: You were an early advocate and one of the first to shed light light on the concussion issues in professional sports, calling it a “ticking time bomb” and an “undiagnosed health epidemic.” How were you so far ahead of the curve regarding this issue?

LS: In the 90’s some weekends I was representing half the starting quarterback in the NFL. Players like Warren Moon, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Drew Bledsoe and Mark Brunell. When they would get concussions I would often go with them to doctor’s and ask the question, “How many is too many?” What’s the number of concussions that might lead to long term consequences?

SZ: How did you know that though?

LS: Intuitively. There was a game in 1989 when Troy Aikman was a rookie in Arizona, where he got hit and was lying on his back for what seemed like an eternity. I don’t think that one needs training as a neurologist that being knocked unconscious probably wasn’t therapeutic for brain function. Yet, my alarm was raised more by the fact that experts couldn’t answer basic questions. How many is too many? What are the long term consequences? They had no answers. I started to hold concussion seminars back in the early 90’s and got the leading neurologists from across the country to come and make presentations. We approached it from the stand point of prevention. Could we alter the playing surface? Get rid of astro turf? Find better helmets? Change the rules so there’s no blocking and tackling with the head? Could we get better diagnosis like having a neurologist on the side line? Could there be a regiment of standardized diagnosis and then sit out periods? 

I wanted to make sure that at least my clients got to hear this. We had the athletes attend the conferences and issued a white paper but not much changed. Then in 2006 we held a conference with the Sports Concussion Institute in Los Angeles and by then we had the studies from neurologists like, Dr. Julian Bailes, Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, and Dr. Robert Contu where they were able to say that three was the magic number. It appeared to be a turning point in that an athlete with three or more concussions had an exponentially higher rate of alzheimer's, ALS, dementia, pre-mature senility, elevated rates of depression and a new syndrome called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (ECT).  That’s when I made those statements about an “undiagnosed health epidemic.” I then gathered all the press I could and from the New York Times, to the Washington Post, and every major regular news and sports outlet to make sure that they all broadcasted it.

SZ: These doctors had been collecting data.

LS: The doctors already had studies that showed these results. After that the NFL convened their first doctor’s conference and the Berlin Wall started to fall. They issued a whistle blowers edict asking players to report on other players that they thought had concussions and eventually adopted baseline testing. The program which was the first objectified way to measure cognitive function and how cognitive function had been degraded, tracked cognitive function. The players were given a test when they began playing and a test after receiving a concussion which pushed things forward to create changes. The problem is that the size, strength and speed of athletes, training techniques and nutrition have out run any protective developments. The basic physics have changed. The players have bigger, faster bodies. A 320 pound offensive tackle can run a 4.640 at the combine, no one conceptualized this could happen. 

SZ: More mass hitting objects at high speeds.

LS: Yes, it’s just physics. We’ve now learned that every single time that an offensive lineman hits a defensive lineman on a football play it creates a low level concussive event. No-one is knocked out. It’s not charted. It’s a very, very minor degree of brain impact but it is a brain impact injury. When you think about it, it could well be possible that offensive linemen who play in that position if they played in high school and college and a long pro career by the completion of their career have taken 10,000 sub-concussive hits. None of which were diagnosed. The aggregate of those hits potentially cause many more problems than the three diagnosed concussions I mentioned before. 

This is not just an NFL problem it’s a college and high school football problem. It’s a AYSO soccer, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse etc. problem. Anywhere that there is collision in sports. It’s especially devastating to an adolescent brain which is still in development. Adolescents take three times as long to recover and those kids are having to go to school with concussions. 

SZ: You would think tennis and golf participation would be on the upswing.

LS: Well I think this poses a threat to sports like football.  I am pleased that there are starting to be the first developments in helmets that actually could make a difference, and there’s a series of research scientists and doctors racing to find a new pharmaceutical solution that could heal the brain post concussion. But without that you will have mother’s telling their kids they can play any sport but not football. There are liability issues coming out of the college and professional player law suits that are currently in discovery. 

SZ: Are you saying there is a medication coming out that a player would ingest?

LS: Not yet. But there is a race going on to see who can deliver something like that.

SZ: Your career as a sports agent has been extraordinary. Presently you have been writing columns for several on-line sports mediums including, Forbes Magazine, and The Huffington Post what will you be doing professionally going forward? 

LS: When I was eight years old I edited my first neighborhood newspaper. I’ve written all my life. I had taken this time to write an autobiography that will be published by St. Martin’s Press in January of 2014. I have a second book coming out on advice for parenting youth athletes, trying to change the culture and talk about the values for doing that. But I’ve always written and we are just about to relaunch within the next month a new platform where we will do representation in major sports including, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, martial arts and that will power a marketing arm that can market teams, leagues, coaches, and high profile individuals. 

There will be a studio, which the way our business is moving, can consult with or own part or produce sport theme projects in motion pictures. Similar to what I did as a consultant for the movies, “Jerry McGuire” and “Any Given Sunday” and “For the Love of the Game.” Our studio business will include dramatically scripted new internet projects, aps, video games and other ways to enjoy sports. We will offer health and safety products that can be introduced through sports. Lastly, we will be part of the“The Sporting Green Alliance,” which is where aggregated, sustainable technology in wind, solar, recycling, field resurfacing, and recyclable water technologies are being introduced to stadiums and practice fields at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. It offers a platform for millions of fans that come to a game to see how to incorporate those practices into their own homes and businesses. 

SZ: Are there any upcoming events that you are hosting or speaking at that you would like to mention?

LS: I speak about once a week. We haven’t done this yet but we are about to launch a new foundation called, “Athletes Speak.” Warren Moon and Earl Campbell are the first two board members and the leading experts on the advisory board, so stay tuned.

SZ: You’ve traveled an incredible professional path. In many ways you developed the role of sports agent that has transformed the profession. Do you have any quotes, tips or stories that have guided your career path?

LS: There’s a very famous Teddy Roosevelt quote that I used to have up in my office which has sort of been, my father used to have it, it’s sort of a guide post. The net/net of it is, get out there and get involved and give it your best effort. Don’t allow fear and doubts and critics stop you from acting.

“It’s not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Teddy Roosevelt.

SZ: Anything you would like to add?

LS: Just that when things get tough I think perspective is critical. There is no excuse other than to keep striving and trying to be of service to people. What’s left at the end is the quality of relationships, being a good parent, a good spouse, a good friend and what you did to make a positive difference in the world. That’s it. The rest is ephemeral and it fades like sand castles on the beach.

SZ: Leigh thank you for taking a generous amount of time out of your day for this interview. 

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

*This interview may also be read @ examiner.com

Swin Cash, Humble Journey

Swin Cash is an extraordinary female athlete with vast accomplishments to her credit both on and off the basketball court. Swin made a name for herself as a dominate and powerful player during her college career at the University of Connecticut (UConn). As a UConn Husky, she played on the NCAA Championship team in 2000 as well as the undefeated 2002 team and was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2002. She was the second overall pick when she entered the WNBA draft. She has won three WNBA Championships, has been selected to the WNBA All-Star team five times, and earned two WNBA All-Star MVP awards. In addition to her two Olympic Gold medals (London, 2012 & Athens 2004), she’s won a FIBA World Championship. Swin currently plays forward for the WNBA, Chicago Sky. 

Off the court, Swin recently authored her first book, “Humble Journey: More Precious Than Gold” chronicling her journey to the Olympics. She is the founder of Swin Cash Enterprise, LLC, Cash Building Blocks, LP, and Cash for Kids, a 501(c)(3) charity with the mission to “motivate, educate, and elevate” kids with a particular focus on fitness. 

During the WNBA off season Swin has been expanding her broadcasting skills as an

analyst and color commentator for ESPN.

SZ: You played basketball in China for three years. Why did you choose to play there?

SC: I played in China from 2009-2012. It was after my injury and I went to China because it was a shorter season. It gave me the opportunity to rest my body some and also be able to play in a competitive league, knowing that I was preparing to try to make the 2012 Olympic team. (In 2008 Swin was experiencing back problems caused by a herniated disk, an MRI also revealed the presence of a cancerous tumor on one of her kidneys). 

SZ: What was the experience of playing in China like for you as opposed to playing on a professional team in the U.S?

SC: The experience was really interesting. Obviously China is a different culture, but  basketball is a universal language, so being able to embrace my teammates and learn from the team and the ways of their culture was a wonderful opportunity. 

SZ: Were the on-court plays and strategies a lot different?

SC: Yeah, in every country how players compete and play is a little bit different. In regards to China they are still developing and put a lot of resources into their sporting teams. I think the best basketball is played in the U.S. but seeing how hard the Chinese players work, their work ethic and passion for the game is definitely something to be admired. 

SZ: It must have been very exciting for the Chinese audiences to be able to watch you play. Were the fans receptive to you?

SC: The fans appreciated how I play and hustle. I had a nice following there, it was pretty cool. Because I am able to do a lot of different things from passing, shooting, scoring and rebounding it was nice for the fans to see a player that didn’t just come over and say, “Hey I’m getting a pay check. I’m just going to get by and do whatever.” I embraced their basketball and their culture.

SZ: You were an All-American during your college years at UConn. What mental aspects of the game did you develop during your basketball days at UConn that prepared you for the professional game?

SC: I think it’s life lessons learned through the experiences. Playing at the highest level on one of the best teams in the country gave me access to learn how to not only develop my game but my approach, my thoughts to the game. The way that UConn ran the program, the way we were treated, how we were put in positions to really excel and succeed helped out a lot. 

SZ: Your UConn experience helped set a healthy mental stage for your performance development? There was a high expectation of the athlete and her abilities.

SC: There was always a high expectation, so it wasn’t lofty goals. There was a high expectation and you knew it year in and year out. The goal may have been the same at the end but the preparation of what we needed to do from point “A” to point “B” was really up to us and how much we were going to put into it to ultimately reach that goal. 

SZ: What were the challenges of transitioning from the college game to the professional level of basketball?

SC: I had an easy transition because I felt like college had prepared me for the pro’s. So whether it was dealing with media or time management, having a work ethic to work on my game or to study film, all those things were already instilled in me at a very young age.

SZ: The high level of playing at UConn gave you opportunities for media exposure and exposure to talking with alumni etc.

SC: Playing on one of the best teams in the country you’re going to have media attention and give interviews. Everything is an experience and I experienced a lot of what the pro’s experience while I was in college.

SZ: Is there anything you wish you had known about becoming a professional player that would have better prepared you for the professional life and competition?

SC: I have a solid family foundation, and had  support from staff at UConn, all those things sometimes can be a hurdle for some players to get over. I do wish I had been a little bit more prepared for accepting how sometimes your relationships will change with friends and people around you. Sometimes friends that were really close when you were younger grow apart. Understanding how to deal with those relationships, I wish I had had someone to talk a little bit about that with me. 

SZ: Does that refer to celebrity? Being a celebrity player during college then at the professional level of the game?

SC: It’s just a different level of notoriety. I don’t know if it’s necessarily celebrity. I think when you are exposed to a more worldly view and worldly things, not everyone is going to be happy for you. I had to adjust to that, some people are not always going to be happy for you to win. Whether it’s winning at life or winning on the court and you have to be okay and comfortable in your own skin to understand that but still press on.

SZ: That’s a really valuable observation. So what advice would you give to a high school or college player aspiring to play professional basketball? What mental skills do they need to compete with the best players in the world? 

SC: One, is to understand that in order to learn how to win you have to understand how to lose. What I mean by that is that in life you’ve not going to win every single time but those times when you lose whether it’s failing a test or failing on the basketball court, not winning a championship, you need to figure out which life lessons you learned along the way that can help you with the next stage or the next year, or next season that’s coming up. For me it’s being able to put in perspective and understand what my dreams and goals are and always trying to achieve those goals through everyday action.  I  always say, “Practice isn’t for perfection.” People think practice is for perfection. Practice for habits. If you practice good things you’ll have good habits and that has helped me along the way.

SZ: Do you have a pre-game routine that helps you get into your playing mind set?

SC: I always take a nap, play my music in chronological order, and try to pray before games.

SZ: You’ve played on two gold medal Olympic teams. When you play on an Olympic team players are brought together from many sources. What are some of the important steps that bring a team together physically on the court and emotionally so players trust each other and play well together?

SC: (Laughing) Well I think if you had that answer you could make a lot of money. It’s about chemistry. You have to have the right people in the mix. I think a lot of times some of the best coaches have been able to see great people, great character and great skill sets. It’s about building great camaraderie, building chemistry and having that transition from off the court to on the court.

SZ: Besides basketball being your profession what continues to motivate you to prepare  

and be competitive night after night? What are the goals you still wish to achieve in the game? 

SC: For me I think I grew up to play this game. Whenever I get tired and don’t want to practice and don’t want to be in the locker room, or have to travel and everything else, I think about what would retirement look like? But I still want to compete. I still want to win 

championships and right now it’s just really fun helping the younger players, like I was helped along the way. Just trying to pour this given knowledge that I have into other players. I think that is really fulfilling for me this season.

SZ: Do you ever see yourself going into coaching?

SC: A lot of people ask me about that. Right now in the off season I am continuing to develop my broadcasting experience as a basketball analyst and color commentator for ESPN, because I really enjoy doing that as well. 

SZ: Your physical health took a turn in 2008 and your back began to bother you due to a herniated disc. During the medical exam an MRI revealed the presence of a cancerous tumor on one of your kidneys. In the years going forward you’ve come back from this but did that period of time shape your perspective of what life would be like outside of basketball?

SC: It just put things in perspective for me. I think I’ve always been humble. That’s the way I was raised in my family, so I think it just really brought me closer to my family and my faith.

SZ: Is there anything you would like to add regarding your new book, “Humble Journey: More Precious Than Gold”, or regarding your charity?

SC: “Humble Journey: More Precious Than Gold” was very therapeutic to write. It helped me have a voice and let people understand the true story and true struggles that not only for myself but for other professional athletes. It kind of gives the reader a glimpse inside what that looks like for me. I am really proud of the book. I’ve received great feedback. In regards to my charity Cash for Kids, it’s my baby, it’s in my DNA, it’s what I do. It’s a part of who I am to give back to our youth it’s not strenuous. It’s like spreading love and having the opportunity to really show kids that there are things out there that they can do, even when they may not believe or see it yet. 

SZ: Your athletic journey is really interesting. Are there any quotes, tips or stories that have guided you along the way?

SC: One of the greatest quotes for me is the scripture, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

SZ: Swin thank you for taking time out of your busy life schedule for this interview.

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

*This interview can also be read @ examiner.

*Photos by: Derek Blanks

Mental Challenges of Open Water Swimming

 As a kid, Joel Wilson was introduced to swimming at the Salinas YMCA and excelled in the sport. He swam well enough at North Salinas High School to earn a college swimming scholarship to U. C. Berkeley where he was an All American. After his college swimming career was complete he became interested in open water swimming and joined the South End Rowing Club in San Francisco. He’s been a member since 1974 and at the end of June will enjoy his 30th Golden Gate Swim. 

When Joel is on dry land he is the Assistant Head Coach with U.C. Santa Cruz’s Men’s and Women’s Collegiate Swimming and will begin his 11th year with the Mighty Slugs this Fall. Joel shares his depth of knowledge of open water swimming by coaching individuals for such swims as the  Trans Bay Swim, English Channel, Catalina Channel, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and swims across Lake Tahoe. 

SZ: What was your first long distance open water event? 

JW: I guess it was a mile swim around Santa Cruz Pier in 1972.  At that time that was considered a long distance swim although there was already a history of people doing Channel swims and long lake swims but it was unusual at that time.

SZ: How did you become interested in open water swimming?

JW: It was so much fun, such a change from being in the pool. I kept doing some small open water swims and then I wound up in 1974 becoming a member of the South End Rowing Club at the Aquatic Park in San Francisco. I would do 10-12 open water swims during the season which is usually a six month period.

SZ: Did you train for your first swim around Santa Cruz Pier?

JW: I did not train in the ocean. At that time I didn’t know enough to do that. I just got in and swam around and got out. It was very, very cold.

SZ: What’s the reason a swimmer only wears a bathing suit during these events?  Is it tradition or does it set a standard?

JW: Both of those things. Tradition and it sets a standard. Today you read about people during open water swims and the media typically does not distinguish between someone who does it in a suit, googles, and cap versus someone who’s out there in a wet suit. It’s two entirely different swims. That difference need to be emphasized.

SZ: Are some people out of the running automatically because they can’t adjust to the cold water?

JW: Most people can train to do it. I think anyone can adapt to the colder water. The first few times I did it I tell you it was pretty humorous to watch me shake.

SZ: Your body can go into shock because it’s so cold.

JW: Yeah, you go running off the beach and diving into the cold water and the typical reaction is that you can’t draw a breath. That’s a normal reaction. That happens to everyone but if you immerse yourself time and again over a period of time your body adapts.

SZ: Does meditation or putting yourself in an altered mental state help? 

JW: I think it can be helpful. It depends on the person. Some people kind of actively meditate and prepare themselves mentally that way.

SZ: What was your first Trans Bay Swim?

JW: For a long time beginning in 1990 I was involved in putting on a swim from Capitola to Santa Cruz. It was called the Pier to Pier, which is a 10 kilometer swim. Hosting this event was super stressful. There were so many safety elements worrying about the forty people in the water. In 2005 I stopped hosting the event and became interested in putting a team together to swim across the bay which was a whole different experience. The team was made up of friends of mine, people that I knew from many years of swimming open water events. I called them up and invited them to be part of a team and that’s how we came together. I still wound up doing the organizing but it was a different kind of responsibility. I knew everyone on the team, and their swimming background. I knew they would work well together. 

SZ: You both organized it and swam the event? What’s the distance?

JW: Yes, I organized and swam, it’s twenty-one miles across the bay from Santa Cruz Harbor to Monterey Harbor.

SZ: Have you swum the event solo? 

JW: No, I’ve always been part of a team. I have never been able to train enough to do a solo swim. Others have swum this distance solo.

SZ: Describe the swim.

JW: Monterey Bay is as challenging as the English Channel. It’s just a different swim. The distance is the same. The water is colder here. We don’t have the wicked current that the English Channel does but I would consider the swim equally challenging.

SZ: How many hours does it take?

JW: It depends on the swimmers but it can take anywhere from twelve to sixteen hours. There’s been a group of University of Santa Cruz swim team members who put together a team that does it a bit differently than we do it but they’ve gotten across in under ten hours. 

SZ: Is the event a race where teams compete to finish the distance as quickly as possible? Do you call up another university and say, “Our swimmers can beat your swimmers in an open water swim to Monterey, come on over.”

JW: Generally it’s pretty hard to find other college kids who would want to make this swim. It’s generally a fundraiser event for the swim team at the university.

SZ: What’s the typical age of an open water swimmer?

JW: Someone who is beginning open water swimming could very well be just out of college and they are looking to continue swimming and want to do something different other than pool swimming. That’s very common. Then there are people who have had a swimming background and have gotten away from the sport for awhile and are coming back to it. A lot of open water swimmers that are taking on the big swims tend to be in their 40’s and 50’s. 

SZ: You’ve coached solo swimmers for the English Channel, Trans Bay, Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. What are the similarities and differences in the preparation and swimming of these events?

JW: All these swims are long swims, that’s what they have in common. They are also all very difficult swims. The preparation is similar in that they are going to be doing a lot of training, a lot of meters over a long period of time. For instance the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim is generally water that is warmer than the ocean but Catalina, Monterey Bay, the English Channel are cold water swims. Swimmers must do a lot of preparation in that cold water. But in terms of the training we set up a plan so that most of their yards are swum in a pool because that’s typically what they have access to.

SZ: To build up their mental and physical endurance.

JW: Yeah, building yards over a long period of time so the training is going on in the pool and then we get out and begin training in the open water.

SZ: How far in advance are we talking about? Months, a year?

JW: Generally about a year, ten to seventeen months.

SZ: It’s a huge commitment.

JW: For many of these swims to get on the list you’ve got to plan at least a year in advance. 

SZ: What do you mean get on a  list? Like announce you are going to swim the English Channel?

JW:  Yeah. For the English Channel sometimes the wait is two or three years out. They don’t have room for you so you have to get on a list.

SZ: That many people are attempting to swim it? I had no idea it was such a popular swim.

JW: Yeah, the English Channel is very much that way. One of my swimmers right now is going to get a slot. She’s about a year and a half out and the only reason she got the slot is that another swimmer gave up her spot.

SZ: Are there fees involved?

JW: Yes, you pay a fee to the swim association and you pay a fee for your escort boats. That’s standard in Catalina and the English Channel.

SZ: Is there a periodization protocol that leads up to these events? How do you plot it out?

JW: Yes, we back up from the day of the event, week by week, month by month and figure out a plan. It’s very detailed. It has to be. These are the most difficult swims you can do anywhere and the preparation is vital.

SZ: There are potential dangers involved in the open water swims, cold water, jelly fish, sharks, how do the swimmers prepare their minds for these potential unknown distractions to prevent the fear factor from interfering with their performance? 

JW: We are swimming in an environment not completely familiar to use. I think we all understand that we are getting into an environment that is not our own and so we have a sense of there’s stuff out there. Those elements are part of what we are taking on as part of the challenge. When I was hosting the Pier to Pier swim we were swimming a half mile off shore between Capitola and Santa Cruz. I used to tell people when they asked about what was out there in the water, I’d say, “It’s more dangerous driving your car to the event than what you’re going to experience in the water.” Over the years swimming across the bay we’ve seen a lot. All kinds of creatures and really the biggest barrier as open water swimmers are the jellies.

SZ: Jellies can stop a swimmer.

JW: Your response to the sting and it can just be the pain of it and then you add the toxins which can cause an allergic reaction. If you get stung but don’t have an allergic reaction you can still be taxed mentally in that you just get tired of being in pain for so long.

SZ: Are there mental training exercises recommended for practice on land that swimmers engage in besides meditation?

JW: Swimmers will rehearse the swim in their mind, by visualizing the various elements of the swim. The start off the beach, the swim at sunrise, the swim at sunset, having the escort boat next to them in the water. They can run through all the various segments of the swim in their mind. I think it’s really helpful, for swimmers to visualize themselves all the way through the swim, completing the swim up to the point of walking up on the beach at their destination.

SZ: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your open water swims, pre-race or during the race both mentally and physically. 

JW: In large events with lots of swimmers in the water it’s an adaptation to being in a big group of people who are anxious. There can be a lot of bumping into people or grabbing. All of that can be part of a large group swim and it’s unnerving. It mainly happens in triathlons. In most open water swims you are swimming close to someone and can be side by side for hundreds of yards. It does take some time to get used to but you have to get used to it.

SZ: What are some of the challenges for you pre-swim and during the swim as a coach both mentally and physically?

JW: For me it’s more nerve wracking to be the coach than to be the swimmer. Part of my job is to know my swimmer well and know how they have prepared mentally and physically. When the event starts to be present with them in a way that’s supportive for them and doesn’t create more stress.

SZ: Do you have a favorite quote, tip or story that has inspired you over the years to continue your involvement in open water swimming?

JW: I’ve met open water swimmers over the years and generally these people are older than me and I marvel at what they are doing as an older person. These people were doing the same very challenging swims that I was doing. They are out there in the water a lot longer than me in very cold water, it’s amazing. That’s always inspired me, ever since I was in my twenty’s. Just watching these folks do these swims I would always say, “That’s the way I want to be when I get to be that age.” 

SZ: Anything you would like to add?

JW: We are lucky to have an extensive line-up of open water swims in our region. Our regional Master’s group, called Pacific Masters Swimming is a great source of information about open water swimming. Anyone interested in learning more can contact one of the local Masters clubs listed on the Pacific Masters website.

SZ: Joel thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give me some insight about the world of open water swimming.

Photo By: Joel Wilson

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

*This article can be read @ examiner.