Voices from the bench, part one

“As research has accumulated on coach-athlete interactions, it has become clear that coaches can have either a positive or a negative impact on the lives of athletes at all levels of competition. A positive coach-athlete relationship can enhance athletes’ psychological and social well-being, foster the development of self-efficacy, positive values and coping skills, and promote continued involvement in healthy physical activity. In contrast, negative coach-athlete relationships create distress, foster the development of dysfunctional attitudes towards achievement and competition, create needless interpersonal distress, and contribute to sport competition attrition.” Frank Smoll & Ronald Smith, University of Washington. 

This is a two part interview that begins with the reflections of an athlete who made the high school soccer team yet hasn’t been called off the bench to play during league games even though he keeps trying to win over the coach and have a chance to prove himself. Part two is the opportunity for his parents to voice their concerns as they attempt to figure out how to participate in problem solving their child’s high school athletic experience when they see how much participating on the team and being part of a team means to their child. 

This interview is not designed to solve any issues but to give the athlete and his parents a voice as they know they are not the only family that has experienced this type of situation. It’s a reminder for coaches to keep in mind their power and influences on the population of athletes they oversee. High school is a vulnerable developmental time for youth. It’s more than sports. It’s the bigger picture of personal development, inclusion in groups, and learning from adult role modeling.

SZ: How long have you participated in competitive soccer, both at school and leagues outside of school?

Athlete: I’m a junior and have been playing in the high school program for three years. I began playing soccer when I has in the fifth grade and played CYSA through middle school into the beginning of high school. The first two years I participated on the junior varsity team. As a junior I’ve made the varsity team roster. 

SZ: So your soccer skills are developed. Were you an active player when you were on the Freshman and Sophomore junior varsity teams?

Athlete: Yes, I actively played my Freshman/Sophomore years. Freshman year I started every game. Sophomore year I was team captain and started every game. I was honored at years end by being given the Defensive Player of the Year Award. When I made the Varsity team, my junior year I wasn’t given much playing time. 

SZ: Was there a different coach?

Athlete: Yes, there was a new coach. 

SZ: Prior to this last year you were experiencing a lot of playing time. The school doesn’t have a no cut policy, you actually made the team.

Athlete: Yes I made the Varsity team by trying out for it.

SZ: Did you have a falling out with the coach?

Athlete: No, he and I actually do well together. We don’t have anything against each other and I’ve never talked back to him or done anything to upset him. 

SZ: How does the coach explain that you were an active participant prior years and this year you are not put into any league games?

Athlete: Our Junior Varsity coaches from last year are the same. I guess the new Varsity coach hasn’t talked to them to learn about how my skills can help the team. I would think that a new coach would talk to past coaches to hear what players are like and get to know them.

SZ: Are there a lot of new players on the team?

Athlete: No, the team is made up of mostly juniors and seniors.

SZ: How often do you practice as a team?

Athlete: We practice Monday through Saturday. Wednesday’s and Fridays are game days.

SZ: So the team practices/plays six days a week. Do you participate in the scrimmages?

Athlete: I did play in scrimmages. Those were mainly in the beginning of the season when we scrimmaged against other teams, so the coach could see us play and decide on how to best use our skills.

SZ: Did you play in whole games during the scrimmages or just parts of the game?

Athlete: Usually I’d play a half then be taken out. I’d be put in from time to time in the second half. 

SZ: How many official games and tournaments are there during the season?

Athlete: We have one tournament in the beginning of the season, four pre-season games then about fourteen team league games.

SZ:  Did you play in some of those?

Athlete: Yes, I was given some playing time but not a lot.

SZ: Do you attend all the team practices?

Athlete: I’ve never missed a practice. I attend each and everyone of them.

SZ: How does your coach explain to you you’re not having an opportunity to play in actual competitive games?

Athlete: He says, “I haven’t seen product from you.” Meaning in the time I am in I haven’t made a goal or an assist. That’s all he care about, “Is a player making daily product for us?”

SZ:  Are other players experiencing the same situation, where they made the team and they aren’t being put into the real games?

Athlete: There are quite a few of us on the bench that are not given playing time.

SZ: The field of youth sport psychology talks a lot about sport as teaching youth life skills. What life skills lessons are you learning from your current athletic experience?

Athlete: This current athletic experience makes me want to drive harder and harder and become better and better because if I am not getting playing time there must be something wrong that I am doing. I mean the coach says, “I just need to put out product.” Well that advice is not really going to help the player on the bench. If the coach needs “product” put me in the game so I can make “product.” But the way it is now leaves me to where I have to do stuff on my own outside of practice and see if that will help me so he notices. Where he notices and thinks, “Oh he’s making product now.”

SZ: Is your situation and relationship with the coach motivational?

Athlete: I guess for an average kid probably not. But I make it where it has to be motivational. I can’t make it bring me down. I just use it to boost me up, but it can be very demotivating. Like okay, I’m just sitting here everyday watching all my buddies play and I’m sitting here. It can be very demotivating.  

SZ: Coaches are highly valued role models. What are you learning from your coaches role modeling?

Athlete: His style is very precise. He’s had a long soccer coaching path. He grew up playing soccer and played in college. He’s very experienced but his coaching style is where it has be precise all the time. Yes, we want to win a championship and everything but with that you have to have a little heart in it too. Like let kids who aren’t very good play. And sometimes even when they are good players the coach doesn’t let them play. The coach just wants “product” all the time. Like, it’s high school Varsity soccer but then again it’s high school soccer where kids are playing to have fun, make friends and be better human beings. 

SZ: From this experience what are you learning about adult behaviors, and attitudes around team and youth player development?

Athlete: There came a time in our season when we were playing an important game. We were down 1-0 in the second half and the team kept fighting and fighting because our fitness was so high compared to everyone else and the coach pushed us to our limits we were able to fight to the end. The team scored to go into over time and ended up winning 2-1. The game can get to a point where you move from being a boy to a man. 

SZ: Fast forward three years. If you were to look back on this athletic experience in three years could you see this as something positive or something that could have been done differently?

Athlete: Something that could have been done differently. Because flashing back, all those memories of the team winning games, then thinking, “Wow I don’t really care about it. I didn’t get to contribute in it so it’s not really a memory for me. Only other people got to play and have that moment.” 

SZ: If you were coaching this team what would you do differently?

Athlete: Know it’s a game and you want to put in the strongest team to win. But in situations where the team is up 2-1, that’s not a great lead but when your team is strong enough defensively to keep the lead, put guys into the game. Have the guys participate for enough time to make “product.” In my current situation the coach puts one of us  from the bench onto the game for like five minutes just to give the others a break. 

SZ: This word “product” is gonging me in the head each time you say it. You’re not a “product.” 

Athlete: I feel like I am harping because when I do play I feel like I’m making “product,” by playing well defensively. I know I am not making goal “product” but I’m hustling to every ball, getting to them and I’m hustling on defense. I know that other guys are making “product” but I’m the one that created those opportunities for them because of my defensive play. I got the ball to other team members which made the “product.”

SZ: It’s team work.

Athlete: Yeah but the coach doesn’t acknowledge or notice the little things. He just wants the big stuff, boom~goal!

SZ: What’s your relationship with your team mates? What do they say to you if anything about the bench sitting situation?

Athlete: My relationship with my team is really good. We are all good friends. I always talk to one of the captains who I am close with. He tells me I just have to work harder and I definitely deserve playing time but that like coach says, “We need product out there.” The coach just looks at the bench like, “Okay, who is going to be my answer.” He’s looking for that type of player. It’s all about whether the player can be the final “product” or what not.

SZ: The word “product” is still gonging me in the ear when you say it.

Athlete: It’s a gong in my head too because he always says it, “product, product, product.”

SZ: So that’s how you would run the team differently. You would allow the players to connect together as a team and give everyone playing time. What does this coach need to know about how it feels to be an active participant on a team, work hard each practice and not have the opportunity to engage in the action? 

Athlete: I would tell him, I wish you could be in our shoes. You were probably a player who received a lot of playing time growing up. I wish you could be on the bench looking at all your buddies play but you’re always on the bench. I wish you could have the feeling of that in your head of being on the bench and realize, that’s a good memory for the guys on the field but I’m not making a lot of shared memories from this experience. That’s what I would want him to know and how we feel. I wish he could be in our shoes.

SZ: Has this experience changed your attitude about sport participation? 

Athlete: It definitely has changed me personally. It makes me want to train harder so I can be a step ahead. It might not get there but I’ve just got to keep on grinding and everything because there’s always going to be that natural born soccer player with natural speed and everything.

SZ: What if this coach is not going to acknowledge your talents, drive and desire even as you work harder and harder.

Athlete: I try not to look at people like that. They have to do something to really get me mad. What would hurt me is if he never noticed me at all. Because at practices he definitely notices me. He doesn’t really acknowledge the other guys that are on the bench during the games. If he didn’t acknowledge me that would make me angry. The fact that he does acknowledge me makes me feel a little bit better. 

SZ: I am impressed with your persistence, attitude and composure. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about your high school soccer experience.

*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
*www.susanzaro.com

*This article can also be read @ Examiner

Arizona Sun Devils women's tennis

Sheila McInerney enters her 30th season as the Sun Devil’s woman’s head tennis coach. McInerney has led the Sun Devils to 18 NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances and eight quarter final appearances in her tenure. Her teams have made the NCAA tournament in twenty-seven straight years and twenty-nine years total. McInerney’s teams hold a high commitment to academics and had three members named to the PAC-10 All-Academic team as well as being the only team at Arizona State to post a perfect Academic Progress Rate score. 

In her collegiate years, McInerney attended USC, where she captained the Trojans during her senior season. The four-time All-American also was a four-time Trojan Spirit Award winner. During her time at USC the Trojans won three national championships. After college she played on the WTA tour and achieved a world ranking in the top seventy-five. 

SZ: You have a wealth of experience as a player having played junior, collegiate and professional tennis prior to your coaching career at ASU. What types of coaching did you receive on the mental game of tennis to prepare you for matches, and keeping your focus during matches as a junior? 

SM: I’ll be honest I don’t think we received much growing up. When I was growing up my dad was pretty involved in my tennis in a good way. I read a lot of books and one was, The Power of Positive Thinking. I think Norman Vincent Peale wrote it. Through the years as a coach I’ve been to a lot of seminars and listened to Jim Loehr who has contributed a lot to the tennis industry. Loehr emphasizes players having routines, and breathing techniques. Growing up the phrase “sport psychologist” wasn’t really allowed. But now, whether it be tennis or any other sport here at Arizona State we employ a sport psychologist that the player’s go to see. Certainly thirty years ago that service wasn’t available for players. Its really changed.

SZ: You’ve been the head coach at ASU for thirty years. What changes have you introduced over the years to prepare your teams mentally for the tennis season?

SM: Our staff works with the team around goal setting. We meet with the team after the tennis season is over and discuss summer goals, short and long term. When the player’s return in the Fall we check in with them and ask what they’ve done around their goals. We ask them what their short and long term goals are for the Fall. At the end of the Fall we move onto Spring goals, team goals, individual goals. We do a lot of goal setting. I meet individually with the players and work with them to construct individual goals. Then our sport psychologist meets with the team to work on team chemistry, and accountability goals. When I first began coaching I thought I could do everything. I see myself as a positive person and I’ve been involved in tennis all my life. I know how to get a player pretty well in their developmental progression from point A to point B. But then I realized that each player’s at a different starting point regarding being on a team. So from a coaching stand point our staff works with players more on technique, and the mental training we have the sport psychologist provide assistance in team dynamics because that becomes extremely important.

SZ: So the coaching staff sticks closer to more technical, strategic player involvement.

SM: Right, but also match play. I help the players understand momentum during a match. For example, when a player is in a match and they lose a couple of points, they need to slow things down. When they are up 3-1 in a match, that’s the time to keep their foot on the gas and keep up their playing pace. Our staff works with the players on mental match situations that are specific to tennis competition. 

SZ: Are any mental skills practiced off court?

SM: In the last three or four years we’ve done a lot more. Basically my experience with players is that they are visual learners. We video practices. Not every practice, but when we play practice matches we video the match. All our competitive matches in season are videoed. The player can now go right onto their i-pad or i-phone and receive instant feedback. That’s been a big help. Technology has made it easy for us as coaches. After matches players can go in and watch the video and we review. Tennis was always a little more difficult because there’s six matches going on at one time. Most schools now days have invested in cameras on every court. We look at technique, strategies, body language,  whether the player was performing her routine before starting a point, breathing etc. 

I think the players have really benefited from that. During a practice I can tell a player, “Keep your head up on your serve,” and they player may think she is doing that, but when I pull up the video she can see what her head was doing, it’s made a big difference. 

SZ: There was a period of time you traveled with Lindsey Davenport and Chanda Rubin who both had successful tennis careers. What mental qualities did they have that gave them a boost over their opponents? 

SM: Lindsey was such a good player, a great ball striker. She had fantastic stroke technique and really understood the game. Lindsey did not like to lose. That was a strong point with her. She was young, fifteen, when I traveled with her. Later as she continued to physically and mentally develop she got into great physical shape. When you are in great physical shape you become mentally stronger. I think visualization, and all that stuff is hugely important, but from a mental stand point if you look at tennis in general, you are mentally stronger when you are in great shape.

I look at Novak Djokovic, and you can say all you want about him, sure he’s got great coaching and all but he’s so fit. He has that much more confidence in himself. I see that across the board in all sports. Even the professional golfers are training and working out like never before. Tiger Woods brought this into the sport. Getting back to Djokovic, he’s changed his diet, he’s used one of those CVAC Pods, it’s incredible. 

Being physically fit has really taken over the sport of tennis and it’s helped player’s mentally. I find that within my own tennis team that the better shape the player’s are in the more confident they move on the court. One of my favorite quotes by Vincent Lombardi is, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” If a player gets tired out there they will make poor decisions. The player will go for big shots because they are tired and can’t stay in the point. Every player experiences nerves. All the top players in the world admit to it. But once a player gets themselves into great playing shape they feel they deserve to win. The mental and physical preparation is related. 

SZ: Year after year in big events such as the Australian Open, The French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open the women often have lopsided matches Many of these in the semi-finals and finals. In your opinion do you see these lopsided results as being more physical or mental defeats? 

SM: If you look at the great players like Tracy Austin even at fifteen years old, she always believed she was going to win the U.S. Open. If you look at how Richard Williams brought up his daughter’s Venus and Serena, he gave them the message they were going to be the number one and two female tennis players in the world. They entered their professional tennis career with that mind set. I do think that some of it is mentality. I look at Maria Sharapova, the media and some people don’t care for her tennis. But I have the utmost respect for her because she is not the most natural athlete, yet she works hard, she competes fiercely and rarely loses to someone she shouldn’t lose to. She gets nervous, but is a great competitor, believes in herself and fights to the end. Looking at Serena, she is a pretty confident person. She gets nervous but I think she just sort of toughs it out. Some player’s who are in great physical shape, for example, Ana Ivanovic or Jelena Jankovic move forward but then drop back. So it may be mental lapses. 

I find Rafael Nadal interesting because he’s very humble. I recently read an article where he basically said he never thinks he’s better than anyone else. What he does do is work so much harder than his opponents. That’s why his body breaks down. There’s just so many different levels. If you look at the top women overall I think the mental game plays into it a bit. Steffi Graf was another mentally tough player. You have to add to this list Li Na who just won the 2014 Australian Open. Her current coach is Carlos Rodriquez who previously worked with Justine Henin. Li Na said that in the off season her work with Rodriquez was very tough, very strong. So I think mentally this helps players overcome anything. Li Na’s level of play has improved. 

SZ: When a player puts that much physical work into their preparation, it develops mental ownership that no-one is going to take this match from me because I’ve put too much work into the preparation. My opponent is going to need to beat me every point.

SZ: Over the years some of your player’s have continued onto the professional tour. What do player’s need to know about the next step? What overall skills do they need physically and mentally to prepare for the next level?

SM: I think the hardest part probably of the transition from college to the pro’s is the lifestyle. I think some of these college players can go out there and do fairly well on the tour but it’s a challenge because they’ve got to love to play. They’ve got to love to compete because the tour is not an easy lifestyle. Media coverage at the Majors highlights the glamor. But making it on the tour starting at the beginning without a ranking is the hard part. It’s lonely, it’s not easy. As I continue to say in my opinion the player has to be in the utmost shape. The beauty of college tennis is that the best player’s have won a lot and they’ve learned how to win matches. Once a player is on tour they have that experience and believe in themselves. Along with that the players need a strong support system. In the old days we’d be on tour and have buddies to practice with. Now it’s a little more of an isolated existence. It’s difficult for a player starting out if they don’t have a lot of financial backing, which is another challenge. The player needs to be really hungry, because it’s going to be challenging. 

Whereas in college, although it’s still an individual sport the players are supplied with coaches everyday on the court, have access to video, a sport psychologist and  nutritionist to consult with, pretty much everything they need. After college when the player is off on their own they’ve got to have somewhat of a support system because it’s tough. 

SZ: What’s your favorite part of coaching at the collegiate level? 

SM: I’m helping 18-22 year olds mature. For some of these player’s it’s their first time away from home for an extended period. It’s a big thing to see them develop as people and players. I think I am a pretty laid back coach. I’m pretty organized and focused as a coach. I think though that some player’s may feel as though I am a tough coach. Whereas I don’t see myself as a tough coach. I think the young players need to learn a certain amount of discipline. Things have changed in coaching. Today’s athlete comes in and has high expectations and the school is providing much more support. 

But players arrive at college and they have personal coaches back home, the school provides tutors, sport medicine doctors, trainers, etc. Yet, I don’t always feel player’s are as confident in themselves as they used to be. Young players have so much done for them in their junior years. College may be the first time that they have been on their own and are not the big fish in the small pond anymore. So I think from a confidence stand point it’s very interesting. As coaches we try to encourage the players to be more accountable. We try to help them become more independent. I remember my college days at USC and I would call my parents collect once a week to check in, “Collect call from Sheila,” and hope they would accept the call. (Laughing....). Now the players call their parents three times a day, or text.

As a coach a lot of things have changed. I think the fun part for me is keeping up with the times. I’m much more flexible as a coach than I was when I began years ago. As a tennis staff while working with the players we ask them a lot of questions. If we “tell” the kids it’s in one ear and out the other. Growing up playing tennis I learned to place the ball in the court in response to situations. We find that a lot of young players don’t know the strategic game. We ask the players questions. For example if the ball is hit crosscourt where is the next ball going to go? Where would you expect this next ball to go? But as a coach, I’ve adapted, and have to to stay involved.  

We also have our team play a lot more matches than when I first began coaching. You were asking about the mental parts of the game earlier. I find player’s coming in aren’t as competitive, match tough as they used to be. We have our player’s compete more in practice because it’s not the end of the world if they lose in practice. So there are many aspects of a players development I get to see over the four year period. 

SZ: Do you have any favorite quotes, stories or tips that have guided your career?

SM: We hand out a lot of quotes to the team. A lot of the time the player’s bring in quotes. Nothing profound but, “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me.” In college tennis whatever team wins four matches wins. So each player needs to take care of their match and not rely on another player to win for the team. “Don’t let your ship come in, swim out to it.” They need to go after what they want. Going back to these player’s having a lot done for them, many just wait and let things happen. The good player’s go after what they want. From a coaching standpoint, “Player’s don’t care how much you know, they want to know how much you care.” As a coach player’s need to know how much I am invested in how they are doing in school, how their family is doing, how life is going. But with that being said it’s got to go both ways. The coaching staff can’t be the only giver, the players need to give back. 

SZ: What would you like the public to know about the ASU Sun Devils tennis team and the upcoming season? 

SM: We take a lot of pride in their individual and player development. Our players get better as the season goes on. So I think that’s sort of the mantra of our program, “Maximize your ability.” If the players want to get better they will improve through this program because we invest a lot of time in them. Thirty years later I see myself as a much better coach. I think the public needs to know how fortunate student athletes of today are. They come to a division one school and receive great coaching. Athletes receive tutoring, and opportunities through the school such as, internships, leadership programs or mentors. One thing that’s always rankled me a bit, particularly in football, is when I hear, “Are student athletes really athletes?” They are. I mean these schools do so much for the athletes of today. If the player doesn’t finish college, they went pro early, or didn’t put the effort in because the schools are bending over backwards for these athletes. College athletes of today have fantastic opportunities. 

SZ: Sheila thanks for taking time for this interview. The Sun Devils play Stanford March, 29th @ Stanford.

*Photos provided courtesy of ASU media.

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

*This article can also be read @ examiner

Santa Clara U. Bronco men's tennis making an impact

Santa Clara University men’s tennis coach Derek Mills describes himself as, “Super motivated,” and it shows as the Bronco’s have moved from off the map as a team to being on the collegiate rankings radar.  Mills is in his sixth year as SCU men’s tennis coach and under his guidance the program has grown. In 2012, Mills led Santa Clara U. to it’s most successful season in program history, including a trip to the NCAA tournament where they won a first round match against the then No. 19 Texas in the first round.

Prior to taking the coach job at Santa Clara U. Mills spent two seasons at Saint Louis University, in Missouri, a d-1 school, where he doubled up as head coach of the men’s and women’s teams. During those two seasons, three of his players earned All-Conference USA honors. Mills then left Saint Louis for Honolulu, Hawaii where he spent six years working with some of the top juniors.

SZ: Prior to coaching collegiate tennis you were a successful teaching pro in Hawaii. What was the deciding factor to move into coaching collegiate tennis?

DM: Actually I was a coach at Saint Louis U. before I went to Hawaii. It was my first division one head coaching job and I was coaching both the men’s and women’s teams. I did that for two years and just got super burned out, working with two teams at that level. After that I moved to Hawaii and did some coaching and real estate stuff. While I was there I thought about how much I missed coaching college tennis. I missed the competition of coaching at the level. About a year before I took the Santa Clara job I started to look at different job opportunities that were available but I had been out of college coaching for five years already. That’s a long time with all the young coaches coming up. Even though I had two years of division one experience as a head coach it was still not a lot to compete with. But when the Santa Clara job became available I submitted my resume and it just worked out. A lot of my family members live in the bay area and I had planned a vacation to come and see them, which coincided with the SCU interview. But my basic motivation was I just wanted to get back into coaching college tennis, I missed it.

SZ: Prior to returning to college coaching your junior program in Hawaii was quite successful. Besides technical awareness what coaching skills do you feel transfer well over to the collegiate level?

DM: In Hawaii the tennis community is very small. When I arrived there and started teaching, with a division one coaching background, it obviously opened some doors for me. As people got to know me a bit, I was quickly working with a lot of the top boy’s and girl’s. Hawaii on kind of the down side, even though they have great weather, don’t really turn out really competitive players. I brought a competitiveness in my teaching that maybe the average coach in Hawaii wouldn’t bring out. The Hawaiians call it “the mainland” way of doing things. I brought that competitive perspective to the juniors and I think it excited them. That’s why I was able to attract them and work with them for a few years.

SZ: Since I am a mainlander, what was the difference or trigger point to help those kids broaden their dreams and ambitions?

DM: Purely from a competitive stand point people in Hawaii are so laid back, even when they are competing. It’s hard to explain. You just have to go through it to understand it. It was interesting for me to experience. Some of the kids that I started working with didn’t really understand the time commitment that a lot of the top players coming in from the mainland put in.

SZ: You guided them towards a discipline and focus of time commitment and competitiveness in tennis.

DM: Absolutely, no question about it.

SZ: In the six seasons as head coach of SCU men’s tennis you’ve transformed the program. What were the opportunities you saw in SCU before you decided to accept the position?

DM: Before I took the job and was going through the interview process the members of the interview committee were saying, “We had such a great year last year with the previous coach.” In the back of my mind I was thinking, “It was a pretty good year but I know for a fact I can help the team do better.” They were so used to maybe getting into the top seventy-five in the collegiate rankings. If your team is in the top seventy-five your school is kind of considered in the rankings. Maybe in a good year previously SCU had reach a high of sixty-eight or in the seventies. I just thought, “Wow I feel like what I bring to the table, we can do a lot better than that and expect it every year.” That’s what  kind of intrigued me to being at SCU. It’s a great school and in a great area of the country but I just felt this team should be doing a lot better than they have in the past.

SZ: A few years back you were able to recruit some strong transfer players. Brian Brogan from Pepperdine, Andrew Kells, from USC, and Nico Vinel from Virginia Commonwealth. How did you sell them on the SCU program which was still pretty much unknown as a strong tennis university?

DM: Brian Brogan is from the bay area. He began his collegiate career at SCU and left when there was a coaching change. There was about a three or four month period where there was a coaching vacancy between the previous coach and my taking the job. So Brian actually left to go to a bigger program at Pepperdine then ended up coming back because one, he missed the bay area and two because he saw what I was doing for the team and the vision I had for the program.

The other guys who came on board were at big schools and saw an opportunity to get playing time right away by coming to SCU. These guys helped rebuild the program. We were one of the worst division one teams in the country. For example, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranks teams 1-200 and we weren’t even in the 200’s. We didn’t even know where we were the first two years.

SZ: So it was a great opportunity for these guys to be able to play for a division one school, step right into the role of being impact players.

DM: And definitely be a part of it. They were already a part of it but they were at really, really good schools and big programs. They were on the cusp of playing. But I think they figured out that they might not get as much playing time as they wanted and they wanted more playing time.

SZ: That was good timing. This timing thing has been great for you.

DM: So far.

SZ: In previous interviews you mention that the team chemistry is strong and the players play for each other. What are the situations you create to build that team unity. What do you do to help them bond and develop respect for each other?

DM: I don’t want to put more importance on what we do for tennis but I think it’s one of the toughest jobs that we have. It’s a very unique situation on a college tennis team because we’re getting, especially with where the program is now, we are getting top level players and in tennis when you are growing up through the USTA it is really all about you. It’s not like being on a basketball team where team concepts are ingrained. Tennis is the absolute opposite. In the juniors some players won’t even practice with the other best player in town or in the city because they don’t want any advantage to go to another player, to figure out how to play your game. It’s very all about you.

So from the first time we get the guys into our program we preach team concepts. Everything we do is all about the team. We let guys know when we are recruiting them, that in the juniors it’s all about you, but when we get you, it’s all about we. That’s some of the things we really try to impress upon all our players. We do a lot of things that seem kind of basic but for some of these guys that are coming from a high school tennis background, they’ve never had team camaraderie. Just recently the whole team went to the movies. You might think, “Every team does that.” But for tennis? Players aren’t used to that, they just aren’t.

SZ: You spent the first part of your career coaching juniors. At what age is it important to help juniors develop their foundation for the mental game in tennis? What are ways you help young players grasp the importance of the mental game in their overall development?

DM: It’s important to start off right from the beginning. I don’t think you say, “Okay now that the player is twelve years old we are going to begin teaching the mental game.” In the higher levels of tennis, most players are equally fit, most players have a lot of the same technical background, the one thing that differentiates between the top players and maybe the guy that’s ten spots behind him is the mental game.

When I was coaching in Hawaii we started right away which included very simple things, for example, in between points whether the player wins or loses the point, focus on the racket strings and move them. Other things we taught the kids in Hawaii and do with the SCU team is to develop routines. To continually do the same thing whether you win or lose the point.

SZ: Are most of the players who come into your program already aware of how to manage their mental game?

DM: At the collegiate level many players have already been coached in this to a certain degree. We definitely remind them and we definitely talk with the team about it. I know how most of the U.S. kids are trained but you never know there might be some countries where their focus in on more playing skills development and less mental. So on a daily basis we talk about and practice routines and refocusing on the next point.

SZ: What is your philosophy for players to practice their mental game during practice?

DM: We try to create a very competitive atmosphere in practice. We work on that on a daily basis within a practice. Being competitive but also working out the different mental grinds that players are going to have during either a match or a drill, then getting through that using your routines. On the ninety second change overs some of the guys will bring out flash cards to remind themselves, “Okay this is what I’ve got to do as part of my routine.” Tennis is very routine based to get prepared for the next point and we work on that everyday in practice.

SZ: So during practices or several of the weekly practices you set up competitive situations for the players, such as, playing seven points and the winner moves up a court.

DM: Yes, that’s exactly what we do. Everything is competitive and we do it to where you think of just hitting cross court forehands to each other who is going to be the one not to make an error. We make it into a competition. Most everything we do in our practices is competitive based and then we have a different set of practices called “individuals” that’s more technique, and strategy based. When we have the team together at team practices I would say it’s ninety-eight percent competitive even within basic drills.

SZ: If your guys are coming from classes or a tough week at school and it’s competitive everyday on the court how does a player side step burn-out? Or do you believe that’s part of the conditions they will face when playing for real?

DM: If I feel the guys need a mental physical break I just give them a day off. It’s really a feel I have for the players as a coach. I can tell in the warm up if a guy needs a break. Some days we literally finish a warm up, talk to the team for ten minutes then say, “Okay you guys can go.” I have a feel for where the guys are at and know when maybe we need to put the brakes on. Some days we go and play soccer or something else to get some cardio in and step away from tennis.

SZ: You’ve established a new tradition of success for men’s tennis at SCU. Do you have any favorite, quotes, stories or tips that inspire you or that you use to inspire the team?

DM: I don’t have any quite honestly. Growing up I always idolized coaches like Bill Walsh, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. I always looked up to coaches. During the NFC West playoffs this year Jim Harbaugh was being interviewed and a reporter asked him about an upcoming game and his strategy, his reply to the question was a quip from Al Davis, who used to say, “Just win baby.” That’s kind of our philosophy around here. “Let’s just win baby.” It’s a reminder we work as hard as we can every single day to get better. Let’s just do what we do.

SZ: Derek thank you for taking the time for this interview. Go Broncos@

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

KiAi the art of energy integration

Jamie Leno Zimron is the developer of The KiAi Way, a leading-edge integrative, body based peak performance training. Jamie grew up in Wisconsin and at age seven was introduced to golf when her parents took up the sport. Jamie became a state and national junior golf champion and played competitively until she entered Stanford University and became interested in the martial art of Aikido. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford she earned her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, and continued to practice and teach Aikido. She founded and was the Chief Instructor of the Women’s Aikido School/Aikido Arts Center in San Francisco for many years. Along with her vast experience in golf, Aikido, bodywork and psychotherapy, Jamie is certified through the LPGA as a Class A Teaching Professional. She owns and operates KiAi Golf and founded The KiAi Way Inc. a company she formed in 2001 to bring innovative high performance principles and practices to golf, leadership and workplace wellness.

SZ: When you began playing golf what were the mental training programs for you at that time?

JZ: There were none except my dad was a big proponent of Dale Carnegie, PMA (Positive Mental Attitude). If there was anything I just had PMA, which was helpful.

SZ: The things we focus our thoughts on connected to mental dialogue is considered a mental training practice.

JZ: It’s interesting how Dale Carnegie’s programs from back in the 1940’s became expressed in modern mental trainings. My father’s “PMA all the way” from Dale Carnegie became like a mantra.

SZ: Dale Carnegie was instrumental for your mental game because he influenced your father and your father influenced you. Did you take any Dale Carnegie programs?

JZ: My dad was a Dale Carnegie program! Every day he woke up us kids at six in the morning even in the middle of the Wisconsin winter and said, “What’s today kids? And we had to answer “The best day of our lives until tomorrow - no matter how we felt.”

SZ: It wasn’t like you had to get up and sit around the breakfast table and recite Dale Carnegie secrets to success quotes?

JZ: Well we sort of did. Breakfast was early in the morning and Wisconsin mornings are really cold in the winter. The conversation was like, “Sit up straight it’s a wonderful day. Best day of my life until tomorrow. PMA all the way!” That was breakfast.

SZ: Did you feel that?

JZ: No I didn’t necessarily feel it but whether I felt it or not that’s what we got. My dad acted that way whether he felt it or not. He was a Depression era child and had a very rough life growing up. He pulled himself up by his boot straps. Dale Carnegie was a role model who had gotten over his fears of public speaking and made a great success of himself through the power of positive thinking.

SZ: You mentioned a story about how Dale Carnegie training from your dad focused your thoughts to make a crucial, clutch seventy-two foot putt in a golf tournament.

JZ: I was defending State Champion and playing in a semi-final match. I was one hole down going into the 18th hole and had to tie the hole to get into a sudden death play-off. It was a five par and my opponent was already on the green in three with a giant green. I had this monster putt to make  from the fringe of the green. My opponent had a fairly long putt but mine was much longer. I just walked up the hill to the green thinking, “Anything is possible, never give up.” I ended up sinking the ball into the hole. A newspaper reporter later measured it and put my seventy-two foot putt in headlines. I went on to win the sudden death holes and the next day won the tournament to become the Wisconsin State Champion all over again.

SZ: Do you remember feeling as though you were in a meditative state? What was the experience for you?

JZ: Interesting question. When I think about it I was in a bit of an altered zone state because everything was sort of a blur, behind and around me. I was definitely in an extra-focused state. I wasn’t nervous, my heart wasn’t pounding, there was no sense of dread or negativity. I just looked over the putt, went up and stroked it and it rolled right into the hole. The whole thing was sort of surreal.

SZ: Were you saying a mantra?

JZ: Not really. I remember being in a really quiet state, feeling slightly scared walking up to the green and thinking, “I’ve really got to make this.” Then I just went about my business and everything else kind of receded into the background. It was general positivity like, “This can be done. I can still win this. This is possible.” My main interest was to get the ball close enough to the hole to two putt, while hoping she might three-putt. I knew it wasn’t over. I could still win. Making that putt was thrilling and I guess I had made mental space for it to happen. 

SZ: You were able to take that day’s victory and be successful the next day to win the Championship. Sometimes players after experiencing a huge success the next day are flat.

JZ: I didn’t feel that the next day. The next day for me was a piece of cake. I think I won by a lot and everything seemed easy. I was in an extremely positive whole state. I can feel that right now as I think about it. I felt very whole, mentally and physically strong.

SZ: Why did you shift your athletic direction from golf to Aikido?

JZ: I shifted my direction from golf to Aikido when I entered college. I had had the opportunity to play professional golf as I was ranked in the Top Ten in the national with player’s who are now in the LPGA Hall of Fame. When I began college Title IX had not yet come to pass and I developed other interests. These athletic interests included an introduction to the martial art Aikido. I became involved in golf again in the late 1990’s when a friend asked for a golf lesson. At the time I was living in San Diego and when my friend asked for the golf lesson I taught it like an Aikido lesson. I brought my sword and she brought her 7-iron to the Torrey Pines driving range.

SZ: You brought a sword? What did you do with the sword?

JZ: A sword and a golf iron are very similar. The way you hold the sword is almost exactly the way you hold a golf club. I brought my sword to show her the the proper grip, club face position, and how to use her energy from her belly-center through the club to make better contact with the golf ball. I showed her how to stand to have more balance and stability like a martial artist does. I was using my sword to show her these things and then we used her golf club and she began making these beautiful swings and hitting the ball in ways she had never hit before. All this happened within an hour and it was fun and easy for me to teach. I had been teaching martial arts and I knew golf so this lesson for my friend was what started my program of combining martial arts and golf. More friends began asking for lessons so I began to develop my program KiAi Golf, which blends martial arts, sport psychology and body-mind fitness with golf instruction.

SZ: KiAi Golf is your branded name.

JZ: Yes. Ki, is the life energy and Ai, means love, unity, harmony, oneness. KiAi is about holistic integration. Using your energy, mind, body and spirit all working harmoniously together. When everything is working together - like gears in a finely tuned car or a great orchestra, everything works well. The idea is that you are the master of that. You are in charge of things working together. You can’t have your mind saying one thing, while your emotions are feeling something else and undermining your belief. You can’t have your mind saying, “I can reach this green” while emotionally you’re flooded with fear of the water hazard or bunkers ahead of you. Emotions can overtake your mind, your hands may begin shaking or sweating and your physical motor control becomes compromised. There needs to be synchronized harmony in your thoughts, emotions and movement. And there are self-mastery skills to learn and practice.

SZ: Avoiding distracting thoughts.

JZ: Yes,and you are the one in charge of that. That’s what I teach. I call it Body/Mind Technology. There are principles and practices that are like a roadmap to “the zone.” When we are centered and relaxed, grounded, when we breathe, have a quiet mind and not in the reactivity of stress, fear, anxiety or anger we calm down. We move into more balanced and harmonious states. It’s very practical and the effects are tangible. It’s actually somatic psychology. Somatic psychology is the integration of body/mind interaction.

SZ: The terminology in biofeedback is psychophysiology.

JZ: I think a big mistake made in sports training is that physical training is frequently taught separately from the mental. For example people go to an office to learn visualization techniques which is good but it’s more effective when it’s presented in a more integrative way. The steps I’ve taken are in uniquely combining my knowledge as a golf professional with my training in martial arts, fitness, bodywork, and psychology to offer clients more holistic peak performance training.

I try to give clients whether it’s through golf or corporate leadership training, generic tools to teach them to center themselves in their body. They are taught how to focus, how to quiet their minds, and be in an integrated zone. People get to a place I call the, “Stress Mess.” Stress is a biochemical/psychophysiological happening in the body. Our thoughts and feelings are influenced by stress hormones and chemicals. We need to calm that down so we are able to think better, feel better and perform better. People need to have ways to move from “stress mess” when it happens. To shift themselves into a more integrated zone where the person is centered, calm, balanced, focused. It’s like driving a car. You are always making little adjustments. In golf it could be that you just hit a great shot and then you miss a putt. All of a sudden the golfer is in the “stress mess.”  The person can get out of it back to the integrated zone. They can learn the road map back to center when they get off track. Something unknown is always going to happen when people play. I teach an easy demystified road map out of the “stress mess” back into the zone.

SZ: Explain what KiAi Golf is and what a client would expect from the experience.

JZ: The idea of using martial arts in golf has been taken up in recent years by great names like, Phil Mickelson, Annika Sorenstam, and Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods has a very strong East/West background. A client can expect to understand the golf swing in new ways and to discover how to use their lower body and core power properly. They will understand that a relaxed, centered, balanced, swing motion is going to get them a lot further in their performance than trying to kill the ball with their arms and upper body tension. They can expect to gain a lot more power, accuracy, consistency and a more positive mental game that keeps their swing motion relaxed and contact centered when striking the ball. They can also expect a great fitness program called, “Make Your Golf Club Your Health Club.”

SZ: What is this?

JZ: These are new warm-up exercises and a fitness program to create balance, core strength, flexibility and focus - using their golf club. They don’t have to go to a gym, lay down on a mat, get exercise balls or ropes and pulleys for their conditioning. They use their golf club. The exercises can be done either indoors or out. On the golf course you have to keep re-centering, re-grounding, re-balancing yourself. The exercises have them work on their fitness, their focus and their swing patterns so that they gain power, accuracy, consistency and confidence.

SZ: What is the typical amount of practice required for people to benefit from KiAi training?

JZ: When people do the exercises 5,10,15 minutes a day it is going to help them. The martial arts training idea is daily practice. When you do something every day you are working on ingraining it. To benefit the most it needs to be in the context of daily training. Routine becomes a part of you and everything I’ve designed is technically correct.

SZ: How is Aikido different from other martial arts or yoga practices?

JZ: Karate is a linear and combative martial art. You spar, you win or lose. Aikido did away with competition. The notion of “Ai” / harmony is this idea of going with the flow. Ki is using your inborn energy- power not just your muscles or will power. This is what makes it different. Aikido is almost dance-like because it uses the notion of blending, moving with and harmonizing to access energetic integrative power instead of brute force muscle power. It’s known as the most advanced martial art philosophically and spiritually, and helps us develop much greater mind-body control and self-mastery.
SZ: Jamie thank you for taking the time for this interview and sharing your thoughts on integrating mind/body training in golf.

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

Has sport psychology influenced sport reporting

Dennis O’Donnell is the Sports Director at CBS 5. He appears Sunday through Thursday on KPIX 5 News. O’Donnell has been a fixture in Bay Area sports broadcasting since 1982. Prior to CBS 5, O’Donnell was executive sports producer at KRON-TV. O’Donnell is the pre-season voice of the San Francisco 49er’s, calling the play-by-play on CBS 5 and has called play-by-play for over 100 sporting events since 1999, including Stanford and USF basketball for Fox Sports and Bay TV. In addition to a daily sportscast on CBS 5 Eyewitness News, O’Donnell hosts or has hosted CBS 5’s
post-game show, “The 5th Quarter,” “49er’s Preview,” “Last Honest Sports Show,” and the number-one rated Sunday night sports show, “Gameday.”

SZ: What sports did you play growing up?

O’Donnell: I played baseball, basketball and wrestled all up to and through high school.

SZ: As an athlete growing up what memories do you have around the subject of sport psychology? Did parents/coaches talk about sport psychology and performance?

O’Donnell: Sport psychology was discussed in rudimentary terms. For example, “Imagine yourself being in a situation, what would you do? How would you act? How would you prepare yourself mentally so you are prepared physically?”

SZ: Coaches you worked with were talking about visualization techniques?

O’Donnell: Absolutely, but not to the extent that they are today. The old cliche, “Golf is 90% mental.” I think that was true when I was growing up. I’m not so old where sport psychology had not yet entered the realm of youth sports. (laughing). But it wasn’t very deep. Things like, imagine being mentally prepared before walking up to the plate with the bases loaded, notice the positioning of the infielders, and the outfielders. Notice where you are going to find a hole, that sort of thing. The discussion of sport psychology was definitely on a secondary level. It was never the priority of the practice. We didn’t start with that type of thing but it was definitely part of the conversation.

SZ: Today coaches/athletes talk freely about “the mental game.” What does this term mean to you as a sports reporter? 

O’Donnell: I think a lot of the questions we as reporters ask pertain to the mental aspect of the game. Both in the preparation of the game and post game. For instance I may ask a coach, “What was your thought process when you called a time out leaving you without one at the end of the game?” That’s sort of the mental aspect of the game. A question to a quarterback might be, “What did you see at the line of scrimmage that made you decide to call the audible?” In baseball, a question to a coach may be, “Was there any thought to making a pitching change since the batter has had so much success against this pitcher in the past?” So much of competition I think of as a chess match. Often football coaches sort of use that term. The mental game is fairly significant in terms of analyzing what went right or what went wrong in a game. The mental strategy in most cases precedes the physical strategy. A lot of post game questions will pertain to that.

SZ: Is that different from the types of questions that sport reporters asked before? In the last several years have you noticed a shift into more sport psychology type questions?

O’Donnell: I wouldn’t say so. If a play doesn’t work. Or if a team loses a game the questions are going to be, “Well why did you do this? Or why did you try that?  Or why didn’t you change the pitcher? Why didn’t you have a pinch hitter in that situation?” All those questions really revolve around a strategical approach that in my opinion is the mental aspect of the game. But I don’t think, speaking from my perspective personally, that there’s been a dramatic shift in the last twenty years. It’s still what it was about then and what it’s about now.

SZ: Pete Carroll, coach of the Seattle Seahawks, is building a team culture and drafting players who fit into his sport psychology methodology. For example, they have a hands on high performance coach who engages the players in meditation and coaches are being retrained in their communication style with players. If teams like the Seahawks who are quite enthusiastic about the benefits of sport psychology, win the Super Bowl, will winning influence the focus on media reporting and the impact of sport psychology on other team cultures? Is there a ripple effect?

O’Donnell: I think the NFL is a copy cat league. If you look at the read options strategy by the 49er’s for instance, several other teams tried some version of the read option or drafted player’s with abilities that would fit that system. It also forced virtually every team in the NFL to spend the off season figuring out how to defend the read option play. Consequently if Seattle wins the Super Bowl you can bet other teams will scrutinize every aspect of that organization and figure out how to copy it.

However I think psychology is a bit tricky because it’s more difficult to see tangible effects. For example, you can see how Colin Kaepernick’s skill sets for the 49er’s compliment the read option strategy. But I think it would be more of a challenge to see how a psychological approach helps a team win a football game.

SZ: The impact it has on the overall team performance.

O’Donnell: To me what comes to light are issues you have inside the locker room. Of course the Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin situation in Miami is the obvious one that comes to mind. If there is a sport psychologist like there is in Seattle embedded in this locker room with fifty-three guys and the fifty-three guys trust this person enough to speak to him about issues that are going on in the locker room that they are uncomfortable enough with then I think there’s a huge benefit to that. You could argue that had that person been in the Miami locker room that perhaps the whole situation could possibly been avoided.

If you look at the 49er’s when I first started reporting, even the S.F. Giants, the Giants had a fellow named Dr. Joel Kirsch working with the team. The Giants were one of the first teams that I recall that had an actual sport psychologist. He was more performance related for example, “How do you maximize your potential as a baseball player?” The 49er’s had Dr. Harry Edwards, a sociologist. I know that during the 1980’s the 49er’s had some issues among the player’s in the locker room that Dr. Edwards worked with and assisted with. Dr. Edwards may still be associated with the 49er’s. There is a definite value to having a sport psychologist associated with a team. You’ve got fifty-three guys in a locker room and they’re not all going to get along. They come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and academic backgrounds. When you put fifty-three men in a locker room, this sort of melting pot, they aren’t all going to get along. There are instances I know of where a sport psychologist has sort of calmed the waters between players.

As a reporter when it comes to issues in the locker room and you’re trying to find out why a player is having trouble assimilating, it’s difficult to find out what happened behind the walls of an organization. The coaches aren’t going to be very forthcoming obviously and the player’s aren’t going to be very forthcoming. It’s difficult finding out what’s going on inside the locker room because as a reporter you’re not inside it. When it comes to a sport psychologist solving issues in the locker room it’s hard to get that information. Sometimes you get it years later. In the case of Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito, there’s been such a dogged pursuit of what really happened. Everyone has been working on that one and we’re slowly getting layers and layers unfolded to find out what happened but we still don’t know.

SZ: Because of the locker room code.

O’Donnell: Absolutely. No player’s want to talk about the dirty laundry to a sports reporter.

SZ: I see more information in the media around mental preparation and information about sport psychology.

O’Donnell: In terms of how I prepare for an interview, be it a pre-game interview or a post-game interview, during pre-game interviews there is more time to analyze the questions and what you’ve looking for. During post-game interviews as a reporter, you’re reacting to what happened in a particular game. I think I’ve always been cognizant of the mental aspect of a game. The “why” questions usually pertain to the mental aspects of the game not the physical. I can’t distinguish the difference between how I asked reporting questions thirty years ago as to how I do it today based on a psychological approach. You might find a difference in other media. I would guess that today’s athlete’s see a much greater difference in the psychological approach than they did thirty years ago, right?

SZ: Yes, definitely.

O’Donnell: I think the team investment in the athlete is so great today. The economic structure of a player’s contract is so significantly different today than it was thirty years ago. Teams want to and look to use every possible benefit that they can to keep the player engaged. To keep the player healthy both physically and mentally. The investment is too big not to. So definitely from an outsiders perspective I clearly see that and that has definitely changed in the last thirty years. Does it affect the way I report the news? No.

SZ: Dennis thank you so very much for talking with me today and sharing your views of sports reporting and it’s relationship to sport psychology.


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