Student and Athletic Mindset - Biggest Challenge Yet?

Role Reversal

I still find it hard to fathom that I played major league baseball. As for running marathons, that, too, makes me proud. But now, I may have bitten off more than I can handle.

In my latest book, I state the importance of having different levels of goals going simultaneously - minor, medium, and major ones. Tackling two major ones simultaneously is not necessarily recommended, but I'm going for it because I have a passion for both. I've had past success with running far distances in a single bound as I train for another marathon. As for the other, not so much. With this one, though, I have become a student again and must employ the student’s mindset. What I have going for me is incredible determination. Let me get to the beginning.

I was born with some super valuable athletic gifts, including an excellent baseball swing. Back in my day, there was no such thing as hitting instruction. One picked up a bat and let it fly towards the ball. Until I got into professional baseball, I recall little instruction on how to do it besides, “Keep your eye on the ball.” I rode my little league swing to the major leagues without knowing why it worked; it just did. Thank you, God, and equal thanks for the speed, quickness, eyesight, and hand-eye coordination that made my dream come true.

As for my second athletic career - running marathons - once again, the God-given body has held up all these years. I know how to run, so there is no challenge beyond developing the stamina to go 26.2 miles, no small feat.

I mean not to diminish those achievements, as I know it took a relentless work ethic to accomplish them, but I was blessed without much tinkering. Of course, Little came easily with every other parts of my baseball skills; that is a story for another day.

Study, Practice, Regroup

My third major athletic challenge, which I may not overcome, began this year and is where trouble looms.

I have always basically sucked at golf. I wish I had a dollar for every time a fellow golfer flashed the look at me, which said, “You were a major league baseball player?” At that point, I want to mention what it was like facing a Tom Seaver and Roger Clemens fastball, both of whom I hit doubles off. So there! But the sting of being poor at golf is ever-present.

The assumption is that one should be able to carry things over to other athletic endeavors. I recognize the premise and agree, but golf for me has been like being dropped into a foreign country without knowledge of one word of the language.  My baseball swing has never translated to the golf swing, nor the mentality. In baseball, it’s swing as hard as you can and crush it. With golf, that is not conducive to low scores. I also wish I had a buck every time someone said to me on the course, “Don’t swing so hard.” My response is, “What fun is that?” The point is that consistently hitting that little non-moving ball solidly and in the direction I want has been pure frustration.

Breaking habits, even with the ball just sitting there waiting to be smacked, has never been my thing – until now. Why now, as I approach 70 years old? Why not? I have the time, even though it is running out faster than I wish, and most of all, I care not to suck! I had more pressing concerns in the past, but the time has come.

The Obstacles to Turning it Around

So, I’m sure you are wondering how it’s going so far. Previous to the past couple of years, I would generally shoot anywhere from 88 to 94. Not terrible, but I know much better is within me, and the courses I play are not of the most challenging sort. Over the last couple of years, things have slipped as too many swing thoughts occupied my head, which is another recipe for defeat.

First, it’s important to know I anted up for a few lessons. I know knowledge is the beginning of achievement and having the correct picture in one’s head is invaluable. Then I’ve hit the practice trail hard, rarely missing a swing practice for more than a few days.

Well, drum roll. I am currently and consistently scoring upper 90s and low one hundreds. Yes, you read that right. How does that happen after all the practice I have done? My wife concurs because she gives me a look every time I come home from the course, shaking my head, and I know she is thinking, “After all the work you’ve put in. You still suck?”

“Yes, dear, you married a loser.”  Ok, that is not accurate, but things one is passionate about will induce the mood, and I feel like one in that instant. I began hoping to eliminate ten strokes, but now it’s up to 20, so I consider my latest quest right up there with the most difficult challenge in my athletic career.

Other obstacles exist. I am not a visual learner and never have been. I can’t look at a Tiger Woods swing and go out and mimic it. Instead of looking like the Big Cat, it shows as the little hack. Also, like many, I suppose what I do and think I’m doing are two separate things. Also, except for my baseball swing, I have never been smooth at anything, and little comes naturally to me, especially in golf.

The Student and Athletic Mindset

Hope is not lost, though; my past athletic success keeps it alive. I know there is a way, and it’s time to practice what I preach. To become the golfer I want, I must develop the mindset I pass on to my baseball and softball students and realize that working on physical skills without a solid mental game is a recipe for failure.

Here is the mindset I try to develop in players and must use now, too:

·       Knowledge is indispensable. Without knowing how and why things work, progress will be elusive.

·       Work ethic is vital, but as I’ve written before, practicing the right stuff is the key. Doing something right and then wrong gets one nowhere. It takes, at the least, 80% correct actions to change and improve. Finding the drill or two that combats one’s negative tendencies makes all the difference – all easier said than done.

·       It’s a work in progress that includes good and bad days, advancement, regression, and plateaus. Expectations of success must be over the long haul and not immediate.

·       Persistence is more likely with an optimistic mindset. If one doesn’t believe, they will give up before accomplishing what they set out to do. Belief in self and the process will be fruitful if one sticks with it.

In the Heat of the Battle

·       Learn to keep the mind quiet with no “How to” thoughts that distract is vital. Focus without distraction puts one in the zone where one must be.

·       Visualize. Picturing the outcome is critical to positive results.

·       Self-talk – Along the same lines as visualizing is learning to talk to self about what one
wants to do.
 

·       Have resilience. Look at poor shots as anomalies that have no bearing on the next. Having a go-to saying like “I got this” is great for getting one’s mind back.

·       Move on. When things do not go as planned, think of something new you learned, which offers hope for next time.   

·       Relax. Gaining the inner peace that allows them to believe that their skills are sufficient for the job at hand - confidence - will eventually come.

Once again, having a plan and a process for both the mental and physical will lead to achievement.

Coming Soon