Visualization in sports and athletic performance has become more common over the last several decades. Teams and players have been using it to help clear their minds, think positively, review the game and improve performance. Athletes such as Carli Lloyd and Lindsey Vonn, actor Will Smith and even Oprah Winfrey have been known to use…
Mindful Leadership: Uncovering Authenticity, Giving Attention and Building Trust
Mindful leadership is leading from the inside out. It starts with being able to uncover who you actually are so you can authentically lead. This is the only way to build trust. And, it’s where mindfulness comes into play. With a mindfulness practice, we train our minds to recognize when our attention drifts, and develop…
What it Means to be “Champions Today”
Several years ago, our coaching staff chose the phrase “Champions Today” as our program’s motto for that season. Throughout the year, people would ask what exactly “Champions Today” meant. Some figured we were placing an added emphasis on winning, while others thought it had something to do with the pursuit of a championship. In actuality, the phrase…
Finding the Space to Lead
Your days are all over the place running from home to school to practice. And, they’re a blur. When your head hits the pillow at night, you can’t even remember what you did that day. Sound familiar? If so, keep reading. Your mind is constantly running from scrolling Twitter, to a real conversation, to posting…
20 “Expectations” for Your Team
Ready or not, it’s that time of year again. The season is ALMOST here and now is the perfect time (if you haven’t done so already) to lay the framework for how your program works and what expectations you have for the season, team, and individual players. Below is a list of 20 “expectations” that…
Support Staff Series, Vol. 1: Q&A with Cory Marquardt
This fall, FastModel Sports is excited to feature a Support Staff Series of Q&A interviews to show a little love to those coaches who aren’t in the spotlight and don’t sit in the first row of the bench on game day. These are the staff members that work behind the scenes making sure every single aspect of…
Improve Access to Coaching Clinics
Coaches, Let me be the first to officially wish all of you good luck as we begin to prepare for the upcoming 2017-18 basketball season, and also issue a bold statement: Basketball needs passionate coaches and teachers more than it ever has before. Given recent events in the college coaching community, it is more important than ever that basketball coaches…
The Mindset of Success: Be Humble
I hope the coaches who read this article share it with their players, because I believe this lesson is truly beneficial for players as much as coaches. Not only am I sharing what I’ve learned regarding humility; I’m also preaching the message to myself. We all must be reminded often that the path of humility is the best…
Make It Personal
In my role here at Cedarville University, one of my responsibilities is growing our booster club. Co-workers and I were discussing our basketball hospitality suite and strategies we could adopt to make it a more attractive benefit for boosters. As we created a list of ideas, one of them reminded us that we could implement…
How to Have a Happier Team Culture
You may not be able to acquire and consume and exercise your way to happiness, but you can serve and volunteer your way there. —Andy Stanley In a recent message, Andy Stanley referred to a study in the UK that looked at 40 different studies that spanned over 20 years to determine if there was a…