The Freedom of Riding

Over vacation, I had the opportunity to not only go trail riding but also participate in a friendly rodeo contest. The mix of friendly competition and freedom of simply letting my horse "Leroy" do what he knew best was glorious. He was a master of the course and I was a rookie. We quickly became a fantastic team (or at least I believed we were).

CPT (Control, Plan and Trust) Strategy for Athletes

Control, Plan and Trust

How do you help behavioral kids in between plays on the field?  Some kids struggle, for a variety of reasons, when given even small amounts of down time. Implement CPT, or performance based routines, to help players stay focused.  Intentionally select sport-based rituals for players to create consistency. 

When players are not actively engaged in the game they are often assisted by a mental check-list to complete prior to the next active play.

Organize the check list in the following way:

Control:  You can only control yourself. Use techniques such as deep breathing, imagery, cue words, or other coping skills to relax.

Plan-What is the situation in the game. What is my Plan A? Plan B?

Trust- Stop thinking and trust yourself to deal with what is happening in front of you. 

RR 

RRoulier@docwayne.org

#Competitive Dream - Living the Dream

Have you ever heard the phrase, “living the dream?” It’s one of my favorites to aspire to in life and in sport.  Using your support network and mental skills, your sport experience could be similar to the dream you wish for when drifting off to sleep...the dream you want to "redream"  For many of us (especially trauma victims and others who have been dealt a difficult hand in life) their sport experience is nonexistent or not ideal.  To hammer home the point, they are not “living the dream” when playing youth sport.

I mention competition, not referring to it in the typical sense of the word, (winning, trophies, medals, conference tiles) but rather true competition. True competition is putting your best foot forward each and every time out and challenging your opponent to do the same.  In true competition you strive for an equally matched game that challenges all involved to play their best.  This creates the most ideal “dream like state” that is similar to Csikszentmihalyi’s flow.

How can we design youth sport so that every child kids leaves the field thinking to themselves “I’m living the dream!”?