Yesol An Throughout my journey as a female lifter in the weight room, I’ve experienced the ups and downs of training. I’ve asked myself this question frequently, “why am I so weak today?” This question arose in many different phases of my life: when I was doing crossfit, competing in…
By Rijad Pekmez I’ve spent more than a decade in weight rooms. First as an athlete, now as a performance coach. My role is to guide athletes in becoming stronger, faster, and more efficient in their respective sports, all while helping them achieve both individual and team-oriented goals. And let…
By Reilly Dampeer, Head Coach and High Performance Program Manager at OKC National High Performance Center This letter shares the messages that I needed as a young athlete. No words are able to replace experience so I cannot honestly say that I would have heeded the lessons of each story…
Jim Davis, EdM, MA, RSCC*E The coach started practice at 5:30am. He believed these early mornings would teach toughness and discipline. The team responded well to the challenge and 4:30am wakeup calls became the norm. With puffy eyes and heavy feet, they would stroll in, tired but ready to work.…
By Dr. Zachary Shutler Have you heard of North Carolina State Men’s Basketball Coach, Jim Valvano? His story is the epitome of faith, belief, purpose, and optimism. When Jimmy Valvano was a child, he believed he was going to be a head coach. He had faith he would one day…
By Carl J. Evans Healing an injury will cause an athlete to confront challenges no amount of drills or practice could ever prepare them for. Still, one essential element of the healing process is often overlooked because it is hidden and shrouded in a stigmatized silence. We need to talk…
Butler’s work ethic and competitiveness has helped him to become one of the top players in the NBA. Those individual traits combined with his ability to inspire his teammates to be confident both in their own capabilities and in their own perceptions of the team’s collective ability to achieve success…
Molly Gosline is the Director of SEL Consulting and host of the SEL Summer Institute in Cambridge, MA. The following transcript is from a PODCAST Molly Recorded with the nonprofit organization, Good Athlete Project (Episode 133). To join Molly and the top tier faculty of the SEL Summer Institute, find…
What happens when self-talk and mindset limit performance? We call it, "going internal". Everyone does it and it’s something we fight against as Marines. It takes self-awareness to know you’re doing it, and good leadership to recognize it in others. As an officer, you will need to be able to…
Two thieves broke into Ritah’s Grandma’s house wielding machetes and hammers. Knowing her family was in the other room, Ritah distracted the thieves calling attention to herself; they chased her out of her home, cornering her on a quiet street. Ritah’s goal was to get them away from her loved…