“College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.” The college process is not about rankings, bumper stickers, or where others think you should go. You’re on the hunt for the schools that will push you, support you, prepare you, and make you happy. I was fortunate to have a successful career playing international junior tennis, college tennis at Stanford, and professionally for eleven years on the WTA Tour. After managing the football recruiting process for my son and tennis families, I saw a void in how we advise and counsel young…
Thank you, Debbie Graham Shaffer, for sharing a great piece on the importance of our athletes turning the adversity and failure that comes with competitive sports into success. For those of you who don’t know Debbie, she is a former #2 junior tennis player in the world, NCAA Individual and Team Champion from Stanford (graduated in 3 years while being undefeated in dual match play), top 10 WTA doubles, top 25 WTA singles, and a high-performance coach. The best part, of course, is she is now a sports mom like the rest of us! I am constantly…
Student-athletes all have a lot to accomplish each day, but with a proper planner set up, our athletes can stay on task and achieve their goals. I always recommend taking a few minutes each evening before bed to plan your nest day, and a step further, to take some time each Sunday evening to plan your upcoming week. Combine these planner worksheets with my eBook “Simple Goal Setting for Young Athletes” to complete your personal goal system. Download Monthy & Weekly Planner Download 2020 Monthly Calendar Download Goal Planning Worksheets & Templates Good luck getting organized and…
Where to begin when setting goals with your athlete? In my last article, I suggested starting with past goals and asking tough questions to make sure the prior goals were appropriate, attainable, and successful. It is important to evaluate last year’s success before setting goals for the upcoming years. Goals should be written in the athlete’s own words, in the first person (I will), in their handwriting, and kept in a place where they will see them often. A proper set of goals is a road map to where the athlete wants to go, all the…
I have not had an enormous amount of success with New Year’s resolutions UNLESS I connect them to my goals. I am a huge proponent of setting goals, especially with student-athletes. Let’s face it; many times, the grind of school and sports is simply not fun. It can’t always be fun, and if you are trying to avoid that reality, well… good luck with finding that fairy dust. A good set of goals helps the student-athlete stay on track and remember why the grind is worth it! Setting goals, especially helping a child set goals…