Four weeks ago, on Sunday morning, March 3rd, I had just left my house for a walk with my dog Coach, when old friend Rippy Philipps called. “Biddy, I have terrible news. Billy had a heart attack this morning. He didn’t make it.” He was a very close friend whom I saw frequently and spoke…
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Last week, I led a college team I work with in a gratitude exercise. This is something I typically do early in the season when the group is forming and is part of how I approach mindfulness/mindset training for athletic teams. When you’re working with 50 male college athletes, the idea of expressing gratitude can…
Read MoreMost coaches and competitive athletes follow a similar pattern: Plan, Execute, Adapt. They do this over and over again as each new opponent shows up on the schedule. The planning phase can differ in its complexity, depending on whether it’s a team or individual sport, the level of play (Youth, High School, College, Pro) and…
Read MoreDedicated to the ideals that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. embodied . . . My brother-in-law Chan Reis gave me a book for Christmas. It’s called “How to Know A Person, The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen” by David Brooks. Having read several of Brooks’ books, including The Road to Character…
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Photo Courtesy – Elemental Media Last Friday, I spent an evening Christmas caroling with my 2 children, extended family and about 150 other folks in the packed “Orchard Chapel” in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. Leading us in song was Rev. “Bobby” Thompson, who’s baritone voice set the bass tone amidst the bucolic stillness. His Oh…
Read MoreIn sports, the most successful teams build a culture of inclusion, trust and altruism. Teams simply can’t win consistently without embodying these and other key values. It doesn’t matter the sport, the league, or the level – the common denominator is that excellent teams put a premium on building a positive culture. Sure, being in…
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Photo by Laurenz Kleinheider on Unsplash I surveyed a college team I work with, and asked them what they could use some help with. The majority of the responses centered around dealing with negative self-talk. As college athletes pushing themselves to their limits, making mistakes is simply part of the game right? What’s also part…
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/ Team Photo I recently attended a 4 day conference, The Nantucket Project. The theme of the 11th TNP was “pluralism.” Among the dozens of speakers – including Michelle Obama, Ken Burns, Rainn Wilson, Kelly Corrigan, Jennifer Lawrence, Arthur Brooks, Laura Ingram, and Brad Raffensperger (list goes on and on) – was Eboo Patel, whose…
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Photo by Ruben Christen on Unsplash I get lost sometimes. Whether I’m in a new building, a parking garage looking for my car, or out on the roadways, sometimes I make a wrong turn. The other day I was on my boat fishing, and I noticed that the compass was cloudy and a little hard…
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Faith, defined by Webster’s: “A firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” Great athletes and great teams believe they can win despite having no proof. Great coaches instill faith in their players. Faith doesn’t always come naturally. It takes practice. Most athletes have been on both sides of the faith coin. I’ve…
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