WINNING EDGE:  USE OF VISUALIZATION

1. Basic Theory

a.    All actions start with thoughts.
b.    Learn by trial and error.
c.    Once a correct or successful response is learned, it is remembered for future use (forget failures).
d.    Every person has a built-in guidance system or goal-striving device.
e.    Mind cannot tell difference between real and imagined experience.
f.    Principles:
      1.    Must have a goal or target.
      2.    Must be oriented to and on results.
      3.    Do not be afraid of mistakes.
      4    Skill learning is by trial and error.

2. Picture said in a certain manner-nearly same as actual performance.
3. Before we can be, we must become, before we become, we must be able to visualize our goals.
4. If you want to achieve a thing, see it, visualize it, close your eyes a moment.  Get the mental picture.  Practice learning to think in pictures.  It must be mentally accomplished before it is materially accomplished.

5.    USE OF VISUALIZATION ON OWN:

    a.    You must believe that mind cannot tell difference between real and imagined     experience.

    b.    If you repeat something successfully over a long period of time, it becomes a habit.

    c.    If you practice something successfully in your mind, it is almost like actually doing it.

    d.    Visualize techniques, skills, charges, etc. but always successfully.  Remember, the more realistic you visualize, the more closely it will be associated with the real technique, etc.

    e.    This is easy practice - requires no physical effort, only concentration of mind.

    f.    You can visualize at anytime - in the morning, or before bedtime, at lunch, one the"throne", etc.

    g.    If you visualize something enough when you do actually do it, you will have a feeling of having done it before successfully.

    h.    Helps to develop the habit of thinking positive.

    i.    Does not replace npractice or on field technique - it is only a learning aid - it can give you the extra edge.

    j.    It is not easy to do at first - it requires concentration on your part - you must develop the habit of visualizing.

"AND THEN SOME"

A prominent salesman summed up his success in three simple words - And Then Some.

"I discovered at an early age," he said, "that most of the difference between the average and top people could be explained in three words.  The top people did what was expected of them - and then some .  They were thoughtful of others;they were considerate and kind - and then some.  They met their obligations fairly and squarely - and then some.  They were good friends to their freiends and they could be counted on in an emergency - and then some."

MENTAL STANCE

1.  Believe that you can achieve success.
2.  Believe in your ability.
3.  Believe in hard work.
4.  As a player believes, so he is.
5.  Belief enables a player to do the impossible.

RECIPE FOR GREATNESS

To bear up under a loss; to fight the bitterness of defeat; to be victor over anger; to smile when tears are close.  this is what any man can do and be great.

FOR A GREAT TEAM

1. Talk of Winning..
2. Talk of confidence, Poise, Knowledge.
3. Talk of becoming a Great Team.
4. Talk of Enthusiasm, of always trying.
5. Talk of Agressiveness.

DYNAMICS OF A WINNER

DESIRE:    The enjoyment of competition and the ability to be assertive.

DEDICATION:    The willingness and determination to work toward the common goals.   Working tirelessly, never quitting.

CONFIDENCE:    The belief in one's ability and the willingness to take the responsibility for one's actions.

LOYALTY:    The willingness to make a committment to one's coaches, team and oneself.

1.  NEVER QUIT (Make this a habit in everything you do.  Don't take the easy way out and be a quitter.)
2.  Think in terms of TEAM success.  Learn to get along with one another, to help one another, and to enjoy playing together as a TEAM.
3.  Never be annoyed by a coach's criticism.  Be worried when you receive no criticism, as this shows you haven't made yourself noticeable yet or you are slipping.
4.  Do not make excuses-make good!
5.  Plan to be a hard worker, welcome tough situations.
6.  Practice develops habits of behavior; only perfect practice, therefore makes for perfection.
7.  DO NOT EVER THINK YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO MISS PRACTICE:  NO ONE IS GOOD ENOUGH NOT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE HIMSELF A LITTLE BETTER FOR THE TEAM'S SAKE.
8.  A player who places personal glory and success above the best interests of the team is a liability rather than an asset.
9.  Football and academics come first; everything else is secondary during football season.
10.  Have a tough mental attitude.

WHAT IS CLASS?

Class never runs scared.  It is sure-footed and confident in the knowledge that you can meet life head-on and handle whatever comes along.

Jacob had it. Esau didn't.  Symbolically, we can look to Jacob's wrestling match with the angel.  Those who have class have wrestled with their own personal "angel" and won a victory that marks them thereafter.

Class never makes excuses.  It takes its lumps and learns from past mistakes.

Class is considerate of others.  It knows that good manners are nothing more than a series of petty sacifices.

Class bespeaks an aristocracy that has nothing to do with ancestors or money.  The most affluent blueblood can be totally without class while the descendant of a Welsh miner may ooze class from every pore.

Class never tries to build itself up by tearing others down.

Class is already up and need not strive to look better by making others look worse.

Class can "walk with kings and keep its virtue, and talk with crowds and keep the common touch."  Everyone is comfortable with the person who has class--because he is comfortable with himself.

If you have class, you don't need much of anything else.  If you don't have it, no matter what else you have--it doesn't make much difference.

IT TAKES ONLY TWO PERCENT...

By Gene Emmet Clark, D.D.

Have you been working like a horse?
I've been thinking about that expression--and at least one horse I can name has earned a pretty fair hourly rate.  someone has figured out that the race horse, Nashua, earned more than a millon dollars in a total racing time that added up to less than one-hour!

That's pretty good pay.  Of course, we know that many, many more hours went into preparing for that winning hour of racing.

But there is something else here that interests me.  What is there about a horse like Nashua that mad him such a consistent winner and made him so valuable?  You'd probably pay a hundred times as much for a horse like Nashua as you would for an ordinary race horse.  But is he a hundred times faster?  No.  To be a consistent winner and to be worth a hundred times as much as the average, he needed only to be consistent in finishing just ahead of the rest.

All he had to do was win a good share of the time by a nose to be worth a hundred times as much as an also-ran.  And so it is with human beings who are on top in the game of life.

A writer in a national magazine made the assertion that the difference between a man of achievement and that man of mediocrity is a difference of only about two percent in study, application, interest, attention, and effort.

Only about two percent separates the winner from the loser!  A boxer can win the world's championship simply by winning one more round than his opponent--or even by being only a point or two ahead.  And this narrow margin can make the difference between fame and fortune or never being heard of again!  Its often a matter of only two percent.  We have no idea of what a change we could make in our results if we would simply add that two percent more time and effort than the average person is willing to put in.

THE GREATEST CHAMPIONS REACT TO DEFEAT IN A POSITIVE WAY

LEARNING FROM FAILURE

There are times when the ability to learn from failure is a great tactic.  Olympic decathalon champion Rafer Johnson develops the point: "The most enjoyment I had in the past was not always winning: What gave me the biggest thrill was the way I reacted when I was beaten--what I thought about and how I came back from defeat.  To my mind, the geat champions are the ones who are able to react to defeat in a positive way.  I'd much rather climb into the head of someone who's lost and see what made that person come back to be a victor, than climb into the head of a winner.  You can probably learn more from the failures rather than the successes of others.  That somebody wins all the time does not necessarily mean they are successful."
 

CONFIDENCE...FAITH IN MYSELF

God gives me faith in myself.

Not only on the days when I am going great and winning and nothing seems impossible, but on days when I wonder if I am brave enough, smart enough, strong enough.
Don't let me quit, not ever.  Let me keep faith in myself.  No matter how many people discourage me, doubt me, laugh at me, warn me, think me a foot, don't let me listen.  Let me hear another voice telling me, "You can do it, and you will!"  If nobody else in the whole world gives a darn or believes in me, let me believe in myself.  I know thee will be times when I doubt my own ability, I will be discouraged, on the verge of despair.  Don't let me give up, hang on to me.  Fan the fires of my faith so that I will try even harder.  Give me even more faith in myself.  You are the source of my abilities and my faith.  I know that you will give me what I ask...Faith in myself.

FEAR AND FAITH

Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralizes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable--and, most of all, fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while faith rejoices in its God

-The Treasure Chest-

I AM A WINNER

...because I think like a winner, prepare like a winner, and perform like a winner.

...because I set high but attainable goals, work toward those goals with determination and persistence, and never stop until I reach them.

...because I am strong enough to say "No!" to those things that would make me less than my best, and to say "Yes!" to the challenges and opportunities that will make me grow and improve my life.

...because total commitment is my constant comanion, and personal integrity is my lifetime mentor.

...because I am learning to avoid the tempting shorcuts that can lead to disapointment, and the unhealthy habits that could result in defeat.

...because I have a well-earned confidence in myself, a high regard for my teamates and co-workers, and a healthy respect for those in authority over me.

...because I have learned to accept criticism, not as a threat, but as an opportunity toexamine my attitudes and improve my skills.

...because I persevere in the midst of obstacles and fight on in the face of defeat.

...because I am made in the image and likeness of my Creator, who gave me a burning desire, a measure of talent, and a strong faith to attempt the difficult and to overcome the seemingly impossible.

...because of my enthusiasm for life, my enjoyment of the present, and my trust in the future.

            -William Arthur Ward

DISCIPLINE

DEFINITION: "Training that is expected to produce a specified character or pattern of behavior."

1)  Bobby Knight's Definition:    Do what has to be done; When it has to be done; As well as it can be done; and do it that way all the time.

2)  Tom Landry: "Setting a goal is not the main thing.  It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with the plan.  The key is discipline--without it there is no morale."

3) Vince Lombardi: "You teach discipline by doing it over and over; by repetition."

4)  Bob Richards:  "One of the greatest lessons I've learned in athletics is that you've got to discipline your life.  No matter how good you may be, you've got to be willing to cut out of your life those things that keep you from going to the top."

5)  Jerry West:  "You can't get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good."

6) Discipline in football is executing fundamentals and techniques the right way under pressure.

7)  Hebrews 12:11:  "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

8) United States Army: Self-Discipline is doing what you are supposed to do when a person in authority is not there to ensure that you do it.

9)  Discipline implies subjection to a control exerted for the good of the whole, the adherence to rules or policies extended for the orderly coordination of effort.

10)  Discipline:  Do it Right! Do it hard! Or Do It Again!!
 

DISCIPLINE

Discipline is what you do when no one is looking!  It's being considerate of the other person.  Having good personal habits--you are polite, on time, taking care of business with pride.  We must be disciplined as individuals first, and than as a team.

DISCIPLINED PLAYER:

1.    Knows the importance of BEING ON TIME.
2.    Hard work in practice has taught him the value of regular hours and good training habits.
3.    Has learned that the TEAM comes before himself.  This strengthens his character; as he is sometimes called upon to sacrifice for others.
4.    Has learned to take orders; in taking orders he learns how to give them.
5.    Knows discipline is the essence of every successful organization; as a member of the team, he understands the need for it.
6.    Has learned that many of these things establish a degree of self-discipline.

DISCIPLINED FOOTBALL TEAM:

1.    Doesn't beat itself by mistakes.
2.    Keeps penalties to aminumum.
3.    Is always ready to play--INTENSITY.
4.    Has the guts to come back from behind.
5.    Rises above adversity.
6.    Never, never quits.