Thursday, August 30, 2007

Volume 1 Part 6

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

Have you ever wanted to play like you were worth a million dollars? I’ll show you the secrets on how to succeed in sports making you the athlete you often dream about.

It’s Your Backbone

So this self-awareness we’ve been discussing is really the backbone for your becoming successful. I don’t care what you do or who you are it’s important to get along better with others, and ALL successful people understand this.

If you dream about becoming captain of the team, do you ever think about how you are going to get your
teammates to respect you? Just because you are called the captain, it doesn’t mean you automatically have the respect of fellow players. You need to earn their respect from the very beginning. If you get off on the wrong foot, it could cost your team it’s season. I know because I’ve experienced it!
Let’s look at the DiSC® model one more time to explain how to relate better with people.


You can see that relating to each of the four behaviors is different and must be respected. This will show you that you can’t treat everyone the same. In order to get along and become a true leader, you must respect another’s behavior. If you do this from the beginning, “the respect that you show will be the respect that will grow.”

Being Different Isn’t Wrong

You need to understand that being
“different” isn’t wrong—it’s just being different. You can’t attack someone personally by calling them stupid, ignorant, etc. What you can say is that you each have a “difference of opinion” on how things are supposed to be done. By saying it this way, you take the focus off of them as a person, and place it on their behavior instead. So tempering your statements enables you to get more productivity out of you and your teammates which is what winning is all about.

Reacting To Others

We all react differently toward other people, but there is a common thread. The steps we all take in our evaluation are :

· Judge - by this I mean their appearance
· Understand - by looking beyond their appearance – their likes and dislikes
· Respect - who they are as a whole
· Appreciate - their differences of opinion
· Value - know their strengths and weaknesses

Once you begin to value others, you begin to truly understand them and how to get along better even though they are “different.”

Next Blog

Strength without the use of weight training.

Tony Falco
“The Coach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Monday, August 27, 2007

Volume 1 Part 5

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"


Have you ever wanted to play like you were worth a million dollars? I’ll show you the secrets on how to succeed in sports making you the athlete you often dream about.


“The Mind Reader”

Now you can see why DiSC® has more than 45 million users world-wide! It’s so powerful that you can know what type of behavior people possess even if you are meeting them for the first time! Just think of the advantages you will have in the following situations:

· Interviewing for a job
· Relating better to teachers, professors, coaches, and teammates
· Negotiating to get what you want
· Hiring the right individual for the job
· Becoming a better athlete and leader

Just think, you will know what actions people will take BEFORE they take them—it’s almost like reading their mind! You can gain the advantage over your competition and get what you want by knowing the secret on what makes others tick.

Drilling Down

Let’s get back to athletics and how this assessment helps you become a better athlete by working more closely with your teammates. In part 3 of this series, we started to talk about strengths and weaknesses and I gave examples of these (making quick decisions, impatience, over-analyzing). We all certainly practice many more than these.

It’s not just important for you to know how you behave on the field, it’s important for your coaches and teammates as well. If you and your coach are aware you have difficulty making quick decisions, you need to work on this important skill in practice. Just because an individual has the right physical tools, it doesn’t mean he/she will be great at a position. To become
only physically fit for a game, is just not enough.

As coaches and athletes, we often overlook the behavior aspect. The concentration for winning is almost always based on strength and speed. Although these are important ingredients, knowing your behavior
(attitude) is essential for your success.

This self-awareness is the cornerstone for you to compete at your optimal level. The mind and understanding yourself better is gaining ground with professional athletes. Often times you see them walking with their sports psychologist alongside. Athletics has become an enormous mind game and the pressure to succeed has never been greater.

Next Blog

It’s your backbone — man!

Tony Falco
“The Coach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Volume 1 Part 4

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

Have you ever wanted to play like you were worth a million dollars? I will show you the secrets on how to succeed in sports making you the athlete you often dream about.

Why Not Me?

Do you think you can become The Million Dollar Athlete? If you have the tools, is there any reason why you can’t? You may not be the fastest or the strongest on the team, but you have something others don’t . . . . A PASSION TO SUCCEED.

This passion is your passport to success so don’t take it lightly. If you truly have the desire to succeed, then you will. Continue to ask yourself, why not me?

Measuring Behavior

OK, let’s talk about behavioral strengths and weaknesses. In the mid-nineteen twenties, a psychologist named William Moulton Marston
began observing human behavior. He discovered that people fall into four basic categories and called it the DISC model. DISC is an acronym that stands for the following:



  1. (D) Dominant - controlling, makes quick decisions, bottom line


  2. (I) Influencing - upbeat, people oriented, everything is great


  3. (S) Steadiness - orderly, loyal, needs “pat on the back”


  4. (C) Conscientiousness - analytical, above board, diplomatic


Each characteristic describes a certain type of behavior pattern as you can see above. Which behavior are you? How about your parents, teachers, friends, or coaches?
You can actually have a lot of fun using DiSC® to determine the behavior of the people you know which helps in getting along with others. What I have provided here is a general overview of the behavioral types, but there is much more to learn.

You can use these behaviors to help you become more competitive while you are on the athletic field or anywhere else for that matter. ALL
successful people know their strengths and weaknesses and know how to get along with others. Clicking with the people around you makes for better productivity and creates successful individuals and teams.

The DiSC Model

The original DiSC® model has been modified from the original by a company called Inscape Publishing, which is the company I use for the DiSC® assessment tool. I have used the DiSC® assessment to train many teachers on managing behavior.


Next Blog

Why using DiSC will make your teammates think you have "psychic" powers.


Tony Falco
“The Coach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Monday, August 20, 2007

Volume 1 Part 3

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

Have you ever wanted to play like you were worth a million dollars? I will show you the secrets on how to succeed in sports making you the athlete you often dream about.


Taking The Snapshot

So, you are probably asking yourself, “OK, coach, what are these strengths and weaknesses you are talking about?”

I am talking about why you behave the way you do in a given situation. I’ll give you a few examples:

You are the QB of the football team and are ready to take the snap. As you analyze the defense, you have trouble making a quick decision as to which play to check off to. You often call the wrong play or are penalized for delay of game.

As the pitcher in softball or baseball, you throw your pitches too quickly and consistently shake off your catcher’s signs.

As a receiver in football, you hasten your pass routes causing you to be “somewhat” in the designated reception area. Your attitude is that as long as you are “close enough” to that spot it’s OK.

Developing The Snapshot

The first bullet demonstrates that the QB has a problem making quick decisions and could be over-analyzing the defense. He needs to eliminate indecision by not trying to slow the process down with too many “what if” situations.

The second bullet shows that the pitcher is very impatient and is not willing to use teamwork to succeed. By constantly shaking off the catcher’s signal, the key element (teamwork) in winning is removed. Her/his behavior could cause friction and communication issues between the two players disrupting team chemistry.

In the third scene as the receiver, you are not concerned with precision as that’s just not your thing. Here, though, exactness of the route is essential because the ball is being thrown in a certain spot and timing is essential to the play’s success.

In each of these situations, you would need to change your behavior if you want to be successful. Over-analyzing situations and showing impatience can actually be considered strengths in some cases. However, they aren’t in the situations provided above. The good thing is these behaviors are flexible and can be changed. To become The Million Dollar Athlete, you need to become aware of your on field behavior to succeed.


Next Blog

How to become aware of your on field behavior and use it to improve your game.


Tony Falco
“The Coach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Volume 1 Part 2

themilliondollarathlete
“Bring Out The Greatness Within You”

Have you ever wanted to play like you were worth a million dollars? I will show you the secrets on how to succeed in sports making you the athlete you often dream about.


Understanding Yourself

There is a natural and orderly progression toward becoming successful which is displayed in the graph I have designed below. You can see that self-awareness surrounds the pyramid and is the initial cornerstone for gaining success.
Once you understand who you are, everything else will fall into place automatically. Because you know your strengths and weaknesses, you will begin to gain a more positive attitude about yourself and feel a greater confidence in relating to other people.

Next, you begin to define your
goal (become player of the week, all- conference, win a championship, etc.), and then begin to dream about your success. This all leads toward developing a passion for what you want. If you don’t have that passion, you won’t gain success. With a solid foundation in place, you won’t have to think about achieving your goal as it will simply be on auto pilot.

The Action Plan

I cannot impress upon you enough to have an
action plan in place. An action plan is designed to keep you focused on your goal. Remember that actions speak louder than words and you are judged on what you do not what you say.

So, develop that action plan and stick with it. If you want to strive to become player of the week, make a plan that will keep you on track to get there. What can you do to enhance your talents to reach that goal? Perhaps you may listen and learn better from your coaches, you may begin a rigorous off-season training program, you might do drills that will help improve your game during the off-season. Whatever it is, do it!

Once you develop that action plan, you are making a commitment toward your success and sticking to the plan is what passion is all about. The difference between a good athlete and a great athlete is not who has the greater skills, but who has the stronger mind to succeed.

Next Blog

Zeroing in on your own individual strengths and weaknesses.


Tony Falco
“The Coach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Monday, August 13, 2007

Volume 1 Part 1

The Challenge

My mission has always been to bring out the greatest potential in student-athletes between the ages of 14 and 21. Whether you are in high school or college, competing in athletics, or entering the job market the lack of
self-confidence has a dramatic effect on how well you produce.

I have found that many athletes feel confident on the playing field, but not so confident in a social gathering, the classroom, on the job, or even at home. In fact, they may seem like two different people once they are off the athletic field. Why is that? They feel this way because they are taken out of their “comfort zone” and placed in a position of self doubt where they feel they will fail.

Some athletes who don’t make it in sports may choose to
dropout of school and create a feeling of failure from within. Once your subconscious accepts the fact that you are a failure, it becomes difficult to break that mindset. Because the mind is so powerful, it can work against you once you allow it to become negative.

If you always think you are the victim and nothing ever seems to go right for you, it’s time to start looking at things from a different perspective. The Million Dollar Athlete is never the victim, and failure is never an option.

Going Against The Grain

There’s truly more to winning than being the strongest or the fastest. If this were totally true, why do athletes with lesser athletic skills become more successful than those with greater ones? Your attitude and how you behave on the playing field during game situations becomes the key to your success.

Attitude has always taken a back seat to strength and speed training in an athlete’s development, and I will show you why this is the wrong approach to winning.








Next Blog

Unlocking the secrets for success your coaches never told you about.


Tony Falco
“The Coach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Introduction

How many times have you had dreams about becoming a player of the week or making the final play of the game that leads your team to victory?

As a former high school football, wrestling, and track coach, I have played and coached on many championship teams. My biggest concern has always been to build greater self-esteem within student-athletes.

The Million Dollar Athlete will teach you that your attitude is tied to your performance and is responsible for things such as batting slumps, poor shooting in basketball, and even failing test scores in school. You will learn that the sub-conscious mind has the power to pick you up or put you down.

Self-Confidence

What comes first success—or self-confidence? People often say that you need success before you can gain any confidence, but I say that’s wrong. If that’s the case, you aren’t in control of your life because you play a waiting game hoping for something to happen. The Million Dollar Athlete doesn’t hope – they make it happen.

Let’s assume your goal is to be a starter in basketball, but for whatever the reason you are not starting and are placed on the second team. What’s your reaction? It probably will be that you are a failure; you begin to quit on yourself, and blame your coach.

So now let’s assume that same scenario, but your attitude is a little different. You already have the confidence in yourself and you aren’t waiting for something to happen. Instead, being placed on the second team now drives you even more to become a first team player or you become the best sixth man the school ever had. You have now turned an obstacle into an advantage because of the way you think, and you start to take control of your life.

This is how the The Million Dollar Athlete thinks. They demonstrate a positive attitude about themselves and possess the ability to remove any negative thoughts that will interfere with this process.

How do you think?


Next Blog

Start thinking like The Million Dollar Athlete.

Tony Falco
"The Coach"
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com