My rose is for sure the night I just spent with my wife and kids and my thorn is still not having my taxes done for this year 😬

@James Gordon would love to see it!! And, I know that feeling all too well. How is spring season going? First games this weekend? Need to get you on a call to talk about the “identity” compass. I think it would benefit the girls for sure.

@Andrew Nelson yea this one takes time to learn so I’ve been wrestling with what could help young people embrace it faster. All the top competitors I work with are so good at seeking out feedback.

@Patrick Kelly couldn’t have said it better myself. Would love to see you make your own post one of these days sharing some of this wisdom 🙏🏼

@Patrick Kelly Awesome story man thanks for sharing. You clearly did a great job communicating through that time. I think people would really benefit from hearing more of your stories.

@Jack Robinson this is such a powerful insight and honestly at no fault to your dad who genuinely thought he was doing what was best for you. You are so right though that little things we tell our kids can stick with them because in some way we are always trying to make our parents proud. This is why it is so essential for parents to explicitly say that they are proud of their kids just for showing up. A few years ago in my coaching career, I came across the book the inner game of tennis and this changed my life as a coach and now as a parent. In that book they clearly explain how the thinking mind (part that thinks about stuff) can block the physical mind (part that controls the body) from finding the best versions of a physical action by tensing up around what the thinking mind is focusing on. If your dad could go back in time he could have said something like, “hey, pay attention to your feet and see what you feel. Try some different positions and look for the stance that feels natural and gets the best results”. In that mindset, you switch the focus from, doing what dad says, to doing what gets results. Dad can then help keep track of data and just observe. Then he can say something like, “which shot feels the best and lands the most shots”. This puts the athlete in charge of understanding that skill acquisition is an athlete driven process not a coach or parent driven process. It also shapes feedback into something that reinforces athlete identity and is empowering instead of something that causes negative self talk to infiltrate.

@Joseph Weidner thanks for sharing this one man!! It’s clear from working with you that this is a big part of your success. Looking forward to connecting this week sometime.

@Andrew Nelson thank you. I think preemptive medicine is the best kind.