Defeating the Giant Within

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

What a powerful sermon the young pastor preached today about that four letter word that begins with “F”. That special word that has robbed so many of their dreams and evokes such negative emotions the minute you hear it. Of course I’m talking about the word FEAR. The atmosphere in the church was electrified as the pastor stood on the pulpit exhorting the congregation on ways to overcome their anxiety and how our lives would be greatly enriched once we mastered the technique of tuning out those negative voices in our head. You know that voice the one that comes as you are about to embark on something new and step out of your comfort zone. I’m referring to that nagging voice that penetrates your subconscious and is constantly discouraging you from taking action and moving forward to realize your potential. It suddenly came to me how often as a coach I’m often called upon to help the young athletes in my program get through this paralyzing emotion on a regular basis. In a competitive sport like basketball there are pressure situations that manifest throughout the contest, particularly during what is known as “crunch time” the end of game moments in which one play or lack thereof could determine the outcome. I think It’s amazing the time many of today’s athletes spend going through rigorous physical training to get their bodies in peak conditioning, yet, spend very little time preparing for the mental challenges of facing and handling pressure situations. Many of these individuals would rather not face the ridicule and scrutiny that’s sure to follow should their efforts fall short, (missed shot at the buzzer) the pressure to perform when it matters most, is scary and a situation many try to avoid.

Below are a few strategies I share with my athletes to help them prepare and overcome FEAR (on and off the courts)

1.At the beginning of the season I have the team write out specific goals they want to achieve for the current season this exercise helps them to set clear, concise and attainable goals it also helps to train their minds to focus on how they will reach their objectives. Many people can envision what they desire, but have difficulty in seeing how to get their dreams to materialize there’s something powerful and unlocking when they write the goals down. Utilizing visual images (a picture or physical sample) are also effective. For a team you could use a replica championship trophy or banner as the visual. At the beginning of each season I to write down specific goals for the team, This blue print helps me formulate practice plans complete with special situations, specific drills and exercises needed to help the team prepare to face challenges.

2. Another exercise I put the team through is to have them share their goals out loud in a group setting for accountability. I believe if you feel so strongly about obtaining something you want and desire, you should have no problem sharing it publicly. What I often notice is a growing confidence that emerges through this activity as individuals stand up in front of the group to share their goals at first with trepidation that quickly dissipates into strong conviction, after all if they don’t truly believe in what they are saying how can they expect others to? This is important as they begin to paint a picture for the audience to follow. It’s important to note that I also point out to them that not everyone will share their enthusiasm, or zeal. But they should not let that discourage them.

3. I encourage them to face Fear head on, you have to desire something so badly or develop an intense yearning to change your current situation that nothing will hold you back. If there is a particular team I know we have a difficult time matching up with, they may have better athletes or play a particular style that gives us problems (press style defense) I try to get the team to breakdown what they view as insurmountable into manageable parts and learn how to aggressively attack the GIANT. We still may not win the game, but the outcome won’t be as a result of being intimidated.

4. Lastly when all else fails in preparing them to confront their fears my goal is simply just getting them to start the process. You see many people become so paralyzed by fear that they never begin taking actions that will lead to the desired results. By taking some type of action toward a specific goal signals progress this could be as simple as starting an enhanced strength and conditioning program to the memorization of a document filled with motivational quotes or specific drills to improve their individual performance. Just by taking that first step helps quell those feelings of anxiety and doubt. A Large percentage of individuals never reach their goals and overcome fear, because they never take the first step!

©2008 Tony Price Unlimited LLC

“The Long Shots” (A missed opportunity)

Who would have thought, I became one of the country’s tallest cheer-leader for at least 90 minutes anyway, while watching this movie score a touchdown, unfortunately the point after was missed as the movie is going to fall victim to low receipts at the box office, hence it will continue to be an uphill battle to convince Hollywood to produce similar movies. The movie Long shots starring Keke Palmer & Ice Cube now playing in theaters should have been a can’t miss affair. I thought Kenya Yarbrough wrote a great article (www.eurweb.com/story/eur46442.cfm) on the making of the movie with interviews from the two main characters. This is a fantastic family movie a real PG-13 no one’s dropping the F-Bomb and there’s no sexual scenes or references. I didn’t think these types of movies still existed. The movie was the all too familiar story of the underdog who overachieves, but with a unique twist, the movie is based on the true story of Jasmine Plummer an African-American girl who at the tender age of 11 made history by becoming the first girl to play Pop Warner Football and lead her team to the national championship game. As I sat in the theater observing to see who like myself felt the movie was worth the time and money, I was somewhat surprised and disappointed to see that most of the patrons were Caucasian. Where were the people of color? How can we at this critical time in history thanks to the political race, and the call for people of color in particular African-Americans to be featured in prime time television shows, not come out in huge numbers to support this movie? Is it because the story line was not believable has our psyche and self love been damaged so badly to the point that we can’t see ourselves in roles like this and believe it actually happened? Shame on us as this movie will have come and gone without a whimper and the Producers in Hollywood will have the data and ammunition needed to justify not making movies such as this but continue to churn out classics like soul plane and Norbit.
The movie was far more than a sports movie, it had family drama, a strong black male character, who despite being down on his luck still had morals, ethics and values, showed how a town was hard hit by the closing of factories(sound familiar) and how a youth team brought a community together. I find it ironic that in a country that loves to root for the underdog, movies that star minority groups (African-Americans and Females) in leading roles outside of the usual stereotypical characters often does poorly at the gate. I’ll use both of Keke Palmer’s movies as examples (Akeelah & the Bee, Long shot) two powerful and moving projects that were mediocre at the box office. I love Ms. Palmer as an actress and I hope she doesn’t try to grow up too fast and shed her good girl image (Brandy, Keisha Knight Pulliam, and Kyla Pratt). We don’t need any more young sisters doing sex scenes to show their versatility for future acting jobs. Yes there were the typical clichés that played out in the movie , losing team turns season around going from worst to first making it against the odds from small town USA (think Bad News Bears,)but this movie was still a story that needed to be told, in my opinion if the main character had been based on a white female, the hype around the film would have been greater, played in more theaters, she would have been plastered on all the major print publications and done the entire talk show circuit, but alas this story was based on a young black girl who overcame tough odds to do something special, I guess that’s not interesting enough, maybe if she got pregnant along the way the movie would have been more appealing, oh that’s right as we recently found out on a national platform, black and Latina girls aren’t the only ones who have unprotected sex and become teenage moms, (Bristol Palin), if you don’t have the opportunity to catch the movie in theaters(hurry) at least purchase the DVD and show it to your children, they need to see that everyday people can also make history.
©2008, Tony Price Unlimited L.L.C