Explosive Mentality

July 4 fireworks truly inspire awe. Perhaps their explosiveness provides a some food for thought in the athletic realm.

Strong and solid athletic technique more often than not begins compact and then explodes. The football lineman begins low and crouched only to explode up and off the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. From the baseline, a tennis player keeps elbows and racket relatively close to the body before allowing racket and arms to explode out and through the ball. The surfer catching a great wave paddles hard, then bounces into a low athletic position, and finally stands tall riding out the remnants of the ocean’s roll. Like a firework, the physical game lies in starting compact and exploding outward.

The mental game is much the same. At its best, it works from the inside out. Too often an implosive mentality is brought to the mental game – outside factors push inwards to determine confidence and focus. Opponents, coaches, scouts, standings, and scores push from the outside into the unsuspecting athlete. Just like in the physical game (and a good fireworks display), best performances occur when mindset explodes from the inside out. The athlete that is grounded in how she competes, what he has practiced, and gets in touch with genuine passion for play drives performances from the inside outward… shaping the competitive landscape rather being subject to it.

Like a great bottlerocket, an explosive mentality has the potential to create dynamic performances.