Last week we talked about how hard work beats talent that doesn't work hard.  Some of the hardest work we do on the volleyball court is controlling our thoughts.  Before reading further, take a minute to sit quietly and notice all of the thoughts that are going through your head in one minute.

All of those random thoughts are called “monkey mind.”  These thoughts distract you in competition and sometimes they undermine your competitive determination and focus.  Here are two examples from the Clearwater tournament.

The 15’s started the tournament a little unsure about how they would place.  After winning the first two matches, they had to win one more to take 1st place in the pool and earn a top seed the next day in playoffs. During the match, they found themselves down 6-10 in the third game and in jeopardy of losing the top seed that they had worked so hard for all day.  During the game, their coach noticed that some players were doubtful about coming back and winning. One player said, “We just can’t seem to do anything right” Other players started to talk about playing bad as well.  Monkey mind at work!  The players were unintentionally talking themselves out of being ready to work hard and competing for every point. Don’t forget –this was the most important match of the day, the match they'd worked so hard to get into.

Their coach, Stefanie Peters, caught what was going on and challenged them to be willing to work even harder than they had and to get it in their heads that they were going to comeback and win. Sure enough, they ended up winning to get the top seed and the next day, they won the whole tournament for Venetian Bay’s 1st team championship of the season.

16 Oreos did a great job overcoming their initial nervousness about playing up in the 17/18’s division and won 2nd place after losing a tough 5 game match to an 18’s team to stay in the Gold bracket.  Then, the next day, they had won the first game in the quarterfinal match pretty handily and the players started thinking about playing in the semi finals before they had even won that match.  Monkey mind at work again!  They were accidentally splitting their focus and in danger of relaxing in their next game.  You can guess what happened.  They lost that game and had to play a third game.  Down 11-14, Coach Lanham called a timeout and started to talk about doing the little things right and playing as a team.  They ended up winning the match 17-15.  Remember - hard work beats talent that doesn't work hard. They ended up winning the next match and playing for the 18’s championship that they barely loss by 2 in the third game but gaining a ton of confidence heading into the season.

Our minds hate quiet; they'll fill the space up with something, anything.  Most of the time, our minds will fill up with distractions that undercut our competitive performance unless we control our thoughts consciously.  How do we do this?  We focus on our breathing, our routines, our jobs, and the goals we’ve set for the day.

So… notice where your mind goes when you’re not filling it purposefully.  Notice how quickly it happens.  Controlling your mind is hard work.  It's the work that champions are more willing to do, the work that separates them from everyone else.  Control your thoughts – think like a champion.

This week at the Kick Off Classic in Tampa, take one point at a time and do everything you can to win that point.  I guarantee you that the score will take care of itself and you will be pleased with the outcome.  Good Luck Venetian Bay teams!!!

Also, since all teams will be together in one building, make sure that you go find other VBAY teams and cheer them on LOUDLY.  Lets let the rest of the Florida Region know that something special is going on in our club in the 2008 season.

exerpts from Tim Engels