The term “excellence” is thrown around a lot in the world of competitive sports. I’m a fan of this word, so much so that I included it in the name of my business, Excellence in Sport Performance. But like so many terms in the sports world, (i.e. “mental toughness,” “talent”)... Read more

When potential clients walk in my office they usually have some sense that mental performance is important, but they don’t often know exactly what mental skills are or how they are taught.  “Is it therapy?,” they might ask. “Will I (or my child) be “˜psycho-analyzed?'”  While mental training has come... Read more

Guest Contributor Michael Van Gerpen Offers Up A Dozen Benefits To Adding Cycling To Your Summer Activities Lists • Beyond being just a mode of transportation or another form of exercise, cycling offers a multitude of additional benefits as well. Whether you prefer riding indoors or outdoors, a leisurely ride... Read more

Nationally-Ranked Players, Sumaswara And Suneri Chinthalapati, Take No. 2 Seed Into CIF Doubles Tournament For Valley Christian Of San Jose • PICTURED ABOVE: Sumaswara Chinthalapati (Inside Left) And Her Sister Suneri Show Off Some Of Their Championship Hardware With Coaches Mark DeLuca (Far Right) And Davis Gunter. (Contributed Photo) After... Read more

St. Mary’s-Stockton Junior Jordan Lee Was The Driving Force For A Rams Team That Reached Div. I NorCal Final Despite A Slew Of Injuries • Jordan Lee put 47 on Oakland Tech in the NorCals, so she’s got to be one of those score-first wings, right? And though 47 is... Read more

Despite Never Getting To Climb A CIF Podium, Pleasanton’s John Lester Graduated From Amador Valley Last Month As One Of The Nation’s Best High School 800-Meter Runners — Ever The 800-meter event is one of the toughest in track and field. To be successful requires the endurance of a miler... Read more

Perspective Has A Way Of Changing With The Season For St. Mary’s-Berkeley Girls Basketball Coach Chris Toler, A Contra Costa County Fire Captain • Sometimes basketball takes a back seat — and now is one of those times for Chris Toler. The disappointment for Toler and his St. Mary’s (Berkeley)... Read more

There’s Value in Your Mistakes. Making mistakes are a valuable mode of learning in sport. Athletes spend a lot of time fearing mistakes and coaches spend a lot of time reprimanding players for making them. How do you move on from mistakes? Ironically, trying to avoid mistakes is a sure-fire... Read more

The Liberty Football Team Isn’t A One-Man Show, But Senior Sione Vaki Sure Can Make It Look That Way At Times • Sione Vaki stands quietly on the sideline with teammates as the Liberty High football team’s special teams unit drills during a Thursday afternoon walk-through in late October.  Next... Read more

NorCal’s No. 1-Ranked Team Headed Into November, James Logan Isn’t A Prototypical Volleyball Power — But The Colts Have Learned How To Win, And Now They Want Banners • Imposing? Nah. Intimidating? Hardly. But the James Logan High girls volleyball team gets the job done, again and again. Short in... Read more

Are Your Kids Too Hard on Themselves? Show them this video after a big loss or choke in a game. You wonder what to say on the car ride home. Should I say something, keep quiet, make this a teaching moment or what? Unless your child expresses a desire to talk about... Read more

If you’ve watched my previous videos (four of them so far), you know more than probably 90% of all parent-coaches about controlling ones mind for optimum sports performance. This is not an exaggeration. You would be shocked to learn (as I have) how little coaches know about the human mind as it relates to... Read more