Dan Spainhour

Coaching Affirmations: a Coach's Guide to Improving Individual Performance Dan Spainhour

Publisher Marketing: "Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions." Albert Einstein Coach Dan Spainhour explains how affirmations can benefit coaches of every sport at every level. "When I used to hear all the talk about affirmations I had a tendency to think of some New Age feel good stuff that had little to do with coaching. However, the more I investigated the process of affirmations I came to realize maybe it was only the term affirmations that caused me not to take the process seriously. I've always believed in the importance of self-talk and the effects it has on performance. Like most coaches, I posted daily quotes in our locker room for the team to read and recite back during practice. I know motivation is different things for different people and athletes need inspiration that is designed specifically for them. I also believed that as Peter Davies says, "Motivation is like food for the brain, you cannot get enough in one setting." So I started to give my players specific individual statements that I asked them to say to themselves over and over. I would give them new statements at different times throughout the year based upon areas that I wanted to see them improve. I immediately saw results. My players seem more confident and our performance has improved since I instituted this process. And all coaches know the relationship of mental to physical performance. As Bob Knight says, 'Mental is to physical as four is to one.'" About the Author Dan Spainhour has more than 27 years of high school and college coaching experience. He has received numerous awards during his coaching career, including three state championships and 15 coach of the year honors. His teams have collected more than 450 victories. He is the author of several book including: Coach Yourself: A Motivational Guide for Coaches and Leaders and A Season in Words: A Coach's Guide to Motivation from the Preseason to the Postseason.