Craig Sigl, Author at Mental Toughness Trainer

Stress: It’s all how you look at things

Craig Sigl2020-09-27T20:00:16+08:00

Years ago, when I was in the corporate world, managing 50 employees, I thought I had it rough. At the time, I felt like my entire world could crumble any day starting with losing my job and I put myself under that stress 7 days a week. When I decided to go home at night from work was entirely arbitrary as I couldn't actually ever get to a point in that job where I thought my job was completed. No, there was always something that wasn't getting done or done right that needed my attention. Why did I think this? Because [...]

Stress: It’s all how you look at thingsCraig Sigl2020-09-27T20:00:16+08:00

Daniel Jahn Maximum Sports Conditioning

Craig Sigl2015-05-13T04:11:01+08:00

Daniel Jahn - Former D1 Baseball Player and Now CEO & Director of Instruction for Strength and Conditioning Programs I tend to think about athletes who never quit or give up. I think about athletes who love working hard and welcome any challenge presented to them. Mentally tough athletes can deal with adversity and struggle in a way that ends in positive outcomes for the individual and his/her team. Athletes who set high standards for themselves and their teammates, then hold themselves accountable to those standards show mental toughness as well. To know the definitions of mental toughness are important, but [...]

Daniel Jahn Maximum Sports ConditioningCraig Sigl2015-05-13T04:11:01+08:00

3 Tips For Creating Sports Confidence

Craig Sigl2020-09-27T20:00:43+08:00

How to Build Confidence as a Young Athlete, by James Leath First of all, let’s decide something right now. You are not competing with anyone else, ever again. Starting now, your primary strategy is to make everyone else around you play at your level. You won’t make excuses; you’ll cause others to make them. You won’t play down to an opponent’s level; it’s up to them to play at yours. You won’t stop until the final whistle blows; you’ll go all out until the time runs out. If you can commit to that mentality, in practice and in competition, please keep [...]

3 Tips For Creating Sports ConfidenceCraig Sigl2020-09-27T20:00:43+08:00

Craig Sigl Story: The Gift Of Pressure

Craig Sigl2017-04-04T17:02:28+08:00

Have you had a major setback you need to come back from? Maybe facing a huge obstacle right now? I’m going to tell you a true story about overcoming adversity that turned into the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I began my toughness trainer career as a manager at a Fortune 500 company. Now, Before becoming a manager, I was an hourly worker. One day I’m a worker and the next day I’m a manager, just like that. No training yet, no instructions, just these phrases from my boss: “Here’s your desk and office!” and "I’ll see you at [...]

Craig Sigl Story: The Gift Of PressureCraig Sigl2017-04-04T17:02:28+08:00

How To Handle Not Winning

Craig Sigl2017-06-06T23:50:47+08:00

Before watching the video below, you should know that I don't believe in using the word "Losing" except to reference, FOR OTHERS, events when you don't win (so they know what you're talking about). The truth about a game, match or meet is that there is no real reason for athletes to use the word. When asked (like by a parent) how an athlete did in a competition, they could easily answer with some of what I call "Deadly Accurate Truth" that sounds like this: "Our team didn't play as well as we normally do but I made some stellar plays, [...]

How To Handle Not WinningCraig Sigl2017-06-06T23:50:47+08:00

4 Things Coaches Look For In Volleyball Tryouts

Craig Sigl2020-09-27T20:03:04+08:00

What do volleyball coaches look for in team tryouts? From my experience of coaching at the high school, club and collegiate level, there are three important categories at all levels: athleticism, skill and will. 1. Athleticism This has elements that can be trained and others that cannot. For example, height cannot be affected by training regimens. While height has its advantages in volleyball, it is never enough if the person does not possess the other elements, such as quickness, strength, and power. Also, it is no substitute for skill and will. There were times when our club team, who’s tallest player [...]

4 Things Coaches Look For In Volleyball TryoutsCraig Sigl2020-09-27T20:03:04+08:00

Gymnasts and Cheerleaders: Getting Over Fear

Craig Sigl2020-09-27T20:03:25+08:00

Fear is a tricky subject all trackers, free runners, gymnasts, or any athlete has to face. Let me introduce myself. My name is Raven McCarthy from The Colony, TX. I do Freerunning, coaching, music, and run a parkour team in Dallas. I was a gymnast for nine years and a freerunner for five. Within those fourteen years I've seen and done a lot of things that aren't really about skill, but just a state of mind. As a coach I've developed a system for fear that I even use for myself. First thing is first; I go the mental route. I [...]

Gymnasts and Cheerleaders: Getting Over FearCraig Sigl2020-09-27T20:03:25+08:00

Mental Cross Training For Performance Breakthroughs

Craig Sigl2015-04-04T22:23:17+08:00

As an athlete looking for tips and advice on how to get to the next level in your sport, you might be missing out on a very powerful resource that could give you an edge over your competition. You see, the typical athlete that I work with has a coach who has experience in that sport...great! Typical athlete also gets specific tutoring or classes in how to acquire certain skills. Also great! Here’s where I think athletes are missing out. They ignore lessons and learning that can be had from OTHER sports. For example. You may not really care about the [...]

Mental Cross Training For Performance BreakthroughsCraig Sigl2015-04-04T22:23:17+08:00

Avoid overtraining. Relaxation is necessary for performance improvement

Craig Sigl2017-04-04T20:23:28+08:00

Every athlete serious about getting to the next level is working hard on improving in their sport. Most of the athletes I work with are students in high school and college with a full academic load on top of their practice and training regimen. Many of them have packed schedules with barely enough time to eat 3 healthy meals and often short themselves on sleep hours during test crunch times. I have heard it and I get it. We are built for short-term periods of super productivity, yes. When obligations and commitments are overwhelming, we have some built in mechanisms to [...]

Avoid overtraining. Relaxation is necessary for performance improvementCraig Sigl2017-04-04T20:23:28+08:00

How To Coach U8 Soccer Practice

Craig Sigl2020-09-27T20:03:52+08:00

Each age group of youth soccer teams comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. Here we will focus on a typical session for under 8 players, addressing their needs and learning styles in order to optimize their learning whilst maintaining a fun, engaging environment. Before we look at some practice session examples it’s important to try and understand the players we are working with a little bit better. So I will list some typical traits of players in this age bracket: In the early development stage of their soccer motor skills Short attention spans/ Easily distracted Learn best through [...]

How To Coach U8 Soccer PracticeCraig Sigl2020-09-27T20:03:52+08:00

About Craig Sigl