2006 December 28 - Sports News and Articles

No Debate About Bait: How to Properly Handle Live Bait

The Basics of Bass FishingIf you are looking for a wonderful recreational sport that will take you far away from your comfort zone, look no further than bass fishing. The sport of bass fishing has quickly risen into the ranks of a multi billion dollar industry. This fishing sport has acquired a great following throughout the years and is now one of the most popular sports in America.

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Winter Carp Fishing: Bait Secrets and Innovative Tactics

Winter Carp Fishing: Bait Secrets and Innovative Tactics
Expert winter carp fishing baits and tactics by a leading experienced UK fisherman and bait guru. Covering topics in detail; like winter carp location, winter carp bait design, special alternative bait applications and hook bait presentations. Many insights into alternative bait creation specifically for cold water and pressured waters at unproductive times. There are numerous catch proven secrets only one of which could transform your results!

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What Can Sports Psychology Do For You

Sport psychology is one of those cutting-edge disciplines poised on the edge of art and science. The mind game is one of the most important, yet often most elusive and ineffable elements in all of sport.

Having a strong mental game is the Make-It-Or-Break-It skill that separates the winners from the You-Came-So-Close crowd. The mental game is the ultimate X-factor, that hidden dimension of sport that winners possess and losers wish for.

I don’t know if you are happy with your mental skills, but my guess is, you probably think you could improve your sport by improving your mind, and that’s the reason you’re reading this.

Perhaps you’re a middle school or grade school athlete, competing in your chosen sport, yet you want that extra edge to help you make the school team, or to get your ranking higher, or to compete at a higher level. Maybe you are looking ahead to making the high school team soon.

Perhaps you’re a high school athlete, frustrated with knowing that with just a little better mental approach to your sport, you could be great. Maybe you’re struggling with controlling your mind, and with some specialized help, you believe you could really take things to the next level. Maybe even get that college scholarship.

Perhaps you’re a college athlete, competing at a high level, yet your performances are inconsistent, and lack the deep focus required to succeed at such rarified stratas. You are looking for better mental preparation that will regularly catapult you into the zone. You want to reach your goals before you graduate. Maybe you’re thinking about playing pro afterwards.

If you’re a professional athlete, it’s a slam-dunk that you need a solid mental game approach–every day, all day. Anything less, and you’re sunk. Need we say more?

And of course, every athlete, at every level must have mental toughness.

Here is a quick overview of why people seek the services of a sport psychology coach. They typically want to:

1. Learn how to psych up for every practice, coaching session and competition.

2. Make mental toughness a strength in their sports performance.

3. Stop mentally beating themselves up and self-destructing when they perform below expectations.

4. Know how to get into the performance zone, naturally and easily, every time.

5. Handle the dreaded mind games opponents launch at critical times.

6. Harness the secrets of game momentum to win more.

7. Gain more satisfaction from their sport.

8. Reach new levels of performance.

9. Transfer lessons learned in sport to the rest of their life and business.

What are YOUR reasons for seeking sports psychology help?

This article covers only one small part of the mental game. A complete mental training program includes motivation and goal-setting, pre-event mental preparation, post-event review and analysis, mental strengthening, self-regulation training, breath control training, motor skill training, mental rehearsal, concentration training, pressure-proofing, communication training, confidence-building, breaking through mental barriers, slump prevention, mental toughness training, flow training, relaxation training, momentum training, psych-out proofing and media training.

For a comprehensive overview of your mental abilities you need an assessment instrument that identifies your complete mental strengths and weaknesses. For a free, easy-to-take 65-item sport psychology assessment tool you can score right on the spot, visit http://www.mentalgamecoach.com/Assessments/MentalGameOfSports.html. This assessment gives you a quick snapshot of your strengths and weaknesses in your mental game. You can use this as a guide in creating your own mental training program, or as the basis for a program you undertake with Bill Cole, MS, MA to improve your mental game. This assessment would be an excellent first step to help you get the big picture about your mental game.

Bill Cole, MS, MA is one of the world’s leading mental game coaches who consults with athletes of all levels including children, amateurs and professionals. Mr. Cole is the founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association, the global leader in certification of mental game coaches. Read over 400 free articles on sports psychology at http://www.mentalgamecoaching.com/index.html or call 408-294-2776 for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Cole

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20 Mistakes Sports Parents Make With Their Kids: Don’t Fall Into These Sports Parenting Traps

How is your sports relationship with your child? Are you supporting your child in their sport the way they need to be nurtured? Do you understand your child’s sport experience? Do you create an environment that helps develop your child through their sport career? As founder and President of The International Mental Game Coaching Association I certify coaches, coach kids and adults and consult to parents, coaches and officials. I continually hear about parents who make numerous mistakes in their desire to achieve sports success. I’ve been coaching for over 35 years and have seen these issues up close and personal. Take a look at these common mistakes parents make with their child’s sports experiences. How many of these would your child say you make? How many of these can you avoid making?

As President of The International Mental Game Coaching Association, one of my goals is to spread the concepts of mental toughness and self-coaching throughout the world. I want children to become more self-reliant, have higher self-esteem, make better decisions, learn better judgment, manage their stress, engage the zone in performance and achieve to their full potential.

20 Mistakes Parents Make With Their Kids In The World Of Sport

1. Lecturing their child about the sport’s techniques and strategies when they never played the sport, or played at a low level.

2. Criticizing, judging or lecturing their child about their performance under pressure when they themselves have never competed, or competed at a low level, and do not understand the pressures of competition.

3. Failing to create a supportive, organized environment the day of competitions.

4. Treating officials and staff with less than full respect.

5. Rushing their child’s early sport technique development, when that should be the slowest, most careful period of all, to gain solid fundamentals that last a lifetime, which don’t need to be corrected later in their career.

6. Placing unwanted pressure on their child by framing competitions as being “Must win”, “Can’t lose”, “An important event”, “Critical competition”, and the like.

7. Pushing their child into a sport or competition before they are ready.

8. Failing to see the value of sports lessons as preparation for life itself.

9. Allowing their child to get away with poor behavior by making excuses for it, or by failing to exert parental standards.

10. Failing to match their child’s sport choice to their temperament, sensibilities, talents and values.

11. Projecting their own insecurities, worries and nervousness about their child’s performance onto their child, especially before a competition.

12. Not allowing their child to own their sport experience, and thereby learn from their mistakes, and instead doing everything for their child.

13. Performing a post-competition analysis sooner than their child would like it.

14. Asking “Did you win?” after a competition, rather than saying something that carries less pressure.

15. Failing to listen and to allow their child to process their feelings after a difficult practice or stressful competition.

16. Smothering their child, by hovering around every sport activity their child attends, from practices to training session to competitions (known as being a Helicopter Parent).

17. Failing to support or respect the coaching staff.

18. Displaying poor sportsmanship.

19. Failing to be a role model for the behaviors they want their children to display.

20. Taking it as personal criticism when their child makes requests for them to modify their parenting behavior.

For a comprehensive overview of your child’s mental abilities you need an assessment instrument that identifies their complete mental strengths and weaknesses. For a free, easy-to-take sports psychology assessment tool, visit: http://www.mentalgamecoach.com/Assessments/MentalGameOfSports.html We also offer extensive resources with which to improve your child’s entire mental game.

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Scuba Diving - It Ain’t What You Do - It’s the Way That You Do It

Some dive organizations appear to be hell-bent on getting as many people as possible to scuba dive. They are then able to release amazing statistics that suggest that everyone and his dog is scuba diving. I can hear a famous ditty ringing in my ears: It ain’t what you do, its the way that you do it! This logic applies very well to scuba diving. Its all very well that 5 million people throughout the world can scuba dive, however, its the way that they do it that really matters. It is often those -I can scuba dive- people who get into trouble underwater and are at risk of finding themselves in an -I nearly died scuba diving- situation.

Who is to blame?

The scuba diving industry or the individual? The scuba diving industry is often given bad press for reducing their scuba diving training course requirements and/or course length. You could also apportion blame to the tourism industry who market scuba diving as a blissful recreation that no holiday is complete without! Alternatively you could blame society for our in-built consumerism and drive to spend money. However, it is also the responsibility of the individual diver to make sure he or she knows as much as they can about the risks of scuba diving and what to do if something goes wrong.

So, it is up to each individual diver to weigh up the risks and benefits of scuba and ensure they have a realistic view of what is involved. Ultimately, if you dive, the buck stops with YOU!

Reiss Mackie is a SCUBA diving instructor living and working on the beautiful Great Barrier Reef in Australia. He is an expert on stress in scuba divers and co-author of with Dr Sarah Carney MBBS.

Visit his website and forum for more information on the psychological challenges of diving Reiss Mackie is a SCUBA diving instructor living and working on the beautiful Great Barrier Reef in Australia. He is an expert on stress in scuba divers and co-author of The Scuba Diving Panic Management Guide with Dr Sarah Carney MBBS. Visit his website and forum for more information on the psychological challenges of diving www.scubadivingpanicmanagement.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Reiss_Mackie

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Sports Personality Of The Year - A View From The Audience

The walk from the train station to the N.E.C. seemed to take forever, I didn’t know what to expect but that was all part of the excitement. This was the first time members of the public were able to witness the annual Sports Personality of the Year awards and I felt privileged to be going.

Outside the arena there was a buzz of anticipation, who was going to win and who do you want to win were the questions on everyone’s lips. We were handed a voting card for the individual and team awards and I made my selection.

After what had seemed a lifetime we finally got to our seats. The view was much better than I had expected, even though the public were sat in a ring behind the V.I.P’s and sports stars. The stage itself was glowing and the camera crews were making last minute preparations. Behind them sat the BBC concert orchestra who were tuning up ready to entertain the crowd before the event. Surrounding the stage were four giant television screens playing clips of the sporting events which had defined the past twelve months.

Having practiced when to applaud, how long for and having listened to the orchestra belt out some classic sporting anthems it was time for the live show to begin. Garry Lineker, Sue Barker and Adrian Chiles appeared on stage to guide us through the next two hours of celebration and reflection.

At times the atmosphere was electric with huge applause for the heroes we had watched on our television screens. They had provided us with so much joy and excitement over the past year and this was a small way in which we could thank them. On other occasions it was a hard to hold back the tears, some couldn’t as we witnessed stories and tributes about Heather Clarke, Paul Hunter and Earl Woods.

There were sections reviewing each sport and the various awards were handed out. As it got nearer to the end and the announcement of the individual winner the atmosphere began to build. David Walliams received a special award in recognition of swimming the channel for sport relief, in the warm up before going live he had joked that his was the fastest time ever, despite his humour you could see that the sport relief charity was something that meant a grate deal to him.

After nearly two hours it was time to announce the winner, the crowd waited with baited breath. There was no clear favourite and no one knew who the winner would be. As Sarah Phillips was announced the audience stood to applaud, she may not of been the choice of everyone there but even those whose vote was for someone else could appreciate what she had achieved.

The feelings of those sat around me were ones of very mixed emotions. Perhaps the best way to sum up the year in sport would be to say that it was one of triumph in adversity. We had laughed and cheered but had also shed a tear. We had witnessed a great show and I’m sure many will be back next year if given the opportunity.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Genner

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Civil War Chess Games

With civil war chess, one can enjoy a classic chess game with a historic bend. The civil war chess games bring famous figures of the American Civil War into your home or workplace. Civil war chess games represent the war fought between the Union troops and the Confederates. Strategy is a clear element in any battle field situation. There is no better game than chess to teach this strategy.

A civil war chess set features a beautiful civil war dimension. It explores an important event in United States history. The chess pieces are the images of great leaders from both sides of the Civil War. These figures include Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and many others. The commanders come in historically accurate dress, expression and even stature. The rules of civil war chess games are the same as those of conventional chess.

In civil war chess, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davies are selected as the kings and General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant as the queens. The two bishops symbolize General Wall Jackson and General Sherman with Union and Confederate Calvary as the knights. The castles are the Stars and Stripes as well as the Stars and Bars. The pawns are the Union Drummers and Confederate Buglers.

The civil war chess games are equally good for both chess game lovers and history lovers. It brings the value of real history into a normal game. When the board is totally set, it looks like a real battle field. Every game gives the feeling of a new civil war, and regardless of actual history only the finest standard moves decide the outcomes.

Many dealers offer civil war chess sets in a variety of styles and sizes. Almost all sets contain highly detailed hand-painted statuettes, which provide brilliant artifact value of the many aspects of the US Civil War. Civil war chess sets are perfect gifts for collectors of commemorative items or reproduced relics.

Chess Game provides detailed information on Chess Game, Free Chess Game, Online Chess Games, Free Chess Game Downloads and more. Chess Game is affiliated with Glass Chess Sets.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddie_Tobey

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