Dirk Nowitzki: "I am a Warrior"

"Dirk is all about German precision.  He’s like a surgeon out on the court. He sees the game in slow motion, he knows what’s going to happen and he knows what he needs to do.  And it’s that ability to understand not only what he needs to do but also context is what continues to make him special. 

"He makes it into a science. He’s a student of the game and, in a lot of respects, it helps him because, you know, you’ll see him all the time. He knows how to protect his body, which makes him look really awkward sometimes, but he understands context. When you’re younger, you don’t really understand the context of the short term and the long term and what’s going on. He’s smart. He understands it."

--Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, discussing his veteran All-Star, Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki, 35, is in his 16th season with the Dallas Mavericks.  He has 11 All-Star appearances, 12 All-NBA selections, an MVP, two NBA Finals appearances and an NBA championship as a member of the Mavericks.  

Taken from BleacherReport.com (01/28/2014).

Mental Conditioning Wins Again

Monday night, the Florida State Seminoles beat the Auburn Tigers, 34-31, on a last second touchdown to win the final BCS National Championship game in Pasadena, California to determine the college football national championship.

It was a hard-fought game that provided an exciting finish for the ages as the Seminoles overcame a 21-10 deficit in the second half.

The game was also significant in that the SEC champion did not win the national championship for the first time in the last eight tries.  Since January 2006, when Texas defeated USC (also at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena), the SEC champion has also won the national championship.  In fact, the SEC had won 8 of the last 10 national championships before last night.  Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Auburn had all been victorious in the BCS championship game.

What was also extremely important about the last 10 years of BCS champions, is that the Florida State Seminoles, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the USC Trojans, coached respectively by Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban, and Pete Carroll have all totally embraced mental conditioning as a crucial part of their programming for their players and coaching staff.  Alabama leads the pack with 3 BCS championships in the past 5 years, USC captured one championship and one runner-up trophy during Pete Carroll's tenure, and Florida State won its first championship since January 2000.

Pete Carroll has continued to succeed as coach of the NFL Seattle Seahawks, who have been one of the league's elite the past two years, including having the best record in the NFC and being ranked as the best regular season team for much of this season.

This mounting evidence should be considered the "tipping point" for the establishment of mental conditioning and sports psychology as necessary, legitimate and credible components for attaining and maintaining individual and team peak performance.

Alabama has been at the forefront in the use of mental conditioning coaching.  Their relationship with Trevor Moawad, a mental conditioning coach and the director of the IMG Performance Institute in Bradenton, Fla., is very strong.  Head coach Saban met Moawad while coaching the NFL Miami Dolphins.  Not surprisingly, Moawad also consults with Florida State's football team.

Carroll has a long standing relationship with the Pacific Institute in Seattle and has also installed mental conditioning as a key component of the Seahawks programming, following his success with USC.

In effect, mental conditioning has played a significant role in the participation and performance of 6 teams playing in the last 10 BCS championship games.  This is quite a ringing endorsement.  

So, sports psychologists and mental conditioning coaches, get ready for the onslaught of calls from coaches and players.  The "tide" has turned.