Jarvis Coaching

    People of all ages and abilities are learning the game of golf though an approach focused almost entirely on the golf swing. Despite an uptick in golf lessons, players still struggle to go from the range to the golf course. The two are obviously not the same. In one space, you’re training your swing--caring mostly about getting your club and body in the right positions. In the other, you’re playing golf and focused on more than just the golf swing.  You’re managing your mind and emotions under time constraints, picking the right targets, seeing shots, and connecting with an athletic response called the golf swing.    Case in point:  I work with an 13-handicapper in his 60s who took up golf a few years ago. From the time he started playing golf, he’s taken a swing lesson, played, and practiced every week. Nevertheless, this player still struggles to lower his handicap.   As I do with most players, I sought to analyze his routines on the co...

How do you overcome the Yips? “It began the moment I let go of the last pitch I ever truly trusted, the one that went to the backstop and changed my life, and in the few seconds that followed.” --Rick Ankiel, Major League baseball player 1999-2000, 2007-2013. Are you an accomplished athlete suddenly unable to keep the ball in play, find the bottom of the cup from 3 feet, hit the mitt, or kick the ball between the goal posts? Are you suddenly unable to get your body to perform a movement or a sequence it has repeated effortlessly in the past? Are you overwhelmed with difficult thoughts and feelings?  Are you this person? If so, consider this… Nothing is closer to the experience of the yips than stuttering. Nothing. I know because I’ve been greatly affected by both and had to learn over the years how to navigate through the landmine of absurd thoughts and emotions that go with each. The yips, like stuttering, are a case of an “automatic ability” gone awry. What’s the ...