CLEARING THE WATER

A technique to improve the quality of sports practices.

Many student-athletes arrive at practice with what I call cloudy minds. They are thinking about schoolwork, social issues, or the latest tunes they want to download. But for the next two hours of practice you don’t want them thinking about the past or the future, just the present.

How can you help them find this focus in less than two minutes? We use a drill called "clearing the water," which provides a visual image for quieting the mind. To start, we ask our athletes to shut their eyes and imagine their minds as a glass of water fresh from the tap, cloudy with air bubbles. Next, they are instructed to inhale deeply through their nose, drawing air into their belly. They then exhale slowly through the nose, imagining that with each exhale their minds become clearer and clearer, just like the glass of water does as the air bubbles disperse.

This process takes just 45 seconds to two minutes and pays large dividends in improving the quality of practice. It’s a short exercise that encourages players and coaches to focus on the here and now.

Article Source: http://www.sportspracticedrills.com

Provided by:

Brian Cain

www.briancainbaseball.com
www.briancaininnercircle.com

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