98: Compete Like a Champion with Dr. Larry Lauer, USTA Mental Skills Specialist

Dr. Larry Lauer is the Director of Player Development for the US Tennis Association. In this role, he is also a mental skills specialist working with the most elite tennis players in the U.S. to help accelerate them from juniors to pros. He works with athletic coaches to help them support and develop their athletes. In this interview, he talks about how three things separate the best in the world: 1) an unbelievable work ethic focused on always getting better, 2) a commitment to the process that doesn’t bear fruit for some time, and 3) passion for what they do. We talk about how the best are almost solely focused on the process (about 95% of the time), but they check in with their outcome goals periodically throughout the season – perhaps every quarter, he suggests. Or, they use their outcome goals to stay motivated and pushing themselves during training. Other topics discussed: His “Breath and Believe” Strategy 3 Steps to Command the Moment 3 Things the Best Coaches Do Get a description and summary at cindrakamphoff.com/Larry. You find Larry on twitter at @LarryLauer or email him at Lauer@usta.com.