It Don't Mean A Thing

In the words of American jazz composer, pianist and
bandleader Duke Ellington as sung by the
incomparable Ella Fitzgerald:

"It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing"

It's been awhile, but I'm sorry to admit when one
of my boys started in baseball in Gainesville they
actually had a league where they didn't keep
score. Something about not wanting to damage
their self- esteem or somesuch.

I think it was another one of those liberal
experiments that ignore the realities of human
nature. It didn't come anywhere near ever
working though. The kids always kept score for
themselves.

It's the keeping score that keeps us keeping on,
isn't it?

We don't always do it now though. Maybe because
we think we don't want to know how we're doing,
but with that attitude we've already lost.

So my tip for today is to do what you can do in
various areas of your life to start keeping score.

In shooting for instance, keep a daily shot chart
and measure your shooting progress. It will help
you to move forward.

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Coach Stan Kellner can teach you how to get
in a shooting groove where you rack up really big
numbers. You'll want to be keeping score when
you see Stan work his magic on you via DVD at:

http://www.deandelker.com/kellner_order.html

Make Every Shot Count, and Count Every Shot

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

How To Focus Like A Star

The great athletes of our time, people like Michael
Jordan, Joe Montana, and Carl Lewis, all had
amazing physical abilities (strength, stamina, and
quickness).

But as the true elite of the sporting world, this
group also displayed another trait that separated
them from even the very talented opponents they
faced: the power to concentrate and focus on the
task at hand.

Patrick Chylinski

How would you develop focus and concentration
like that?

Would you believe me if I told you there were
several simple steps you can take to get started?

First, don't forget the concentration exercises you
got for signing up on this list. They are deceptively
powerful. Did you read over them and say I ought
to try these some day?

Dig them back up and start practicing for 15
minutes a day, more if you can. Let yourself relax
and flow with your surroundings. Experience the
growing power of your focus. You can find the
exercises again at:

www.deandelker.com/concentration_exercises.html

A second simple way to develop focus is to change
the way you train and work out. Start paying
attention moment to moment when you are
exercising. Pay attention to your breathing. Count
your breaths. Count your reps, count your steps.

Coach Tim Kauppinen suggests for example, when
you run hill sprints, you pay close attention to your
steps as you move up the hill or stairs.
Counting in your head will cause you to focus on the
pace - not how hard it is to sprint up the hill.

Counting is a great technique because it keeps the
conscious mind busy and allows the subconscious to
come to the forefront. That allows deeper learning
and body/mind integration to take place. Exercise
is really productive when that happens.

When you are shooting try paying attention to
various factors and see how each affects your shot.
One time pay attention to the leg drive you're using.
Another time focus on arm angle and follow through.

One of the best focus factors I've found is Stan
Kellner's three power shooting words - See, Feel, &
Yes. Focusing on them frees you up to produce a
smooth, rhythmic, accurate shot. Try it. I know
you'll like it. And it's fully explained on Stan's
Prime-Time Shooting DVD at:

http://www.deandelker.com/kellner_order.html

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Don't forget Stan's "Beyond The Absolute
Limit" book either. It is applied basketball
cybernetics at it's best. Pound for pound I think
there's more powerful information in this book
than in any I've read. Pick it up today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/kellner_order.html

It's Your life - Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

Seeing Through The Dark Clouds

The student-run Florida Alligator newspaper in
Gainesville ran a cover today that was a huge
menacing black cloud with stylized skyscrapers
peaking through in places.

It's hard not to get caught up in the darkness of
the 9/11 anniversary like we're remembering
today. But this morning after honoring and
remembering the innocents slain in the World
Trade Center massacre, I decided they wouldn't
want me to wallow in fear or sadness. They'd
want me to get on with my own unique brand of
living and overcoming darkness with light.

Still though I was wondering how I was going to
talk about the game of basketball when so many
people were thinking about much more serious
matters.

Then I found a piece in Tom Hughes' monthly
newsletter about a book by Brian Kilmeade called
"The Games Do Count".

In his introduction Brian writes how he was
inspired to finish his book about how sports prepare
people for success in life when he learned four of the
heroes of Flight 93 had an extensive background in
organized sports.

I believe Tom Burnett, Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick,
and Mark Bingham, four average Americans
mustered up the courage to formulate a plan and
execute it even while staring death in the face, in
part, because of their athletic training.

If you want to be negative you can always find
something wrong with sports today, but this story
magnifies everything that's right about it.

So don't let anybody tell you "it's just a game"
anymore when you have the burning desire to be
an outstanding shooter, or to excel at anything else
in life. You were created that way, and you'd be
abnormal not to want to experience it. It's time to
celebrate that, put everything you can into it, and
see what you can become as a result.

The world needs you to.

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean Delker - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

http://www.deandelker.com/products.html