What is pressure exactly?

There is one easy way to sum up the word pressure.

"Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it's because you've started to think of failure." - Tommy Lasorda, baseball manager

Here are examples of pressure causing...

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A student in my Champion Mindset Series recently asked me this question:

“I’m a bit of a perfectionist. Should I set high expectations or is it better to be realistic? Will being realistic cause me to sabotage myself and not meet my...

All the training. All the time. All the money.

We think we're ready. 

And then BOOM! We go into the ring and make a muck of it.

How is that possible? 

Well, there are lots of reasons, of course.

But one mistake I see handlers make consistently is they aren't as prepared to run the...

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Round and round you go.

Trying to remember the course, decide on your handling...wait, the walkthrough's over? "I'm not ready!" you wail.

But top handlers seem to memorize courses in an instant, don't they?

They figure...

Why is it that even world class teams make mistakes?

They've got the skills. Their dogs are well-trained. Yet they still make silly little errors.

And it's often the same reason you make mistakes.

Handlers *assume* the dog is going to do what the handler asks.

"But wait!" you say. "I train so I...

In the beginning...

Remember the first time your agility dog went through a tunnel all by himself?

Do you remember how excited you were? 

Every discovery, every new skill was a thrilling milestone.

You loved seeing the happiness in your dog's eyes as his skills and confidence grew.

...

Part of the fun in agility is analyzing courses, discovering all the options and then deciding on the best way to run the course.

But most people don’t use the walk-through to full advantage.

Here are three quick tips that will help you maximize your walk-throughs!

1. Don't obsess

...

You don't have to be a great physical athlete to have great timing.

And I've seen two of the best in the world prove it.

I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, during the era of Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oiler NHL hockey dynasty, and watched the hockey legend magically appear in the right place...

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Have you ever felt so nervous you thought you might throw up?

I have. 

Many times.

I've walked out onto the basketball court at the start of a national university championship wondering if my pre-game meal was going to reappear in front of a frenzied crowd. In...

The Mirage Of The Winner

Every year, talented dog and handler teams win world championships.

But the truth is, out of many talented handlers, it was their weekend. The next weekend, someone else could have just as easily won the crown.

The interesting thing is that in any given year, probably 20 of...