Mike Tomlin’s Secret

by: Bob Palmer
Peak Performance Coach
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In a big game like the Super Bowl, it is beautiful to watch two teams battle for the supremacy of the mind game.  By this time, only the mentally strong teams are left, and it is now up to them to prove who is the most skillful.  They are ZONE Athletes and they are stronger and have the illusion of looking taller and meaner.   They have incredible energy and stamina, are less susceptible to injury and seem immune to the numbers on the scoreboard.  Sometimes they appear so powerful that they can intimidate in the pre-game warm-ups.  Only Zone Athletes end up at the Super Bowl.
Having a team of ZONE Athletes does not ensure victory, but it facilitates winning.  It facilitates recovery from score deficits; it facilitates the love of the game—win or lose—and it facilitates creative and determined athletes who will figure out what to do differently if they do lose.  This kind of ZONE Athlete is easy to create, but it takes a ZONE Coach to do it. 
After my last article, a coach emailed and asked me what a ZONE Coach was supposed to look like.  It is a great question.  If you don’t know, how are you going to become one?   But as individual ZONE Coaches behave somewhat differently when in the Zone, the answer lies in FEEL rather than in LOOKS.  Watch any ZONE Coach and you’ll get a sense of power, of strength, of confidence, of awe.  You really can FEEL their power. 

A case in point occurred at this year's Super Bowl.  Most viewers thought it was over for Pittsburgh in the last few minutes of the game, but you'd never have known that by Mike Tomlin.  To look at him, you might even have thought his team was always in the lead.  His posture displayed power and you can be assured that his players felt it. 
If Coach Tomlin’s players could feel his presence, imagine how Tomlin must have FELT.  He must have been glowing inside and radiating heat like an oven.  He must have been feeling expansive, with the force of his power extending beyond the sidelines to his players, the linesmen, the referees and the other team.  He must have felt solid and grounded.   I can only speculate on this, but from my own experience in the martial arts, I know how it feels.  It is Coach Tomlin’s Secret, as much as it is the secret of every successful coach.     
The Zone FEEL is that powerful.  It is your indicator for a peak performance, very much like the gas gauge in your car is your indicator for maintaining mobility.  The gas gauge tells you that you have miles to go, or that you need to take action and fill up.  A coach’s Zone FEEL indicates that he is moving his team forward.  By losing that FEEL, he knows he is hobbling the team and needs to take action.  Identify and pay attention to this internal gauge, and you will excel at motivation beyond your wildest dreams.   
The following exercise will help you to identify your Zone FEEL—your internal gauge.  I’ve included a ‘Zone Feel’ chart to help you in this process.  Please use it, as it is your first step in the journey of learning to be motivational like Mike Tomlin.    

1)  Using the ‘Zone Feel’ chart, write down three different experiences in the spaces provided.  Pick times when you were wildly successful.  If you are new to coaching football, pick experiences from other sports or activities. 

2)  Fully submerge yourself in experience #1.  It should feel very good.  As you reminisce, write down descriptions of what is going on IN your body, such as an electric sensation in your heart, expansiveness in your chest, a tingly sensation in your arms and legs, or a warm glow on your face.  Write them all down.  Then repeat the process for experiences #2 and #3.

3)  Now evaluate what you wrote down.  Look for one internal sensation that is similar in all three of your experiences.  For example, my Zone FEEL is an expansive and warm feeling in my chest and is evident in all past Zone memories.  It was there when I got my black belt, won my first black belt tournament and helped a client win a gold medal at the Olympics.  Find one sensation like mine that will be your Zone FEEL.

When you find that one clear sensation and start to live in it, you have the secret for becoming a ZONE Coach.  Be warned, though, that the Zone FEEL is much easier to maintain in simple exercises like this.  As soon as you take your place on the football sidelines and your quarterback fumbles the ball, or a key player is penalized for abusing the referee, or the score starts to mount against your team, your Zone FEEL may start flipping to “empty.”  Get excited by this, because it is your first step to success, as it will help you to identify a part of your mental game that you can fix later.   
Over the next articles, I will offer you several strategies to help you to refill your tanks at these points.  In the interim, do your homework.   Identify your Zone FEEL and test it out in nice safe, pre-season situations such as in your classroom, at your home or in the shopping mall.  Notice how much more powerful you feel and how others respond to you.  Soon, you’ll learn to apply it to your game.  And, when you do, you will start to create ZONE Athletes just like Coach Tomlin. 
About the Author:
Bob Palmer is a teacher and a Peak Performance Coach with 15 years of experience teaching leadership strategies to athletes and coaches in many different sports.  One of his athletes won a gold medal in skeet shooting at the Beijing Olympics and many have won national and international competitions. 

Bob gives Peak Performance workshops throughout Canada and the United States., a Program that quickly brings individuals into a Zone where powerful goals are established, enjoyment replaces stress and skillful leadership is the norm.   Bob is also a 4th degree black belt in karate, is the owner of a karate school, and has a book in the works.   He can be reached at 877-967-5747 or at bpalmer@sportexcel.ca.  His website is www.sportexcel.ca. 

SPORTEXCEL PEAK PERFORMANCE ZONE
www.sportexcel.ca
bpalmer@sportexcel.ca
877-967-5747

Zone FEEL (Mike Tomlin’s Secret)

Purpose:  To identify an internal (FEEL) signal that will tell you when you are in the Zone.  You want this signal to be sensory based and as obvious as a green traffic signal.

Experience # 1	Experience #2	Experience #3
Internal Sensations	Internal Sensations	Internal Sensations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.	1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.	1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
The Zone FEEL:  (The one clear sensation across all experiences)

 

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