I recently delved into some research about a 2-day certification course I will be attending that helps high school level and junior athletes discover what it is they really want to get out of the sports they are playing, and how to help them train to attain the goals that they set for themselves. One of the trainers said, ‘The problem that most of our students have in sticking to a training program is that they focus on the process instead of the reward.’

I had written an article on this very subject two years earlier, and found it fascinating that the same exact ‘truth’ would rear it’s head again. (That’s the way it goes with the truth - it will always cut through and define problems and point to solutions with extreme clarity.) Anyway, I would like to give you an example of what this trainer was talking about and how it applies to your tennis training. Here’s the Scenario:

Meet Jessica. Jessica is a nationally ranked junior tennis player and is getting ready to graduate high school and accept a scholarship to a NCAA Div. 1 university next year. While she has done well, she really wants to improve and possibly play pro tennis someday. She, along with her coach, agreed that in order to do this, she must spend an additional 5 hours a week on the courts working solely on the areas of her game that they both agreed need improvement. This is in addition to the 12 hrs a week she is putting in on the courts just to maintain her game at its current level. She’s been doing it for two weeks now, and doesn’t really know if she’s making any ‘progress’ on those weak areas of hers, but she tells herself she’s going to keep slugging it out.

The alarm goes off at 5:00 am, and Jessica does not feel like going to the courts today. She thinks about it, and realizes that it’s raining, it’s cold, and she has to fight a ton of traffic just to get to the courts. Then, she’ll have to do her warm-up work, stretch and do the dreaded drills that have not been going so well for her over the last couple of weeks. On top of it all she got to bed late the night before anyway and has homework she didn’t finish. Jessica hits the snooze button, pulls the covers back up, and drifts back to sleep…

Meet Sarah. Sarah is a varsity level high school player and has never even thought about going on the pro tour. However, several colleges have been watching her and if she can make it to the State Tournament this year, her coach has told her that at least a partial college scholarship is all but certain. Sarah has thought long and hard about this, because her parents are not wealthy and she really wants to get an education. Sarah’s been working on improving her weaknesses for two weeks. She slowly, but surely, has been seeing some improvement.

Her alarm goes off, and Sarah does not want to go to the courts. It’s raining, it’s cold and she’s facing all the same challenges that Jessica is in regards to getting her morning training done. Sarah reaches over, turns the buzzer off on her alarm clock and…goes to the courts and gets in her morning training.

Now in this example…what’s the difference? What is the magical ingredient that courses through Sarah’s veins that makes her get to the courts? Sarah is not the nationally ranked top junior player that Jessica is. What makes Sarah go to the courts and what makes Jessica stay home? The answer may not be what you think. Believe it or not, these two girls are very focused, but in opposite ways. Remember what the trainer I heard said? ‘The problem that most of our students have in sticking to a training program is that they focus on the process instead of the reward.’ I have come to the conclusion that this trainer got it about 50% right.

Both these girls were focused on the process and the reward, but in different ways. The reason that Jessica hits the snooze button is precisely as follows:

Jessica, the girl who slept in, was focused emotionally on the process, and logically on the reward. In other words, Jessica was focusing her emotions on how difficult it was going to be to get the workout in, the weather, the traffic…and focusing her logic on the reward (i.e. ‘Yeah, so I may make it to the pros someday, but is doing all this really worth it?’)

Sarah, on the other hand, focused on the process logically and the reward emotionally. (i.e. ‘Well, I might as well get in there and get this workout done…I just know it’s going to feel so great to make it to the State Tournament and start getting scholarship offers!’)

The lesson for you here is this: Focus your emotions on the reward, and focus on the process logically. Sarah has (perhaps unknowingly) figured out one of the secrets to getting what she wants from the game of tennis - and so have you!

To Your Massive Tennis Success,

Coach Kyril

Kyril Popoff is a former NCAA Div1 All-Conference Tennis Player, Instructor, Coach and Author.

His books include THE TEN LAWS OF TENNIS SUCCESS and FOCUS & WIN: WHY YOUR TENNIS GAME ISN’T WHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE, & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!

You can sign up for Coach Kyril’s Tennis Lessons, Tips & Tricks newsletter at:
http://www.coachkyriltennis.com

This is a question that usually does not creep up until someone has been playing the game for awhile. Many times a player will reach a certain level and look for ways to improve their all-around game by taking a look at ‘doing something different’. I am all for a player assessing their game from time to time and looking at what they can improve, but in order to do that one needs to have an understanding of the different ’styles’ of play that exist within the game.

By and large, there are three types of ’styles’ that players usually fall into, and most players usually adopt a style that maximizes their natural strengths on the court wile simultaneously minimizing their weaknesses. Let’s take a look at the three most widely adopted ’styles’ of tennis.

Let’s start with the ‘Baseliner’. A Baseliner is a player that, most of the time, plays from the baseline and utilizes their ground strokes to play their most effective tennis. Most often, this results in long rallies back and forth across the net, with the Baseliner’s main goal being to simply hit the ball back over the net just one more time than their opponent. Strategies of the Baseliner include:

–Moving the opponent side to side, wearing their opponent down physically by making them run down well-placed shots.
–Keeping the ball deep in their opponent’s court, which reduces the angle from which their opponent may attack.
–Hitting a variety of consistently well-placed shots that keeps their opponents off-balance.
–Playing points intelligently and patiently, and waiting for just the right opportunity to attempt to hit a winner.

To paraphrase, a good Baseliner might say something like this in describing their
play:

“I’ll stay out here all day with you, and wait for you to make a mistake. If you don’t then I’ll just keep opening the angles of my shots, and keep you running from sideline to sideline, until I run you ragged, and then I’ll hit a nice smooth winner that you just won’t be able to get.”

Examples of World Class Baseliners, Past and Present:

Men: Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal.
Women: Chris Evert, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf.

Let’s next take a look at the ‘Serve-and-Volley Player’ aka ‘Serve-and-Volleyer’. A Serve-and-Volleyer does just that. They hit a first serve and immediately follow the serve into the net, where they attempt to utilize their fast hands, good footwork and first-rate volleys to win the point quickly. This usually results in quickly played points. The Serve-and-Volleyer’s goal is to end the point before his opponent even knows what is happening. Strategies of the Serve-and-Volleyer include:

–Using a well-placed, powerful 1st serve to force a weak return from their opponent, followed by a crisp volley to their opponents open court, ending the point.
–Angling 2nd serves wide on both the deuce and ad courts, again opening angles that can be exploited with good volleys.
–Using well-placed approach shots that will force weak return shots and/or lobs, which can be put away quickly.
–Constantly pressuring their opponent by coming in on every serve and return possible.

The Serve-and-Volleyer’s creed may read something like this:

“I’m coming to the net. I am going to come to the net all day long, behind my serves and behind your returns, so you’ve got two choices: pass me or lob me, because if I get to that ball I’m gonna put it away with a volley or overhead smash.”

Examples of World Class Serve and Volleyers:

–Men: John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Goran Ivanisevic
–Women: Billie-Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna, Amelie Mauresmo.

Lastly, there is the all-court player. There is nothing that the all-court player won’t do to win a point. If they are playing on a fast surface, like the grass at Wimbledon, they can serve-and-volley. On the slow red clay of Rolland Garros at the French Open, they can slug it out from the baseline. On hard courts, they can mix it up and do both, sometimes choosing one style over the other based on the style of their opponent.

Strategies of the all-court player are varied:

–They can adapt their style of play dependent upon surface, opponent, etc.
–Can surprise opponents by serving-and-volleying on one point, and then sticking to the baseline on the next.
–Have the ability to attack short balls and turn a baseline point into an approach to the net.
–Have the ability to play offensively and defensively with roughly equal skill.

Examples of World Class All-Court Players:

Men: Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer
Women: Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Daniela Hantuchova

Note that Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have all been hailed as the greatest players of their generation. They had solid all-court games and could play the way they needed play in whatever circumstances they found themselves in. Sampras, an all-courter and holder of the most Grand Slam Singles titles in history was always the favorite on grass and hard courts in his heyday; yet he never won on the clay at the French Open. Bjorn Borg, a baseliner, won 6 French Opens on the slow clay that suited his game; yet he dominated the grass of Wimbledon for 5 straight years, proving that adapting to a surface outside your normal style of play is definitely possible. Even so, a title on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows at the U.S. Open eluded him his entire career.

The different styles of play, and different surfaces that tournaments are played on, contribute to the wonderful flavor of this game we all love so much. Take some time and figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are; then find a style of play that maximizes the strong parts of your game, while you continue to work on areas that need improvement.

To Your Massive Tennis Success,

Coach Kyril

Kyril Popoff is a former NCAA Div1 All-Conference Tennis Player, Instructor, Coach and Author.

His books include THE TEN LAWS OF TENNIS SUCCESS and FOCUS & WIN: WHY YOUR TENNIS GAME ISN’T WHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE, & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!

You can sign up for Coach Kyril’s Tennis Lessons, Tips & Tricks newsletter at:
http://www.coachkyriltennis.com

Here is a question that has, in the past, been the subject of much debate. However, as today’s ‘power game’ takes center stage on courts all over world, there is little doubt as to where a player needs to start building a solid foundation for their game.

My answer to the question posed in the title of this article is: Neither - at least yet. The answer really depends on what your tennis goals are. If, for example, you are a young player who wants to play tennis ’seriously’ and gain a national ranking and/or perhaps a college scholarship, I am going to tell you that you need to start with neither your strokes or your footwork. You need to start with physical conditioning. After you have a physical fitness regime in place, you would then - and only then - start with learning proper footwork. Once you have a solid foundation of physical fitness and proper footwork, you can then start working with your coach on the details concerning your racquet, grip size, types of grips used for different strokes that best suit you, and begin the process of grooving your ground strokes.

If you are a social player, and play a couple of time a week but still want to improve, I would suggest to you that learning - and applying - proper footwork is definitely where you will see the fastest improvement in your games, hands down.

Why?

Well, first there is the obvious fact that if you’re not in position to hit the ball, then all the proper ’stroke training’ in the world will not help you to hit a great shot. Secondly, I have seen time and again on the tennis court, from my students, from nationally-ranked players to the top pros, that the player who has the better footwork - and can continually employ that footwork on the court over an extended period of time - has the upper hand in the match. In short, between two players with equal shot-making ability, my money is on the player with the better footwork - and I don’t gamble, so that should tell you something.

Proper footwork is, by far, THE most important overall aspect of the game of tennis, and is by far, THE most underutilized weapon is a player’s arsenal.

Why?

Putting it bluntly, footwork isn’t as ’sexy’ or as ‘cool’, as watching Andy Roddick serve 150 mph bombs on Centre Court at Wimbledon (and secretly wishing you could do the same!) This is where you, as a player, need to figure out what you want to get out of your game. Do you want to get results on the court, or just ‘look cool’? Your footwork is more important than any of your strokes, what type of racket you play with, or what brand name is stitched into your tennis clothes.

Here’s what arguably one of the greatest players to ever pick up a racket, says regarding footwork:

“My game has a lot to do with footwork; when I’m moving well, I play well.”

- Roger Federer

The next time you’re on the court, focus on ‘feeling’ your feet moving constantly, and, like Roger Federer, focus on getting into proper position quickly to hit each and every shot. Then you’ll be able to let those awesome strokes of yours do their work!

To Your Massive Tennis Success,

Coach Kyril

Kyril Popoff is a former NCAA Div1 All-Conference Tennis Player, Instructor, Coach and Author.

His books include THE TEN LAWS OF TENNIS SUCCESS and FOCUS & WIN: WHY YOUR TENNIS GAME ISN’T WHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE, & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!

You can sign up for Coach Kyril’s Tennis Lessons, Tips & Tricks newsletter at:
http://www.coachkyriltennis.com

This question has been asked often by students of mine - but only after they’ve known me for awhile. The reason they wait so long to ask it is because they don’t ever want to admit that the reason they lost a match or a shot is because they ‘choked’. When push comes to shove, however, every player out there must admit that they’ve let their nerves get the best of them at one time or another; and it doesn’t feel good to admit it. Our failure to perform to our known level of ability is sometimes too much to bear. We make excuses. We find a scapegoat. It was the wind. Or the sun in my eyes on that last double fault. My opponent’s constant ‘grunting’ threw me off. God forbid we be honest with ourselves and perhaps admit that we need some training in order to prevent this type of behavior in the future.

Training? Yes, training. You see, to some observers, people are either born ‘mentally tough’ or ‘mentally weak’, period. While people do have different personality types, I, for one, DO NOT believe this theory holds any water. Rather, I believe that players can be trained to deal with the dilemma of pressure. So back to the original question: How do you keep from choking under pressure?

First, ask yourself what your definition of ‘choking’ is. If you are referring to, let’s say, a second serve that is normally very reliable but is letting you down during key points, then you are dealing with what most people refer to as ‘choking’. (We’ll deal with that in a moment.) However, if you are dealing with shots and strategies that you’ve seldom dealt with before (perhaps you are attempting to serve-and-volley when you normally play from the baseline), then you have hit an area where you don’t have much experience. In this case, your nerves are getting the best of you because you know, deep down, that you haven’t yet acquired the skills necessary to accomplish the task you are attempting. This is not choking, but rather a lack of skill in making choices that give you the highest percentage of winning. Make sure you’re not confusing ‘choking’ with inexperience.

Getting back to what ‘choking’ truly is, and how to prevent it, let’s take a look at a match situation, and see how two players might face it head-on. First, let’s look at a player who has a very laid-back personality and doesn’t get excited about too much. (The Swedes from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are good examples: Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, Joakim Nystrom etc). Let’s call this guy…Lars (sounds Swedish, right?) Okay. People like Lars who play tennis in a ‘laid-back’ manner (emotionally speaking) are far less likely to ‘blow up’ when they miss a shot. They are far less likely to talk negatively to themselves on the court; and they are far less likely to ‘choke’ than a person with an ‘excitable’ personality. Why is that? It is because Lars’ naturally laid-back personality allows him to not really get too emotionally ‘wound-up’ over the consequences of whether or not he misses a shot. It’s his personality to ‘roll with the punches’ and focus on one shot at a time. Does that mean Lars is naturally going to be a better tennis player than most? Not at all. It is simply a facet of his personality. There are other areas of Lars’ game where his ‘laid-back’ personality is often times a hindrance. For example, Lars has trouble motivating himself on the court during practice, and has a much harder time putting pressure on his opponent - again, a facet of his laid-back personality.

Now let’s look at an ‘excitable’ player named ‘John’. John’s excitable personality leads him to be fierce, driven and ultra-competitive on the tennis court. As a function of his ‘excitable’ personality, he is driven to expect rewards when he performs well, as he feels he’s ‘earned it’. However, there are times when the pressure to hit a good shot weighs more on John than it would on Lars, even if they were facing the exact same situation on the court. The reason? John’s excitable personality causes him to become emotionally invested in the outcome of the match (or point, or shot, etc), which leads to him putting pressure on himself to perform well - but often times just the opposite happens. All of the consequences of not performing outweigh the consequences of performing well for him. How come? He expected to perform well and expects positive results. In his mind, he thinks “Woopty-doo. I’m supposed to beat this guy, so there’s no big reward if I do. But if I don’t…”

You can see now why the pressure mounts for excitable John. John’s completion of the sentence “But if I don’t…” would give you more insight in to why people ‘choke’ than you can imagine. Imagine if you could just keep on asking John questions after he finishes the sentence “But if I don’t…” Let’s ask John and see shat he says:

Q: -”John, if you lose this match, what’s the worst that can happen?”

A: -”Well, I’ll be out of the tournament.”

Q:- “And?”

A:-”And everyone at the club will know I lost and wanna play me to see if I they can knock me off, too.”

Q:-”What’s so bad about that?”

A:-”Well, how would you like to spend 5 years and $10,000 on tennis lessons just to lose?”

Q:-”This isn’t about me, John, it’s about you. How does spending all that time and money on your game make you feel?”

A:-”Like I wasted a lot of time and money.”

Q:-”How does wasting time and money make you feel?”

A:-”Like a complete fool…”

The answers really are there, and once you find those answers you will be able to embrace the pressure. John’s ultimate reason for not wanting to lose the match was because he’d feel “Like a complete fool.” His insecurity is what’s causing the pressure. It has nothing to do with his abilities. He feels his performance on the tennis court is what determines whether or not he’s a fool as a person.

Now those were just two examples of two distinct personality types. I offered them up for you as a way to relate to the experience. However, no matter what your personality type, you can train yourself to deal with pressure. The way to beat the ‘choking’ phenomenon has been studied by sports psychologists and men of genius as long as sports have been around. While I claim to be neither a psychologist nor a genius, I will tell you that through my observations and experiences over the years, the one sure-fire way to get a handle on pressure is to embrace it. The simplest way to embrace pressure is to realize the cause of it. Most pressure comes from the fear of an unwanted outcome. The key word here is ‘fear’. Now that you know this, you must ask yourself a question: “What’s the worst that can happen, and what are the consequences if my fears are realized?”

Example: Jessica is down 30-40, at 4-5 in the third set of her state qualifying match. She’s on her second serve. She’s worked hard to get to this point, and if she can win this match she’ll make it to the State Tournament for the first time. She’s a senior in high school and it’s her last chance. If she double faults, it’s all over. You can see why she would be feeling the pressure. Is there a way to beat this pressure? Is there an answer to the question: “How do you keep from choking under pressure?”

Yes, there is; but here’s the kicker: Jessica would have had to train herself prior to getting in this situation in order to beat the pressure by embracing it. She would have had to declare her intentions, goals and possible outcomes far in advance. She would have had to understand that she wouldn’t define herself as a person by her results; win or lose good or bad. She would have been training herself to see - and meet - pressure in a whole new way. She would be empowered to embrace the pressure, make it her own, and know that, win or lose, she’d ‘put it all out there’. She would’ve realized long ago even if she didn’t get her desired results, the world would not end; and that if the moniker of ‘State Tennis Championship Qualifier’ didn’t follow her name in the yearbook, that the sun would still come up in the morning, she’d still be ‘Jessica’, and she’d still be okay with it.

Kyril Popoff is a former NCAA Div1 All-Conference Tennis Player, Instructor, Coach and Author.

His books include THE TEN LAWS OF TENNIS SUCCESS and FOCUS & WIN: WHY YOUR TENNIS GAME ISN’T WHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE, & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!

You can sign up for Coach Kyril’s Tennis Lessons, Tips & Tricks newsletter at:
http://www.coachkyriltennis.com

As mentioned previously, my buddy, Clay, the golf package pro from Myrtle Beach Seaside Resorts, has a great understanding of Myrtle Beach golf courses. After years of some good (and some very awful) golf-filled weekends, he’s become an unofficial authority on the topic of what to play, and what to avoid at all costs. At my request, again, Clay stepped up to the plate to offer his suggestions for the Most Fun golf courses to play in Myrtle Beach. Keep in mind, there’s approximately 83 golf courses along the Grand Strand as of Spring 2008 (we’ve lost a few over the last couple of years thanks to the real-estate development boom and an over-saturation of courses that offered more than the current demand of rounds during that time), so narrowing the field to five is quite a task. But, Clay, ever the one to have a very distinct opinion about everything, pretty quickly drafted up his picks. With only one slight waver between in which order to rank two, he had his picks back to me in a matter of about nine seconds.

Clay’s Top-Five Most Fun to Play Golf Courses in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

5. Man O’War. Not only is it fun—-it’s beautiful. An 80-acre lake winds along, inside and around the course at every turn-creating a truly inescapable foe that’s a blast trying to best. A Dan Maples masterpiece, Man O’War offers back-to-back Bentgrass island greens and a very cool island ninth you won’t find elsewhere.

4. Barefoot Love. Interesting, scenic and once voted first-place in Golf Digest’s list of “Top 50 Courses in Myrtle Beach.” The Love Course (designed by Carolina native Davis Love III) is the jewel in the crown of Legend Golf Courses at Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach. Generous landing areas, wide-open fairways and complex greens are the hallmark of this 7,000-yard , 72-par course.

3. Shaftesbury Glen. Capturing the essence of Augusta National and Winged Foot, Clyde Johnston has carved a delicious treat that includes every delicate facet of golf. A beautifully flowing layout, Shaftesbury Glen goes beyond offering traditional wide fairways and elevated Bent greens to flat-out demanding doglegs and make-you-want-to-cry traps. Seriously, some of the finest holes along the Strand.

2. Pine Lakes. (Take note on this one–Pine Lakes–the oldest golf course in Myrtle Beach, is now temporarily closed for renovations geared to maintain the historical relevance of this legendary course. The expected re-opening is 2009.) Designed by Robert White, the PGA’s very first president, and the birthplace of Sports Illustrated magazine, Pine Lakes features starters clad in Scottish Kilts, is sloped at 130 and has 6,200 yards of glorious South Carolina elegance. Since there are some slight modifications being made to the design, I won’t go into to much detail that could become inaccurate in the future.

1. World Tour. Play Augusta National, Cypress Point, St. Andrews, Royal Troon, and so many more, all in one day. At the World Tour, every single hole has been designed based on a famous Championship course hole from around the world. Not only are the individual holes a challenge—but the scenery is ever-changing and filled with manicured fairways, exciting hazards and surprises around every corner. Your game will be challenged, your mind will be working and your sense of satisfaction will be well-met after a round on this entertaining Myrtle Beach favorite. Expect the price per round to reflect amount of fun you’re likely to experience—but, it’s worth it.

A Long. http://www.ttimesonly.com

A Long. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. anglong616@gmail.com

Card manufacturers were producing trading cards long before the Dallas Cowboys joined the NFL in 1960. In the 1950’s Topps began packaging their signature product, bubblegum, with baseball and football cards. From there, as football grew in popularity, players could find their likeness on items such as milk cartons, soft drink caps, cereal boxes and plastic cups. The emergence of the AFL in 1960 allowed Topps competitors, beginning with Fleer, to make inroads in the business. The 1961 Fleer set featured both leagues, and then they focused on the AFL alone. Philadelphia Gum secured the NFL rights for 1964, forcing Topps to go for the AFL which left Fleer with no product in either baseball or football. Philadelphia Gum produced football card sets featuring Cowboys from 1964 through 1967. In 1982 Topps was licensed by NFL Properties for the first time. Previously, team logos on helmets were removed by airbrush. In the 70’s Fleer rejoined the ranks by producing sets of cards called Fleer Team Action and FTA Stickers. They focused on NFL teams not individual players and were able to use team logos. The “card explosion” started around 1989 with new companies joining the fold like Pro Set and Score. By 1992 there were more than 30 brands of football cards. It was a new era for the hobby. You could all but forget about collecting all the cards of your favorite team, but now focus on a favorite player or two. Just to put it all in perspective - with all the parallel, inserts, and variations - in 1995 there were over 250 different cards produced of Troy Aikman.

The Cowboys were an expansion team in 1960. Their first roster was created by choosing 36 players from the 12 existing franchises (three per team). In the first set of cards featuring Dallas Cowboys players, 1960 Topps, all the players were pictured in the uniforms of the teams they departed. The next year they took part in the NFL draft and acquired Bob Lilly with their first ever draft pick. There have been many outstanding players through the years that have donned the blue star on their helmet, several of which are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Only one man held the position of head coach for the first 29 years of the organization - Tom Landry. Coach Landry led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles, five NFC Championships, 13 NFC East titles, 18 trips to the playoffs and 20 winning seasons.

There were no plastic holders or sleeves to keep your cards from harms way in the early years. They were rubber banded together and tossed in shoe boxes and the stickers were stuck onto school notebooks or bike fenders. Cards were flipped and traded with your buddies and even thumb tacked or taped on bulletin boards. All these things lend to the value of the cards today. If you were lucky enough to have kept very good care of your cards when you were younger, and your mother didn’t toss that shoebox in the attic out with the trash, you could already have a good start to your collection. Now with all the top-loaders, sorting boxes, screw downs and nine-slot binder pages available to the collector, it’s much easier to take care of those gems. That is why I consider 1960 - 1990 the vintage years. Those older cards can sometimes be very difficult to find in great condition. That is not to say that the cards manufactured after 1990 have no value or collectible appeal. They just won’t be as scarce or hard to find in great condition twenty or even fifty years from now. I encourage you to collect beyond 1990 and on. It’s a whole new hobby now with more resources to fill your checklists like the internet and card shows.

The Dallas Cowboys Complete Football Card Guide - Vol 3

A beautifully illustrated 226 page, full-color guide, provides the Dallas Cowboy collector with information on over 6000 different sets from 1960 to 2006.

http://www.thecowboysguide.com/

The Super Bowl slipped through the well-manicured fingers of New England Patriots Quaterback Tom Brady, and that is a big story in itself, as not much has slipped through the Hall-Of-Famer-To-Be’s grasp during his NFL career.

Tom Brady has had virtually everything go his way in the NFL. Now, after 18-1, we will see really for the first time how Tom Brady bounces back after being beaten up, pride and all. The New England Patriots and Brady go back to the drawing board, 0-0. There is no shortage of AFC teams looking for their red, white and blue heads going into the 2009 season. But that is for another day.

Tom Brady is a Golden Boy. We see them once in a while in sports. Good looks, great player, luck of a great surrounding cast, the right Coaches, the right system, etc. The white hot spotlight does not (usually) bother Golden Boys, and the stage is always big-always Broadway for their likes.

Now we will see how resilient Tom Brady is. This loss, for this team, with its collective ego, was an absolute crusher. The New England Patriots, although they will never admit it, took their foot off of the pedal ever so slightly during the second-half of the season. Sometimes that is all that it takes to come slowly back to the pack, the days of 40-50 points-per-game becoming a more distant memory as the season progressed. If that team was playing in the Super Bowl, then maybe the outcome would have been different. Maybe.

Bill Belichick knows how to coach football. He has all the fuel he now needs going into next season to motivate the New England Patriots. Question is-just how tough are Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to rebound from an undressing before 97,000,000 Americans?

http://www.fastbreakblog.com

Supremely self-confident equestrians know how to optimise their unique talents and skills by harnessing the collective powers of their minds, their bodies, and their individual resources. The ability to build (or even re-build) one’s self-confidence, is essential for any rider. Absorbing and making use of high-quality information works from the inside out, resulting is a set of concrete strategies that are powerful, easy to apply, and quick to show results.

Where can one get inspiration and high-quality information? The following ten options are very practical and useful.

1.Watch instructional video’s and DVD’s

2.Join associations and clubs - often free on the internet

3.Subscribe to reputable newsletters via e-mail or RSS

4.Attend master classes/ lectures - check the BHS website for dates and locations

5.Attend residential workshops - these can be especially enjoyable if combined with an equestrian holiday

6.Get personal equestrian life coaching. Coaching helps you figure out who you are, where you are now and where you want to go from here. It helps you turn your riding dreams into goals. After all, a goal is only a dream with a deadline. An equestrian life coach offers you support and commitment, and use specialised professional skills to provide inspiration, motivation and encouragement.

Common benefits people experience from coaching include:

- Improved sense of direction/focus- a clear sense of direction is always useful to horse riders
- Increase self-knowledge/ awareness - you will master new riding skills faster if you are fully aware of your weaknesses…and strengths
- Improved ability to relate to others, especially to horses
- Increased motivation - essential on a freezing cold winter morning with several stables waiting to be mucked out
- Increased ability to handle change - since, as a horse riders, you never know exactly what is going to happen next, adapting to change is an essential ability
- Increased resourcefulness/resilience

7. Read books about riding technique written by excepted equestrian authorities.

8. Avoid overconfidence like the plague. Arrogance can be very dangerous. Pride comes before a fall - don’t risk a riding injury.

9. Attend horse shows, competitions, performances and open days. Fuel your motivation with inspiring quotes, books and films ( like Citizen Mane , Withering Heights ,The Bridle of Frankenstein, Gentlemen Prefer Palominos, Rein Man, Lawrence the Arabian and Stall Wars)

10. Inspirational and motivational quotes can change your life! Quotations can motivate and inspire you and increase your self esteem. Quotations can change your attitude and your mood. Reading famous quotations and reflecting on them will help you refocus on what is really important to you. And for that reason I am ending with a quotation from one of the greatest movie makers of all times:

Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable. Walt Disney

Dr Margarethe de Clermont’s Ride with Supreme Self-Confidence and Tame Your Fear are powerful e-books full of practical equestrian information and written exclusively for horseback riders. Did you find these horse riding tips useful? Find out more about the e-books, free e-courses and e-zine available at http://www.equestrian-life-coaching.com/equestrian-information.html

It’s a truism to say that you drive for show, but putt for dough. Whether you can perform a tour-worthy 28 putts a round, or putt way over par, the putter is your most used club. We will help you choose the right putter for your game, with guidelines on weighting, feel and alignment so you can choose a design that suits your style - and your purse.

Mallets v Blades

Putters fall into the categories of blade, ‘heel-and-toe’ and mallet. Purists claim that even a cheap and cheerful blade forces a more consistent stroke, but many golfers - both pros and amateurs - now favour the larger sweet spot and high MOI (moment of inertia), which creates the resistance to twisting that you find on mallets.

Blade

Heel and Toe

Mallet

They help us all to hole more putts with less-than-perfect strikes, as the deeper body also physically pulls the centre of gravity back from the face, encouraging golfers to develop an upward stroke for path-hugging topspin, and reducing the destructive ‘bounce and skid’ that can characterise the early stages of a putt.

Mallets really are all the rage as their deep bodies offer the most scope for the bold alignment features that have transformed the market. We used to be satisfied with tiny notches, dots or small arrows to point us in the right direction, but today’s graphics include colourful stripes, long perpendicular sight lines, and even golf-ball sized circles that encourage us to line up the ball with the hole itself.

The Feel Factor and Insert Technology

Feel is vital when buying a putter, with a whole range of distinctive face inserts offering a slightly different sound and feel at impact. Heavier weights, such as tungsten and brass, are recommended for slower greens, whilst lighter alternatives such as aluminium reduce the total weight, which is of benefit on slicker surfaces. Many of the latest putters favour the soft feel of copper, aluminium or synthetic inserts, which offer a more controlled strike on today’s manicured greens. Meanwhile, their lightness enhances a putter’s perimeter weighting for extra stability.

The quest for perfection has brought us some amazingly exotic inserts, including gold-plate, platinum, and even 12-carat industrial diamond! As well as the more usual tungsten, nickel, copper and aluminium, of course. All are naturally reflected in the price, but generally you do get what you pay for.

Expensive putters tend to feature more accurately engineered weighting, more precisely milled (i.e. flatter) faces, and of course more sumptuous headcovers to protect that precious insert. Computerised milling of head from solid blocks of metal, especially, offers a high-precision alternative to forgings and castings, whose feel can be compromised when the hosel is welded to the head. Look out also for other features ranging from perfect face balancing (for golfers with ’square to square’ strokes), premium grips (like the excellent Winn range) and belly or broomhandle shaft options for those seeking a more mechanical action.

Putter Shafts

The other thing to consider is the shaft length. Most will opt for a standard putter length, but long putters can benefit some golfers. Broomhandle and belly-putters, pioneered by 2002 European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance among others during the late 1980s and early 1990s, are tucked under the chin or into the belly. They are swung in a pendulum fashion, and crucially make demands on a different set of small muscles and nerves - and have revived the careers of several Tour players who have suffered from the yips.

Greatvaluegolf.co.uk - Golf Putters

Through the years, the Olympic Games have managed to win their rightful place in history. They are still the highest ambition of athletes all over the world. Though the olive branch has been replaced by a gold medal and the exalting songs of the ancient world by tempting prizes for “the winners of the modern Games, the glory that comes from an Olympic victory remains exactly the same.

The modern history of the Olympic Games begins in 1896, and from then to now it has lasted through both difficulties and moments of sheer magnificence. The only Olympiads not to have been held were those scheduled for 1916, 1940 and 1949 due to the outbreak of the two World Wars. The honour of hosting the Games has always been great, but the task extremely difficult. The undertaking of the countries who organize the Games offers, each time, the opportunity for a different country to play host and thus promises a different dimension to the games. There have been many times when there were notable failures, but the creation of the Winter Olympics, along with the Paralympics for disabled athletes, brought the institution of the Games back to its initial form, giving it the breath of equality, social justice and human sensitivity. In addition, long before the introduction of these Games, the participation of female athletes had been established which came as a victory parallel to the, by then, still fresh appearance of the feminine movement.

Slowly, the concept of marketing and advertising came to complete and complement the organization of the games. It is said that the winners of ancient Greece, as well as the olive wreath, also received an amount of oil, the origin of which was announced loudly to the people of the area so that the victory of the athlete remained in the minds of the spectators along with the quality of the oil he was awarded.

Through glorious moments and critical comments the Olympic Games have never ceased to represent only one thing: Man. His life. His story.

Learn more about Athens Greece and take a look at some of the most wonderful Ancient Athens Pictures and the Map of Plaka Area, the most ancient neighborhood of Athens.