The Daily Coach interviewed one of the most successful college coaches of all time – Paul Assaiante who coaches the Trinity College squash team.
Yes! That’s really a college sport. If you’ve never seen squash, it’s kind of like racquetball, though with meaningful differences. I learned a bit about it when I coached at Brown. The squash courts were right outside our office, and the coach’s office was next door.
Anyway, Assainte’s teams have won 17 national championships at the time of the article, and at one point won 252 straight matches. No matter what you play, that’s impressive!
In the interview Assainte talks about three factors he says determine performance. They are:
- Preparation – Practice is everything
- Maintenance and control of your emotion in the fire – Can you, in a competitive moment, keep yourself centered and focused?
- In-game adjustments – You have to be aware of what’s going on.
I think that summarizes things pretty well. Of course, the trick is getting those things right!
There’s more to the piece, so I encourage you to give a read.
