This chapter names something every athlete has felt — but couldn’t explain.

When you repeat a skill enough, it shifts from the thinking brain (prefrontal cortex)
to the automatic system (sensorimotor brain).

That’s development.
That’s why reps matter.

But here’s the catch:

The later — or more consciously — a skill is learned,
the more it depends on working memory.

And working memory is limited.

Under pressure?

It overloads.

Crowd.
Expectations.
Scoreboard.
Identity.

Too much thinking = system crash.

One of the strongest predictors of choking?

👉 Athletes who consciously monitor movements that should already be automatic.

Overthinking kills flow.
Over-control kills execution.

That’s not motivational talk.

That’s neuroscience.

Outcome focus activates the thinking brain.

“We need this win.”
“Don’t mess this up.”
“This at-bat matters.”

Now the brain starts steering what should run itself.

Swings tighten.
Timing changes.
Leaders freeze.

Process focus does the opposite.

When attention locks onto:

Working memory stays calm.
Automatic systems stay intact.

You’re not forcing performance.

You’re allowing it.

Outcomes create pressure.
Process creates control.

Pressure doesn’t break performance.
Overthinking does.

New week.
New reps.
Same standard.

Focus on the next action. 🧠⚾

Becoming

This documentary isn’t about politics.

It’s about identity.

The message is simple:

You don’t arrive.
You evolve.

And that hit me thinking about Austria and 2027.

If you don’t define your identity, someone else will.

Austria has qualified.
We’ve competed.
We’ve grown.

But 2027 isn’t about repeating history.

It’s about defining who we are becoming.

What do we stand for?

Discipline?
Movement?
Composure?
Relentless process?

If we don’t define it — the scoreboard will.

2027 won’t be built in 2027.

It’s being built now:

Becoming requires stepping into the unknown.

That’s leadership.

You don’t become elite by waiting for validation.

You build the identity first.

We’re not chasing arrival.

We’re becoming. 🇦🇹⚾

From Nick Saban.

He said:

That’s it.

Not hype.
Not slogans.

Discipline.

Success isn’t a continuum.

Just because you were successful
doesn’t mean you will continue to be.

We can say:

“We qualified before.”
“We competed well.”

None of that guarantees 2027.

Process isn’t something you visit when things go wrong.

It’s where you live daily.

If you’re going to sweep streets — be the best in the world.

That’s process over outcome.

The best feeling isn’t the result.

It’s knowing you did your best.

We can chase rankings.

Or we can define:

If we sweep our streets right,
the scoreboard handles itself.

Process is the mountain.
Discipline is the climb.
Results are just the view.

Sweep your street. 🧱⚾

Not another routine.
Not a checklist.
Not some laminated card before first pitch.

Something real.

Because here’s what I keep seeing:

Athletes don’t lose because they lack talent.

They lose in the moment between.

Between warm-up and first pitch.
Between scrolling Instagram and stepping into the box.
Between the bus ride and the lights turning on.

They don’t struggle with ability.

They struggle with the shift.

And nobody is teaching them how to make it.

We’re asking athletes to go from:

Short attention spans.
Dopamine hits.
Constant distraction.

Straight into:

Controlled breathing.
Emotional regulation.
Automatic execution.

That’s neurological whiplash.

When the brain isn’t organized, it defaults to chaos.

That’s when:

Not because they aren’t prepared physically.

Because they aren’t sequenced mentally.

A designed mental shift.

From distraction → competition.
From noise → clarity.
From thinking → trusting.

Because if you don’t design the shift,
pressure will.

If Austria is serious about 2027,
we cannot rely on emotion.

Attention control is the new edge.

And it must be trained.

You don’t rise to the occasion.

You fall to your level of organization.

The game doesn’t beat most athletes.

The moment between does.

And we’re going to start training it.

🧱⚾