Outstanding Mental Performance Consultant Dr Tiff Jones hosts a session at the Jr. NBA 2018 Youth Basketball Conference
The dynamic and innovative Mental Performance Consultant, Dr Tiffany Jones gets results. Her portfolio of winning clients evidences her impact. The mental skills dynamo teaches strategies which immediately influence a team’s score line and through this article we’ll create a window into her work.
Her exceptional repertoire of skills and outstanding ability led to an invitation to present at the recent Jr. NBA 2018 Youth Basketball Leadership Conference in Chicago. This originated through her working relationship with True North Sports and CEO, Celia Slater.
The Jr. NBA Conference provides an opportunity for coaches, administrators and industry professionals to get together and workshop the issues shaping youth basketball at a grassroots level. The two-day conference examined a broad spectrum of issues including; technical excellence, launching the game by maximizing exposure through social media, ensuring that facilities are state-of-the-art by securing grants and high on the list of priorities – investment in the next generation of leaders.
Celia Slater said, “The program for the high profile annual conference was packed with exceptional speakers and ‘must do’ sessions. It saw Dr Tiff host a workshop in her typical style – high-energy, packed with fun, physical activities to convey exactly what she wanted her participants to learn and the group, in this instance, leading coaches in youth basketball applied the lessons to their own lives.”
Targeting results and an immediate improvement, Dr Tiff focused on the behavioral style of each of the 200 coaches in attendance at her workshop. To develop an awareness of their own style and how it impacts their coaching, relationships with athletes, communication style and approach to delivering Information and feedback, the conference provided for each coach to complete their own CoachDISC Profile assessment prior to attending the workshop.
This specifically developed coaching version of DISC (by Athlete Assessments) helps coaches develop a stronger self-awareness about themselves and their coaching style. The DISC model distinguishes behavioral styles into Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness, and measures the frequency and intensity of each behavioral preference.
Before attending the workshop, the conference participants received their individual CoachDISC Profile Report which detailed their strengths, communication preferences, coach style, behavior under pressure and areas for growth. When the coaches were together in the workshop, Dr Tiff opened by debriefing the group on the foundations of DISC Profiling, relevance to coaching, and the differences between each CoachDISC measure.
Dr Tiff also explained the way that Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profiles show a natural and adapted style and she cemented the concept with an activity. She says, “during the session I had everyone conduct an exercise at each of their tables where they had to build the tallest house of cards they could using their non- dominant hand.”
As always, the activity catalyzed conversation and initiated learning, Dr Tiff puts us in the room after the activity, “afterwards each table talked about the activities and debriefed about differences within their table’s communication styles, struggles, successes, and the reasons behind them.”
To expand the learning and show how it could be applied even further in everyday coaching situations, Dr Tiff says, “I discussed how the AthleteDISC Profile (a similar assessment, customized for athletes) could be applied to players and teams that the coaches work with. This is in terms of giving each player and their coach an awareness of their individual motivators, communication styles and speed of direction.”
Building on the new knowledge and giving her coaches an opportunity to apply it, Dr Tiff says, “I also showed the coaches four videos of athletes talking and asked the tables based ONLY on the clip shown, to identify each athlete’s style (Serena Williams, Lebron James, Klay Thompson, and Marcus Smart). The tables of coaches were then ask to brainstorm how they would teach each player a skill in basketball and we followed up with a question and answer session.”
In summary Dr Tiff says, “it seemed as though the CoachDISC Profile was a new concept to most of the attendees and so they were keen to learn the information. They loved the interactive activities and applying the information to their coaching situations. The CoachDISC assessment and the DISC styles really opened their eyes to the differences in their players and teams. The coaches appreciated having concrete ideas and resources to implement when they returned to their teams and clubs.”
Overall Dr Tiff said, “the whole conference was fantastic but the highlight of my work with Jr. NBA was definitely spending time and working with some of the top youth basketball coaches in the country. We need our best coaches to be working with our youth, and to see so many faces in the audience who are so passionate about helping kids develop life and basketball skills was phenomenal.”
Further she said, “the conference was so professional. Very rarely do you attend a youth sporting conference and have state of the art everything, from the speakers, to the sound crew, the administrative staff and the moderators, just wow. I love that the youth sport coaches and administrators in attendance were treated first class as they should be treated.”
As a presenter and in life, Dr Tiff has a phenomenal amount of energy, she looks like an athlete and she role models athleticism. After working with Dr Tiff for over eight years, Athlete Assessments’ Bo Hanson knows her well and has this to say, “Tiff Jones has a great ability to not only bring the theory of what works to produce high-performance consistently, but more importantly she cuts to the message and delivers the content in a practical way which athletes love. Tiff can relate to her athletes and clients and this develops the crucial credibility a sport psych requires if they are to help athletes succeed.”
Dr. Tiff’s experience is testament to her effectiveness, she is in demand in Division I Athletics programs across the country including; Louisiana State University, North Carolina State University, Kennesaw State University, Penn State Women’s Soccer, and Davidson Women’s Soccer. She currently consults with Women’s Volleyball (2017 NCAA Runner-Up), Soccer (2017 Great Eight), and Men and Women’s Golf programs at the University of Florida (Go Gators!), several sports from the University of Connecticut (UCONN), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and USA Ice Hockey.
Dr. Tiff was also a consultant for the USA U-20 Women’s National Soccer Teams (World Cup Champions 2008; 2010), Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), National Football Foundation, NSCAA, and Ultimate Gymnastics. Currently Dr. Tiff is the Mental Performance Consultant to Division 3 Powerhouses William Smith College, Bowdoin College, Stevenson University, and Lynchburg University. Greg Norman Championship Golf Academy and the Meghan Klingenberg Soccer Camps also use Dr. Tiff as their primary mental performance consultant.
As a Speaker, Dr. Tiff has spoken at high-profile sport specific national conferences including USA Hockey and United Soccer Coaches. She speaks on mental toughness, managing emotions/pressure, decreasing negative thoughts, coming back from injury, motivation, controlling the controllables, coaching the millennial generation, incorporating brain endurance training, and developing effective communication between coaches and athletes.
Where to from here…
Are you a sport psychologist looking to achieve similar results with your clients? You too can take your consultancy to the next level and achieve the success that Dr Tiffany Jones has.
As a top consultant, your clients rely on you being the best in your field, knowing the true determinants of success and having access to the tools that will make the most impact when it comes to improving performance. Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profiling is the tool you need to help your clients realize their potential.
Find out more about Athlete Assessments’ Consultant Program now.
At Athlete Assessments we’re here to provide you with excellence in service and to help you be your best. If there is anything we can do to be of service, don’t hesitate to contact us.
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