The Story of Danni Ujimori, 18 Mid Pacific Golf Team
When Danni a junior at Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, I worked with a group of boy and girl golfers during their season. Danni was part of this group. She was and is one of the most determined athletes I’ve ever worked with. On one occasion her coach drove me around in a cart to watch the various members of the group play a practice round. I was very impressed with Danni’s technical skills and her ability to execute very difficult shots.
At one point I wrote a note to myself, “Danni–this girl can play!” A few holes later her posture changed and I could literally see the frustration. As she pulled her cart to the next hole her body became very rigid. I coined the phrase “the trudge” to describe her movement and help us debrief her play.
In our session a few days later we discussed the frustration and "the trudge.” What follows is her description of the process as it relates to our work together. I’m proud of how hard she has worked. She has developed the tools she needs to effectively deal with "the trudge” and Hit Refresh.
“It’s been said that golf is the most ‘mental’ of all sports. In my case, the ‘mental’ part of golf is the pressure I put on myself to excel. This pressure caused me to get down on myself and forget my dreams and the goals that went with them. Coach Brad helped me to see that the pressure I was feeling was literally putting me in a trap, a mental state that he refers to as “the trudge:.” where every part of my physical presence exhibited a strong sense of displeasure. I’m grateful that the HiLevel step-by-step breathing enabled to me to breathe my way through the negative to a healthy outlook on golf and my life. My golf game has improved and I achieved my primary goal to play golf in a Division I program. This fall I will enroll at and play golf for the University of Nevada.”
This blog entry is part of a series.
You can find the rest of them by clicking on “Hit Refresh” at the top, next to the date.