THE WINNING WEEKEND WARRIOR: How to succeed at golf, tennis, baseball, football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, business, life, etc.

Perhaps like you, I have greatly enjoyed sports as long as I can remember. As a child, I was blessed with good eye-hand coordination, but below average running speed. I had some early success with badminton, baseball, and dodge ball. Later, I enjoyed basketball, track, football, tennis, table tennis, softball, and golf. Although I enjoyed all of these sports, I never had illusions about being a professional athlete.



Somewhere along the way, I managed to find time away from sports activities long enough to earn a Ph.D. in psychology and embark on a long career in a field called, “Human Computer Interaction.” This field (also called “User Experience”) basically tries to make sure systems are designed so as to be useful and usable by the people who use them. (Imagine!) I also found myself in a number of management and executive positions as well as working as a counselor and licensed psychologist.



In sports, I found myself winning on many occasions against people who were bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic, and often much younger. Over time, it seemed to me that many of my victories sprang from a few common themes repeated over and over. Many of these themes had to do with psychology and with management. Moreover, many of the ineffective decisions I saw people making on the golf course, the tennis court and the softball field bore a striking similarity to the ineffective decisions I saw people making in boardrooms, meeting rooms, and in software development projects. Indeed, seeing and overcoming many of these same human foibles formed the basis for the psychotherapy I practiced.



I began to wonder whether a book could help people become aware of some of these foibles and overcome them. If successful, such a book should aid people in every sport. For that matter, these same principles should help them in every other aspect of life. In this book, I have almost exclusively illustrated my points with sports. In a few cases though, I could not help myself from making comments about business. If you do not care about business, please feel free to skip right over those sections. Similarly, if examples from any particular sport leave you cold, please skip over those as well. Above all, this is a book, like sports itself, that is to be enjoyed.

Many books on how to succeed at sports are authored by professional athletes or trainers of professional athletes. While some of these are certainly fun to read, they may not be especially helpful to the vast majority of folks like me who enjoy sports but do not have the body of a professional athlete and who do not have the time to practice a sport 40-60 hours a week. In addition, many people like me who enjoy sports are nowhere near the peak age for their sport. This book is primarily written for the amateur athlete rather than the pro. If you find this book helpful, please let me and other readers know. If you have suggestions or comments, likewise let me know. I will be writing additional books in this series focused on specific sports.