Release Techniques | Josiah Igono, Erik Averill | Athlete CEO #54
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Episode Summary
Be present. Stay in the moment. One pitch/swing/snap at a time. The past is behind you.
Simple concepts. Extremely difficult to execute. Yet, the ones that do separate themselves from the crowd.
The tool the high performers use to execute: Release Techniques.
When things starts to bubble up a release technique helps you to reset.
Listen in as Peak Performance Coach, Josiah Igono, PHD breaks down everything you need to know about developing your own release techniques and unlocking your full potential.
+ Read the Transcript
Erik Averill (00:00):
Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Athlete CEO. I'm your host, Eric Averill, founder of AWM Capital, where we partner with our clients to unlock the full potential of their wealth for maximum impact.
Erik Averill (00:28):
One of the things that we believe too, at the core of AWM, is that the greatest driver of your net worth is your human capital. So this podcast, the Athlete CEO podcast, is dedicated to bringing you the tools, the tactics, and access to the best experts out there to help you unlock your full potential.
Erik Averill (00:48):
And so we are joined once again by our resident peak performance coach, the founder of All Things Performance, Josiah Igono. Joe, welcome back to the podcast.
Josiah Igono (01:00):
What's going on E, man? Good to be here, man.
Erik Averill (01:02):
I'm excited to jump into this topic today because life rarely goes as planned, right? And that could be just in general, but we also know what makes people great are the in-game adjustments. That could be in the boardroom, it could be in the middle of a family. And definitely on the field, on the court is these in-game adjustments.
Erik Averill (01:30):
So what we want to dive into today is to talk about release techniques. Just resets. Can you give us a little background and framework of what release techniques are?
Josiah Igono (01:42):
Absolutely. So you said it. R&R. Resets. Resets are a huge one, especially when you're talking about an athlete, or any type of high-level performer.
Josiah Igono (01:51):
And then the term release technique is something that I attribute to my late friend, and the luminary that is Dr. Ken Ravizza. He talked about that extensively in his work. And so I just want to take a moment to give him that do.
Josiah Igono (02:08):
He's somebody who has had a tremendous impact on my career. He was the only one who fully took me in, and fully was just like, "Hey, this is what to do. This is how to do it. This is what to expect. This is how you need to position yourself." He was the main one.
Josiah Igono (02:25):
And so, when you started talking about release techniques, release techniques are, in essence, a routine. Something that you do when things starts to bubble up, right?
Josiah Igono (02:37):
You give up a homer, you give up a touchdown in coverage. Something happens. You walk a guy, you miss two free throws. Whatever the case may be, a release technique helps you to reset.
Josiah Igono (02:51):
So what you're doing in essence is, you're transferring that frustration in a physical manner to something that represents that transfer. Let's say this blade of grass, or this plant right here, is at my disposal. A release technique says, "Hey, listen, I just gave up a homer? I'm going to squeeze this blade of grass, transfer my frustration there, you know what I'm saying? And then on to the next one, right?
Josiah Igono (03:20):
If it's a rosin bag, if I'm a pitcher, I'm going to squeeze that rosin bag, pick it up, transfer my frustration. On to the next one. If I'm a football player, I don't want to probably slam my football helmet, but again, I can pinch a blade of grass. I can squeeze something, like my gloves, something that I can use to transfer my energy. And then on to the next one.
Josiah Igono (03:45):
I will say this before we open it back up here, is that every sport is played one pitch at a time, one snap at a time, one play at a time. It's one at a time, right?
Josiah Igono (04:01):
That's where a lot of athletes, a lot of performers, get into trouble, is that they carry over. They carry over the stresses, the failures, from a previous at bat, a previous play, a previous snap. And it culminates into this 800 pound gorilla that we're trying to overcome.
Josiah Igono (04:20):
And so, again, I will take the moment and say, thank you for everything that Dr. Kenneth Ravizza contributed to the world of psychology, because he was big on that. One pitch at a time, one play at a time.
Erik Averill (04:35):
Yeah, and just hearing you share all of that, here's the interesting thing for all of us athletes, especially as baseball athletes that have come through it. You may not know Dr. Ken Ravizza's name, but you are implementing so much of what he laid the foundation for.
Erik Averill (04:55):
I think back to my days of Southern California high school baseball in the early 2000's. I mean, Cal State Fullerton baseball, this was like one of his meccas, right?
Erik Averill (05:05):
And so anytime you've seen a baseball player stare at a bat before they go into the box, there he is, right? Or literally the impact he had of Kevin Costner with "clear the mechanism" and "for love of the game." Dr. Ken Ravizza.
Erik Averill (05:23):
So I think of these luminaries that we are so thankful that we always stand on the shoulders of the giants before us. And so thankful for the work and the foundation that he's built for us.
Erik Averill (05:38):
But what you just said. We all know it. It's moment to moment, pitch by pitch, snap by snap. Very simple, insanely difficult to do.
Erik Averill (05:49):
Can you talk about, one of the other things that I heard you say is, these are pre-established routines. So much of where we don't know how to deal with when things don't go right, is if we haven't practiced these moments and haven't figured out proactively how to respond. Can you talk about how to maybe establish some of these release techniques?
Josiah Igono (06:13):
Absolutely. Great question. The mindset that you have, is the mindset that you have earned, by the way that you have continually think and reacted, right? I'm going to say that again. The mindset that you have, is the mindset that you have earned, by the way that you continually think and react.
Josiah Igono (06:32):
You and I, we are both products of our conditioning. So when certain things happen, when people cut us off on the freeway, you are going to act a certain way, I'm going to act a certain way. When our kids throw a temper tantrum, you're going to act a certain way, I'm going to act a certain way. It's our conditioning.
Josiah Igono (06:53):
So the question that you bring up is powerful, because with these release techniques, and with anything. I don't care what profession you are. I don't care if you're a chef. I don't care if you're a surgeon. It doesn't matter if you're a lawyer, you have to have your tools before you enter into the arena.
Josiah Igono (07:11):
You have to have them. You don't show up for a surgery and say, "Oh, hold on, guys. I got to go back home and get my scalpels," you know what I'm saying? We ain't doing that, you know what I mean?
Josiah Igono (07:21):
You have to have these mindsets established, and these... I hate to use the word reactive, procedures, mechanisms established. But you have to have these techniques established before you get into high stress.
Josiah Igono (07:37):
So the best place to toy around with these, or to tinker with them, or to see if you like them or not, is during practice. You know what I'm saying? When you go and practice, when you go and train, if I get frustrated, what's my technique going to be?
Josiah Igono (07:50):
Am I going to find a focal point in the outfield? Am I going to look at the field goalpost? Am I going to key in on a certain area, signage in the rafters? Am I going to squeeze a blade of grass? Am I going to transfer that energy to a fist, like that I'm making here? What is it going to be?
Josiah Igono (08:14):
Whatever it is for you, you have to establish that beforehand. If not, you are going to see the tantrums. Just go on YouTube right now. I'm not going to throw anybody under the bus and say any names, but just go on YouTube right now and just see tantrums that are thrown by professional athletes. Those tantrums could have been avoided if they had a release technique.
Erik Averill (08:35):
Yeah.
Josiah Igono (08:36):
Right?
Erik Averill (08:36):
Yeah.
Josiah Igono (08:36):
Like, Hey, here is my sign that things are getting out of control. Let me just wipe off that dirt from the rubber. Let me just take my hat off. You know what I'm saying? Clear my brow. Let me look at the completely opposite direction, at a specific letter, in a specific sign, and stare at it for two seconds before I get back to work.
Josiah Igono (09:03):
You have to have these things pre-established before you enter into the arena of competition. And it's different for everybody. It could be a word. It can be an action. But a lot of times when we're talking about release techniques, it is a physical transfer that symbolizes me giving my frustration away and me resetting.
Erik Averill (09:24):
It's the difference between an amateur and a pro. It's what you're talking about of taking ownership to say, "I'm going to choose how I respond when, not if, but when things don't go the way that I would want them to."
Erik Averill (09:41):
Have I practiced? Have I put the work in? Have I done what it takes to be able to respond quickly to get back on it the next moment to the next moment.
Erik Averill (09:53):
And it's something that we harp on so much, whether it comes to your career, whether it comes to your money, whether it comes to your relationships. Overall, it's an ownership mentality to say, You know what? If you're not practicing during non-game time, when the lights turn on, or you walk into the boardroom, if you haven't practiced, you're practicing in the most important moment of your life.
Erik Averill (10:22):
Why do you expect to have master results? Why do you expect to be elite of the elite, when you haven't put the work in? And I think that these are the nuances.
Erik Averill (10:35):
When people ask, Why is somebody who has the same talent level, or at times, just from a pure talent level, less than some of the other people in their peer group, why are they the best in the world at what they do? And I think it's things like this is they go, "Oh, well, they're just born with it."
Erik Averill (10:54):
Maybe. Probably not. And I think that it's a really convicting thing for myself. But I think with our audience of going, "You know what? We've heard this a million times. Control what you can control." You can control this.
Josiah Igono (11:10):
Yeah, absolutely. And Dr. Ravizza said that a ton. Control the controllables. Even something as simple as controlling your breathing. When you control your breathing, you can control your performance.
Erik Averill (11:21):
Right.
Josiah Igono (11:21):
Control the controllables. And to your point about practice, I mean, it's powerful what you said. Why would you decide to now practice in a high-stakes situation?
Josiah Igono (11:32):
And speaking about practice, Pele, one of the world's most acclaimed footballer You know what I'm saying? Soccer players. He says something that I'll never forget. He said, "Everything is practice. Everything. My posture, the way I speak, the way I react, the way I eat, the way I drink. The way I engage. Everything is practice."
Erik Averill (11:59):
Yeah. I love it. Another way it said differently is, in about getting focused, staying focused, no special moments. That if it's something that I've trained for, at some point it's just play.
Erik Averill (12:15):
For the master craftsman, and I give all the credit to EJ who is one of our team members, because I don't know who this actual quote goes to, but I read it also in the Patagonia book, Let My People Go Surfing, is, it should be confusing that you don't know if somebody is at work or play.
Erik Averill (12:34):
Because it's their craft. It's their passion. It's their expertise that, "You know what? I've put in so much of the work to be able to control myself and what I need to do to perform moment to moment."
Erik Averill (12:51):
Because we actually get very comfortable knowing that we don't have a crystal ball and that it's not going to roll out the way that we want. But if we have put the work in, we know that we are going to be able to succeed over the long-term.
Erik Averill (13:08):
This has been super helpful to me. I know in previous podcasts, we've talked about all these different type of techniques you can do. A large part of it is, have you put the work in before the uncertainty shows up so that you can perform at this highest level?
Erik Averill (13:24):
So for the audience, hopefully this has been a helpful conversation around release techniques. Head over to athleteceo.com, you can get access to the show notes and please reach out to us.
Erik Averill (13:37):
Josiah has been gracious enough to make sure that you guys have access to all of his contact information, where he can break down some more specifics of release techniques that can work for you in your specific situation. So highly encourage you to reach out to us. And until next time, stay humble, stay hungry, and always be a pro.