Tiger’s Quest to “Overcome” and the Neutral World Around Us

Guest Blogger: Inner-Sports

by Garret Kramer

Like most of the world, I sat and watched Tiger Woods speak as he embarked upon the quest to “overcome” his personal failings. My opinion is that he did the best that he could possibly do at this moment in time. Much more significant to me however, is what we can all learn from Tiger’s “transgressions,” and also from the wide range of reactions that followed his first public appearance in about three months.

When Tiger’s state of mind is low, he is not capable of seeing life clearly and he is prone to lapses in judgment.

First, as I initially discussed on December 4th: http://www.inner-sports.com/okay-my-take-on-tiger/, the time is now for Tiger to understand that errant thinking and its ensuing impulses, signal “out of bounds,” not a call to action. As Tiger indicated, it is indeed necessary for him to address the pain inflicted by his errant behavior, but it is far more critical that he understands its source. Believe it or not, the temptation to stray is actually not the real issue here; a failure to realize that one’s state of mind determines one’s ability to regulate urges… is. Trust me, when Tiger’s level of well being is high, the thought of betraying his wife, comes and goes. When this level is low, he is not capable of seeing life clearly and he is prone to serious lapses in judgment. Thus, he has no choice but to succumb. Just reflect on the mistakes you have made in your own life. I guarantee that your faulty judgments, and resulting poor behavior, were far less about the situation you were in than about your level of well being the moment you encountered the situation.

Without the free will to choose, Tiger lacks the resources necessary to draw upon personal insights and move past errant emotions in his own way.

In addition, unless Tiger comes to see that he can only look within himself to find enduring answers, I am certain that this deviant pattern will manifest itself (perhaps in another form) yet again. While therapy or even Buddhism might set the wheels in motion, without the free will to choose, Tiger lacks the resources necessary to draw upon personal insights and move past errant emotions in his own way. In other words, relying on the judgments and guidance of the external world, in order to solve internal quandaries, can only work for so long. Instead, the answer solely lies in understanding how our own thoughts and state of mind, in the moment, affect the reality that we create for ourselves. It actually is this simple, and once understood Tiger will find it impossible to misread his internal feelings. For, they are perfectly designed to steer each of us away from trouble in our own individual manner.

How we view an external circumstance has nothing to do with the circumstance itself, and here lies the key to navigating smoothly through life.

There is one other related concept at work here and it has little to do with Tiger Woods the person. I know that it is quite obvious, but isn’t it amazing how many different judgments exist on the varying elements of Tiger’s speech? In the immediate aftermath I heard comments like, “he was genuine” or “he was arrogant.” “He spoke from the heart” or “it was an infomercial.” I mean, we did all watch the same broadcast didn’t we? Then this morning, I heard the identical sportscasters who offered opinions one day, offer different opinions the next. Well, doesn’t this paradox illustrate just how neutral the outside world (in this case Tiger’s plight) really is?

In truth then, we are all no different from Tiger in that how we view an external circumstance has virtually nothing to do with the circumstance itself. It is all about our own state of mind at that particular moment. And the sooner we come to understand this uncomplicated truth, the easier it will be for all of us to navigate smoothly through life…. Here lies the true message to Tiger, and to the masses, in this whole sad mess. I just hope that for his family’s benefit, the experts counseling Tiger are insightful enough to allow him to see it.




Garret Kramer is the founder and Managing Partner of Inner-Sports.com. Inner-Sports evaluates and then coaches athletes of all ages on the behavioral characteristics that lead to peak performance on and off the field of play. Inner-Sport’s evaluative partner has created the behavioral assessment used at both the National Hockey League and the Major League Lacrosse scouting combines. Inner-Sports and Garret work with Baseball Factory players at select player development events.

Being a Tiger, Eating like Big Mac

Doug Glanville: Lessons from the Times

I know it is hard to see what has happened to some of our most famous athletes in the last couple of months. As if the drug investigation into baseball (Mitchell Report) didn’t expose enough about the greed, insecurity, and rampant drug culture in baseball, now we are looking at athletes that broke records or are knocking on record doors and wondering why their lives are such a mess.

Mark McGwire admitted to taking steroids at various times during his career, including the year that resulted in his breaking of the single-season homerun record. He genuinely seemed tormented by making this admission, one that most of us knew was eventually going to come, but even after hearing the news, all I thought was that this was another question mark about the legitimacy of baseball.

It goes back to the same idea. What are you willing to do to be the best? How far will you go to be a legend? Is it worth any price?

Well, I hope you have limits and boundaries that have been shaped by what you value in your life. Things that you will not compromise no matter what the promise. That is what it means to “stand for something.” This “something” is what you would never give up.

Yet everyone has different lines in the sand as to where to draw that wall. But no matter where your line is, once you give in to temptation and peer pressure to use steroids, it is hard to go back. Once you pop that first magic pill, it becomes part of you and you will now wonder who you would be without it. Now McGwire cannot separate the man on the juice and the man off the juice and that is a bad place to be.

Then we have Tiger Woods. Undoubtedly a force of nature and the greatest golfer on the circuit. He is dancing right up to legendary records set by Jack Nicklaus as a young man. So what happened? His “off the field” choices derailed him indefinitely. Is there lesson here?

There no doubt is a lesson. I still remember my days in high school and I understand how difficult it was to find your social life. You could be shy, you could be a late bloomer, you could be busy with other activities, you could just be scared. It is OK. I also remembered how nervous I was when I asked Christine Saunders to the prom. I barely could speak after she said yes. It is hard in high school.

So imagine you make it to the next level in baseball. Your confidence rises, you can now talk to all of those young ladies that used to scare you half to death. So you keep going, trying for a little cuter, trying to impress your teammates, trying to “one-up” yourself. But will you have the discipline to stop? Will you even want to stop as you keep going until you end up like Tiger Woods or many other pro athletes that have unlimited access to women all over the place. Maybe it sounds fun as a young man in high school. But it is important to pay attention to what has happened to Tiger Woods. It is important to separate ego from learning yourself and other people. Ego keeps score, measures conquests, compares to things that don’t really matter. Ego comes and goes, just like his career came and went in the blink of an eye. If you are rising in the world of baseball, congratulations, but make sure you keep a foot on the ground because there will be a lot of people telling you things and pumping you up, including in your new social circle, but they disappear when the music stops, leaving you solo. Just like Tiger is right now.

But there is always someone around in your life who is stable, who has your back, no matter what happens. Focus on them, listen to them, and stay close. It will help you when the attention gets addictive, the type of attention you may not have gotten in high school and are enjoying for the first time.

Opportunity will always be there socially, but the window for being a pro baseball players will not and even when you take advantage of it, it doesn’t last that long. I saw too many players fall apart from chasing the night life before they fulfilled the dream. The night life is just an illusion, people in that circle come and go, but will baseball be there?

McGwire, Woods, A-Rod, whoever. It matters how you do things on and off of the field. Treat people with respect no matter if you are hitting .400 or .200. Try and do an honest job, so you get honest results. Accept setbacks and struggles, it is how you grow. Have fun, but be smart about it. You can party from time to time and still get your rest.

Now that it is out, was it all worth it for McGwire and Tiger? Breaking a record by any means necessary or tallying up yet another woman is not a broken record at all, nor a score worth keeping. All you end up with is a broken soul and an empty scoreboard.



Doug Glanville joined the Baseball Factory as a Special Consultant at the end of 2007. Glanville attended and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Systems Science and Engineering. Glanville was drafted 12th overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 1991 amateur draft. Glanville played nine seasons in the Majors, getting his break with the Cubs. He also spent six seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and a portion of the 2003 season with the Texas Rangers. In 1999, Glanville batted .325 with 204 hits, 101 runs, six homeruns, 73 runs batted in and 34 stolen bases. He led the league in singles with 149 that year. To review other articles from Doug Glanville, including his New York Times column, please click here.

If Tiger Woods was your son, what advice would you give him right now? (Part 2)

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

OK, so here is my answer to the question above.

Tiger, you are arguably the most recognizable name and face in the sports industry, so you can’t hide behind your website and standard press releases and think that the public, your sponsors, and the media will be satisfied.

You have made some choices that certainly paint a negative picture of your character and your ability to make good decisions. However, the only chance you have to win back some grace and dignity is to stand in front of the camera, make a statement and answer the media’s questions. You need to say that you made some poor decisions, and you are now forced to deal with the ramifications of your decisions. Even if this means that you have done irreparable damage to your marriage and to your sponsor’s business arrangements.

Tell people that even highly successful people, who seemingly have the world at their fingertips, make poor decisions. No one is immune to general human emotions like insecurity. Sometimes people make bad choices, but how we deal with those choices is usually how we are judged the most.

You don’t have to make the statement long and you don’t have to answer the questions for days. Just get out there and be honest and human. Don’t try to be a robot without any emotion.

Hiding isn’t going to solve anything or help you in anyway. At some point, you are going to have to face the music and it is better to get it over with so you can focus on what is really important. That is, repairing your family and image.


Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 14 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

If Tiger Woods was your son, what advice would you give him right now?

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

How things have changed for Tiger Woods after Thanksgiving 2009. The man that sat on top of the sports world has had everything come crashing down with a personal scandal.

I thought this question might spark some interest from our readers. If Tiger was your son, what advice would you give him right now? Would you tell him to stay in hiding? Would you tell him to keep making posts on his website as his form of public communication? Would you tell him to hold a press conference to have people hear directly from him? Would you tell him to give up golf and focus on repairing his family?

I would like to hear from our readers by posting comments below with your advice. Next week I will come back and post a follow up entry to let you know what my advice would be.

Happy Holidays!


Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 14 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.