The Road To The GFL – Jeffrey Juurlink – Grit, Focus & Team Dynamics in Football

Jeffrey Juurlink is currently playing in the GFL and was part of the 2019 NFL Combine Europe for his position as a defensive back. Being raised in Holland, where (American) Football is not part of the major sports this is an unusual achievement. We discuss the mental aspects of his career so far and his first seasons in the German Football League. After talking shortly about his motivation, we got into visualization, focus (meditation & mindfulness) and what role it has played for him in practice and games. The second half we get into his experience in the GFL, Music, Team Dynamcis which got him into the NFL Combine Europe. At the end of the episode we also discussed how he applies his mental discipline to his work as a music producer. This episode has a lot to offer if you want to take your game to the next level like Jeffrey did. Enjoy!

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0:30 Introduction

2:04 Conversation Start

2:17 How Jeffrey Got Into Football

3:38 The Motivation To Take It to the Next Level

5:35 Development of Intrisic Motivation - The Joy of Growth & Learning

5:50 Influence of Environment - Dutch National Team to the GFL

10:03 Visualization & Film in Football

12:07 Visualization & Imagery as a Mental Tool

13:41 The PETTLEP Model - A Model For Visualization

16:20 Jeffrey's Experience with Visualization & PETTLEP

20:11 Grit & Mental Toughness - Getting to the Next Level

22:32 Developing Your Mental Toughness

22:55 Inspiration: Brian Dawkins - Weapon X

25:47 Keeping Your Mental Focus - Mindfulness & Meditation

26:47 Mindfulness - Formal & Informal Practice

28:06 Focusing on Improvement - Visualization & Feedback

29:29 Focal Point of Meditation - Awareness

30:17 Group Cohesion & Dynamics in the GFL

32:46 Working Through Losing Streaks with the Team

35:31 Player Within The Team - Transistion Losing to Winning

36:41 The Power of Music - Emotion Regulation

39:20 No Music to Pre-Game Blasting

41:30 The NFL Combine Experience

42:06 Receiving the Call & Pre-Combine

44:20 D-Day - Testing, Drills & Physical

46:35 Reflecting on the Experience

48:21 Confidence - The Importance of Practice & Preparation

50:11 Is Sport Psychology the Secret to High Performance?

51:41 Not Either/Or - Developing Body AND Mind

53:33 Transfering Mental Skill From Field to Studio

55:35 Jeffrey's Go-To Mental Skill - Routine & Rituals

57:57 Transfering Success From One Area to Another

58:51 Where to Find Jeffrey