Marcus Dibernardo

Increasing Athletic Intelligence Marcus Dibernardo

An IED (Improvised Explosive Device) is planted roadside on an unsuspecting street in Iraq, as American soldiers approach. One of the more experienced soldiers stops quickly and says, "Turn around, something doesn't feel right here", the team of soldiers quickly head the other direction. Later the news spreads, there was in fact an active IED on the street that the soldiers decided not to walk down. Was it luck that the soldiers made the decision to turn around? Is it just down to coincidence that only the experienced soldiers in Iraq are able to predict with stunning accuracy whether a street contains an IED or not, without being able to say why they knew? Winston Churchill the 29th President of the United States was just about to take his car out for a drive but something just didn't sit well with him that day. He stood by the car, keys in hand as a feeling came across him that he couldn't explain. He elected not to start that car at the last moment, good thing he didn't because the car was wired with an explosive. Another coincidence? When I was around 12 years old I would walk to the bus stop every morning by myself to jump on the yellow school bus. Walking to the bus in those days didn't involve bringing along an iPhone, handheld video game, headphones or any digital devices at all, they didn't exist; it was just me and my thoughts. I lived on a street that was a mile long with only five houses and no street lights, nature was basically our entertainment. One day a car drove by and it just didn't feel right to me. Over the next couple of weeks a few more cars came by that gave me an odd feeling. It suddenly hit me in an instant, "the cars were stolen and being redone in an old barn (chop-shop) down the street from the bus stop". I didn't tell anyone about my feeling, but deep down I knew it was true. A month later police cars showed up at the barn, arresting the people for running a stolen car "chop-shop"! Was it just a lucky guess that I made? If it was just luck, my luck didn't run out there as you will later find out. Ever hear of the term flow? Talk to any high level athlete, and they will be able to tell you about times when they were so focused, concentrated and in the zone, that everything slowed down for them, making the game almost easy. These athletes knew what was going to happen before it even happened, possessing a superior anticipation ability. In these moments of flow, there are no distractions, the experience itself takes complete center stage. The focus is not on winning, the fear of losing doesn't exist, there is no desire to out trick your opponent and there is no need to impress people, the experience is all consuming, as the player is simply a highly skilled part of the puzzle. This is athletic intelligence at its highest form, but getting to this point doesn't happen overnight, it takes proper training, along with a lot of dedication and hard work.