#1 Andrew, If you want to be a stand out athlete, strength train year round and enhance your performance, not just your skills.
In high-school my 40 yd dash was 5.0 seconds and my vertical was 27 inches. Not impressive for a 6'0" kid who wanted to play collegiate basketball.
After training for one year, 20-21 years old, my vertical went up to 31.5 and my 40 dropped to 4.75.
I was stubborn. I liked playing my sport. Working out on the other hand, was not fun.
If I could go back I would say, "ANDREW, do the things you DON'T like doing now so that you can be better at the things you DO like later."
#2 Andrew, you need to work harder on yourself personally and on your mindset than you do on your sport, and in turn you will be BETTER at your sport
It's kind of like working ON versus IN your marriage.
When you go to marriage counseling, marriage retreats, or marriage workshops, you are taking time away from the "day to day hustle" of marriage.
You are getting ABOVE the marriage and looking at it from a 30,000 foot view. Working ON it.
This allows you to see opportunities to improve the marriage that you never had seen before. And when you have a "coach" or counselor facilitating this, you have someone who can objectively give you insights that will make your marriage better.
The best athletes in the world spend 90% of their time planning, preparing, and working ON their sport, and just 10% of their time IN it.
#3 Andrew, quit making excuses, ASK and you shall RECEIVE!
I would have sought more help and coaching. In hindsight, their were so many coaches, older players, and resources I could have sought out that would have 10X'ed my performance.
BUT, I was lazy and I made the excuse that "I didn't want to bother anyone and ask them for help".
Nonsense. Being coachable means far more than tolerating criticism- it means going AFTER it.
A few simple bonuses I would have told myself:
- Don't go for long jogs if you want to be fast...physiology proves it makes you slower.
- Foam roll and stretch every single day. The little things count.
- Play two sports every year. 3 months on your less serious one, 9 months on the other (mixture of highly competitive and less intense). Never play more than one sport at a time.
- Play/practice sports 5 days per week MAX. Performance Train 3 days minimum. Foam roll, stretch, recover every day. You get better when you rest.
- Eat like a world-class athlete, not like a 7 year old.
That's it. I hope that you pass this onto your athlete and that it helps them in some way!
Dedicated to your athlete's success,
Coach Andrew
www.pfpfit.com
