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Coaching

IF WE ONLY REALIZED…

If there is one thing a player needs to know, it’s that they “belong.”

Let’s face it – we go through our lives hoping we can belong to “this” group or belong to “that” group. That is the problem though – we only hope. Understanding that you are good enough in the first place is easier said than done, but that is only because of the terms the world has placed on us as human beings. When we were extremely young, say 2 years old, those things didn’t matter as our innocence prevailed. However, as we grew older, we became more literal and people began assigning a value to everything we did. As a result, we began questioning our very existence sometimes in the present moment.

“I belong.” Go on and say it.

“I belong on this team. I belong in this class. I belong at this job.”

Be present where you are at and not anywhere else. You have a right to take up the space you occupy at this very moment.”

You belong.

COMPETITION AS A CRUTCH

It is often said that competition brings out the best in people. People will say that you will work harder if there’s someone breathing down your neck or there is a game to be won or a spot on the roster to be had.

However, is there a problem with competition? Is it that competition takes away the requirement to set your own path, to invent your own method as Seth Godin would say and to find a new way. He adds that when you have competition, “it’s the pack that decides what’s going to happen next, you’re merely trying to get (or stay) in front.”

Is that what we strive for? To be part of the pack? To be something that any other player can be? Or do you focus on improving within yourself each day on your journey, whether athletic related or not.

Competing with yourself is certainly more difficult. It requires more bravery, but leads to more insight.

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER

Too often, we say, you have to hit that pitch the other way, stay down through the ball, you need to take a better angle…etc. A major key in the growth of a player is for them to understand how their body works. The more they understand this, the faster they can grow. A coach who spends the time teaching sound fundamentals, footwork, and balance is putting players in a position to succeed. If you are a coach and take this approach, you’re on the right track.