Top 5 Mistakes Made for Spring Athletes

It is the New Year and that can only mean one thing… spring sports are right around the corner! 

There are years that I remember going out for tryouts on March 1st, and it would be snowing outside. We would be outside, trying to perform to impress the coaches with numb hands, tight legs and snowflakes falling from the sky.

However miserable that was, there is something special looking back at those moments. It got me thinking about the athletes that are going to be heading out for their first year of High School tryouts and all the nerves and anxiety that I had as that date approached.

It also got me thinking about what I could have done better leading up to the season, and how I could have done better during the season. I am always looking for that advantage, or ways to go beyond the limits of what I think I am capable of.

When I look around at the current day athlete (not just high school), I see a growing trend of areas that I see athletes missing out on opportunities to perform at their best. They understand the idea of the offseason and how focused they must be… but many of the tools they use to have a successful offseason are the first ones they dismiss once the season rolls around.

As I look, these are the top 5 areas that I see athletes having opportunities to prioritize so they can set themselves up for their best season.

1. They Don’t Stay Connected with Mentors

Let me ask you this. When is it more important to have a coach in your corner? When the fight is going your way and you are feeling good? OR When you have just been punched, the world seems to be spinning and you can’t seem to get away from the punches? I will argue both are important, but so many athletes disconnect from their mentors during the season when it really counts. It is awesome to have that mentor or coach pumping you up to new levels in the offseason, but I would argue that the true value of a mentor is when you start slipping into that stinking thinking after the world or game has knocked you down.

We see lots of athletes allow themselves to stay in a funk all season because they don’t address the mental side of the game. Parents, let’s face it. Our athletes don’t always want to talk to their parents about this stuff… I mean, you are just Mom and Dad… what could you possibly know?

All joking aside, athletes need to stay connected with those people who are in their ear consistently, making them better and helping them get their mind right! If I can be brutally honest for a second, athletes using the excuse that they can’t find time to for that are slowly filtering themselves from the goals and dreams they claim they want to achieve.

2. They Begin Mismanaging Their Time

Time! We only get so much of it, and we don’t ever know how much of it we have left. Once season starts, lots of time gets SPENT playing games. Lots of time gets USED going through the motions at practices. Lots of time gets WASTED because “I’m tired and need a break”. What we don’t see a lot of is INVESTING time during the season.

Lots of athletes look at the offseason as a time where they deposit lots of hard work, sweat and maybe some tears into training. They keep putting their deposits in with the hopes that their earnings in the offseason will sustain them throughout the season. For some, they try and make the deposits they put in for 3 months (December, January, February) last for the other 9!

If we were to look at this from a financial plan for your home, you would last and say “I wouldn’t last!” … Well reality is, neither do the athletes. That is why by the end of the seasons, they are burnt out, performance has gone down, and their motivation in all areas is dwindling.

Athletes must learn to INVEST their time during the season with the long game in mind. The power of investing is that your investments compound your gains! It isn’t just a deposit in for 3 months and a debit out for the next 9. 

What kind of athlete do they want to be 10 years from now? Is investing the time in the weight room and with the people that make you your best during the season worth it?

No longer do you want to WASTE, SPEND, or even just USE up time. You want to INVEST it!

So, a great question for us all to ask about our time is, “Am I spending, using, wasting, or investing my time?”

3. They Fall into The Comparison Trap

Oh boy here is a big one for us all! Truth be told, it is one of the biggest growing trends over the past decade with social media on the rise and falling into the comparison trap.

Now this is a big trap that athletes fall into all year, but is especially prevalent when the season is underway. Each and every week stats are posted with the league leaders in every category. Teams post their stats and even have apps to keep track of minutes played, shooting percentages, strike out rates, turnovers and every stat you can imagine.

Social media gets rolling with a highlight reel of all of your rivals’ best moments, but never seeing the 0 for 5 with 4 strikeouts the kid had last week. Athletes begin to compare themselves and their performance with everyone else’s versus staying focused on their path.

The best athletes have a short-term memory with a long game focus. They put their blinders on and focus on what makes them perform at their best. They dial in making themselves better at every opportunity. They read the right stuff. They strengthen their body and do what they can to prevent injuries. They fuel their bodies by eating the right foods to allow maximum performance. They connect with their mentors and dig into the areas of their mindset, fears and stinkin’ thinkin’ that might be creeping in.

The comparison trap is sneaky like that. It doesn’t just happen all in an instant. It slowly creeps in with every slight glance left and right as you take your eyes off your goal… until you are trapped into staring at everything else BUT your goal.

4. They Begin Putting Unneeded Pressure on Themselves

Expectations. Expectations of parents. Expectations of coaches. Expectations of peers. Expectations we have of ourselves. So often we put unneeded pressure on ourselves, and it begins as soon as the season starts.

For those who have committed or verbally committed, the expectation is perfection. I know you already know this, but that is a standard that we just can’t keep… but it’s what we expect.

You thought the weight was heavy during the offseason? Deadlifting 500lbs? Squatting 450lbs? That is nothing compared to the weight of expectations. Athletes immediately begin trying to live up to an undefined line. They fight and claw to work their way above the line, when in reality, the line is always just out of reach.

We must put the blinders on and remember why we play the game. Remember what about the game we love so much. Control the controllables and remember that your self worth is not defined by your performance, scholarship, sport, batting average, free throw percentage, GPA or Instagram followers.

5. They Stay Out Of The Weight Room

If you like videos, here is a link to a video I made on this exact point (Watch Video Here)

I know y’all were probably expecting this, but this is a HUGE mistake when it comes to long term development! Athletes spend so much time investing in growing their performance, only to let it dwindle during the season.

Strength goes down, power goes down, performance goes down, mobilities tighten up and we wonder why injuries start to occur. 

Athletes begin to make decisions based on a “tomorrow” timeline versus a long term timeline. We want to make sure we are performing at our best at the end of high school or at the end of college.  It isn’t all about the game THIS weekend.

Time becomes and issue and the first thing to go is the thing that allows them to perform at their maximum capacity. Then the next offseason rolls around and we are stuck at our same numbers that we started at the previous, rather than starting at where we ended last off season.

And there you have it! 5 Mistakes that I see so many athletes make, but are all avoidable with discipline, purpose, and a BIG GOAL!

We know that you can’t keep your same schedule of 3 or 4 days of training a week, but we do highly recommend at least one day of training so you can keep your strength levels high, maintain your mobilities, and most importantly stay around the mindset and culture that pulls the best out of you!

Remember, when do you need your mentor most? When the times are great, or when life is throwing you those curveballs again!?

These may be BEYOND your comfort zone… but remember, when do we grow best?!

Cherish The Challenge