Off-Season Lessons

With the school year ending & graduation robes being adorned, I got to thinking about off-season work. In most sports, and even professions, there is an off season. Some are longer than others, and they may not always qualify for the term “Off Season” at first glance, but they are typically there.

In my line of work, off-season’s are incredibly valuable. It is a time to train your brain to pick up mental skills and make them habits for when the season starts. Once the season (even the preseason) begins, an athlete’s life gets complicated. I tell athletes all the time: When the whistle blows, you don’t want anything occupying your mind other than the competition. That includes complicated training programs, both physically and mentally. Here is my list of 3 opportunities to seize during your off season.

1- Opportunity to learn a new skill or hone an existing skill

When I was 11 years old I would spend my summers at the local rec center with friends playing pick-up basketball, swimming, and getting into mild mischief. I remember playing a game against some older players and noticing, “Not many of these guys can finish with their left hand.” In those days, guys weren’t given a fair shake during pick-up ball. There weren’t any of these, “No full-court games” rules or “play 2 and then you’re off.” The best players picked their teams and winners stayed; so the captains were looking to stack their teams with guys who had something to offer.

Let me give you some insight into my 11 year old self. I didn’t have very much to offer. My greatest assets were an inflated pumped up ball and I didn’t sweat much for a fat kid. So when I saw guys getting swatted by finishing everything with their right hand, I saw an opportunity. For the next week, instead of heading to the center, I stayed in my driveway. And in the heat of summer, step by step, taught myself how to finish with my left hand. I started right below the hoop, scoring with one hand. Then I took two steps back, and for hours went, “Left foot; right foot, finish.” Then I added the ball. There are several ways to finish around the basket, and I spent hours working on each of them, alone in my driveway.

I showed up the following week and when I did get my shot, I finished with my left hand. You know why? Not because it was some fancy skill I had learned, but because I had practiced it over and over again until it was honestly my natural instinct. And that is really what this opportunity is about. When we perform during competition, our natural instinct kicks in and we perform how we are used to performing. The off-season is a time to re-train those natural instincts into more productive ones. (*Side note: when I made my school team, the coach told me the reason was because I got his attention by my ability to finish with my off hand.*)

Now, let’s talk about what sort of natural instincts we could re-train during the off-season. Of course, depending on your field, there are area specific skills to train. But let me give you some natural instincts that all performers could use help re-training. Do you get negative about mistakes? This can be re-trained. Do you belittle yourself at every turn? This can be re-trained. Do you not get along with your teammates? This can be re-trained. Do you have poor body language? This can be re-trained. Do you get too nervous to perform? This can be re-trained. Do you ruminate over bad performances? This can be re-trained.

The off-season is great because it is preceded directly by the season. What did you not like about how you performed this year or this quarter? What are some areas you felt weak or unproductive? Identify those areas and then use this off-season as an opportunity.

2- Opportunity to “Re-route”

I had a good friend who had this sign hanging in her office:

The off-season is a great time to reflect on your process for achieving your goals. There is really two parts to that. First, reflect on your goals and see if they are still your goals. Second, reflect on your current process to achieve those goals. Is there anything that needs to be altered with your plans?

Each season I work with a team, we always start with a lesson from the legendary Zorro. I have my skepticisms on how historically accurate it is, but in the movie the old Zorro trains the new Zorro by teaching him about training circles. As we master the smaller circles, our circles grow. Much like a target, but instead of moving closer to the bullseye, we start in the center and then progress outwards. We start each season by identifying the ultimate goal (the outer circle). And then we define the process by working our way inward with smaller and smaller circles. When all is said and done, we have defined our process, starting with the first step (the smallest inner circle) and the preceding steps, ultimately leading to the final goal. Very rarely does the outermost circle change; it is often a championship of some kind. But I love to see the changes, year over year, of the team-determined process to reach that outer circle. Some teams define the process by focusing on team chemistry. Others by skill acquisition and development.

Once again, this opportunity is a perfect one for you to take during your next off-season. You do not want to be redefining your goals or your process in the middle of your season. But the off-season is a prime time to identify your goals, and create a process for getting there. Because when the dog days of your off-season hit, you will need a strong guide to keep you improving and progressing. Your process is that guide.

3- Opportunity to rest and remember

When I was in 5th grade, we learned about argumentative essays. We were taught to put our most compelling argument last. And so we arrive at this opportunity. Why this one you ask? It certainly isn’t the sexiest one. In fact, I could argue that this is the least taken opportunity amongst athletes. There is this notion in the sporting world that if your not working out, then you aren’t very serious about your sport. It’s where the popular saying, “If you aren’t training, then you’re losing” comes from. I notice this particularly in the corporate world, but it is still very much true in the sporting world.

In life we are constantly pushed to improve. Improve the bottom line, get faster, get stronger, score more, improve our success rate, etc. If you push, push, and push, you will actually diminish your progress relative to time spent. It looks something like this:

We start out making great progress over time, but we reach a point where that progress improves minimally for the time we put in.

Now, only half of this opportunity is to rest. The other half of this opportunity is the opportunity to remember. I want you to remember two things. 1) Remember why you do it. 2) Remember what you did to achieve your current level of result. Many athletes don’t take the next step, because they forget what got them to that point in the first place. A great shooter spends so much time developing an unnecessary transition game. Or in tennis, a great net player allocates their time working on baseline finishes. Of course skill acquisition is an important step, but remember what you did to achieve your current level. Don’t be so focused on taking a next step that the next step accidentally goes backward.

I love off-seasons. They are a tremendous source of opportunity. The future is made by those who seize opportunity and minimize wasting it.

Jon Osborn is a Sport Psychology Consultant. If you are interested in having him work with you or your team, reach out to him via e-mail precisionmentality@gmail.com

Follow Jon on Twitter | @08osborn24