The Building Season
Why the “off-season” is the most important season.
Most programs are well into their winter off-season. I spend a lot of time on the road going to different programs which allows me the time to think about things. I started pondering why we call this time of year the “off-season” when this is the furthest thing from the truth!
Nothing we do during this time of the year has anything to do with us being off. However, it has everything to do with building bodies, attitudes, and team. In my experiences, this time of the year will determine the success during the season.
I believe this building season requires three essential C’s — Concentration, Competitiveness and Consistency.
Concentration
It is my belief that we need to use the room to help the kids be able to focus and concentrate in the heat of the moment. I know there are many quality programs out there which help the kids know their numbers, sets, and reps. However, during the building season I found it productive to go old school and use the percentage charts for the athletes to figure their numbers on the spot.
We ask them to make adjustments during the season, so we better make sure to train them during the building season to do this on Friday nights. I also believe it is important the athletes be able to take verbal instructions and use them on their own to finish the task.
We hear all the time how kids are not able to concentrate. We believe they can, but this skill must be coached. This can be done by giving athletes a task to do at all times during the workout, whether it is counting reps aloud, spotting, or coaching each other! We believe when we teach kids to stay in the moment, their concentration goes to another level. In the end, an athlete’s focus will always be improved when WE becomes greater than me.
Competitiveness
An athlete who learns to compete with oneself will always become the most competitive they can be. We use the building season to accomplish this by putting the athlete in adverse conditions, but at the same time in a safe environment where failure is simply a part of growth.
We believe it is important at times that the athlete be faced with situations where they get to compete with themselves. We love to use “finishers” to achieve this in the building season. Finishers for us include things like “mankillers,” “dime dawg push-ups” and squat jumps, but there are many other options. We all want our kids to compete on Fridays, but it starts during the building season.
Consistency
Consistency is the mark of a champion. The building season provides daily opportunities to be consistent. We don’t look at consistency as just showing up on time and doing the workout. We want athletes to give fanatical effort and attitude not only on their reps, but also in their encouragement of their teammates.
A consistent teammate believes in themselves, serves their teammates, and celebrates their teammates successes. We accomplish this in the building season by spotting, counting, and celebrating our Stars of the Week. Consistency with our attitude and efforts will always cultivate a culture in the building season to carry into our season
In my opinion, the building season is the most important of all seasons because this is where all the deposits are made, setting up our athletes physically and mentally when withdrawals are made in the Fall.
May we all realize THE TIME IS NOW to prepare our athletes, program and culture for the upcoming season. It will be here before we know it!
