You Play Like You Practice
The idea that the way you practice directly carries over to the way you play is not new. But why do athletes need to be constantly reminded? What about the message isn’t getting you there? What’s holding you back from giving your all in practice? Are you being self-aware?
Take a moment to honestly reflect
Common issues are over socializing or being distracted during drills. Athletes like to talk to each other but there are times to chat and times to focus up. Other athletes may be thinking about what happened in school earlier in the day or what they will be having for dinner later. Their mind is elsewhere. During practice drills, your attention is required for you to give your best effort.
Personally, there were times where I was conserving energy for the possibility of conditioning at the end of practice. That did not do anyone any favors. I wasn’t helping myself, I wasn’t getting faster or stronger, and I certainly wasn’t impressing any coaches.
Coaches know if you’re not giving your all. You may think you’re getting away with coasting or not going all the way through the line, but coaches know what you’re up to. Your teammates know if you’re not putting it all out there. Your teammates will see you cheating the line, they will know that you let up early. You’re not building your’s or your teammates’ confidence in you.
The Heart of the Issue
The core of the issues is that your effort and attention are focused on where they need to be. If you can align your effort and attention, you will not only feel a difference in the practice but you’ll start to notice a difference in your overall performance.
You have limited effort and attention. If you spread your attention to talking to your teammate, learning the next drill, and thinking about your homework you will have a subpar performance. Your subpar performance in practice leads to subpar performance in the games.
The same goes for effort, if you only give 80% through each drill in practice your body and mind are used to giving 80%. Your body and mind will default to 80% during the game. You might be able to muster up little more effort during moments in the game but it will not be sustained if you’re not trained for it.
Top performances require full effort and full attention. In order to have top performance in a game, you need to train your mind and body to give full effort and attention in practice. Begin to train your attention by starting with a single drill. Aim to focus on the technique and skills required by the drill. Then work to go all out during the drill. No more saving yourself for the next drill. You will not only make yourself better but push those around you to get better.
Do you practice how you want to play?
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