Winning Intangibles – The Support System
Think of an iceberg, the piece you see sticking out of the water is like a great athlete’s performance. Underneath the water lies a mountain of support, propping the athlete up to their greatest feats.
The time of complete natural talents is over. Every great athlete needs a support system to propel them to new heights. This lesson is designed to help you understand what a winning support system looks like, and how to give your athlete the best chances for success.
It all starts with the athlete’s attitude towards gymnastics. Lots of athletes start very young nowadays, and with good reason. There is a lot of ground to cover. The winning attitude we’re looking for is one of excitement, wonder, and fun. An athlete that really loves the sport and wants to spend all of their time playing it, watching it, learning it. When you have a kid that seems obsessed like this, it’s time to jump into support mode. Something special is brewing.
Next is the facility and coaches you want to enroll your athlete with. They will be spending a lot of time at this facility and with these coaches, so it’s best to do your research. Starting with a high ranking program is a good start, but some of those programs can show borderline abusive coaching practices. Make sure to sit and view the program as closely as allowed for the first few sessions, and every once in a while from then on. Finding an organized, winning program, clean facility, and excellent supportive coaches is a tall order, but well worth the research and hours you put in. If an amazing talented athlete had below average coaching and uninvolved parents, they might be able to become slightly above average athletes by the end of their careers but fail to reach even a fraction of their potential. Once this piece is in check, we can start building a nurturing environment for their talent at home.
An amazing program and coaches can help accelerate your athlete’s progress and learning, but there is a lot that happens at home that can affect their athletic and academic career. Consistency is key. The more activities they pursue, the more organized their schedule needs to be. The more pressure they are under, the less stress needs to come from their daily routine. Meals should be healthy and at similar times every day. You can see more about meal planning in our recovery course. Their night time routine should be consistent every night with a scheduled bed time. Activities should be minimized as they undergo higher pressure situations like important exams or competitions. Too many activities when they are under a lot of stress can overload a young athlete and cause burnout. A sport they once loved and were obsessed with is now something they are considering quitting in order to get some level of peace in their lives. Avoiding overload will allow an athlete to thrive in their sport without running the risk of quitting before reaching their potential.
You’ll be surprised what kind of health benefits you’ll see with a consistent schedule as well. Hormone balance, stable mood, high energy, ability to focus, just to name a few. A youth athlete that is given this kind of home balance will have a major advantage over the field. This sounds like a lot of work, well, because it is. Remember, your athlete will be going to school for 30 hours a week and practice up to 20 hours per week. And these 10 – 20 hours at practice will be brutal. They’ll come home exhausted and overworked. This is the schedule and lifestyle of a future champion, and it’s important that everyone does their part. This includes their coaches and parents.
Moral of the story, set a consistent daily routine that your athlete can rely on throughout their training year. That being said, don’t let me stop you from an amazing vacation or from a surprise lazy day every once in a while. Children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood too.
For more lessons on the secrets behind a winning athlete, check out the other lessons in our Winning Intangibles course. See you there!