Athlete Academy: Too Fast, Too Strong

This is my inaugural Athlete Academy specific blog, although many of you may also find it helpful. This post, as most of mine do, has to do with the mental aspect of training and performing. When it comes to athletes, this is extremely important.

Many times, athletes who have all the skill in the world never reach their potential because they don’t have that “killer instinct” for lack of a better term. They go into a tryout or a competition thinking “I don’t know these kids, I haven’t played or raced these kids, they are probably better than me”. I have had this happen to me in the past. I remember trying out for soccer my freshman year and thinking exactly that. So I was nervous, tentative, and just didn’t have the confidence to let my skill do the talking. As a result, I didn’t make the team and didn’t get to play my freshman year.

You have to have that mental capacity, the belief that “I have worked my butt off, I will win”. That’s where the “Too Fast, too strong” comes into play. You have to believe that you are faster than the other player heading for the loose ball, that if he comes to take it from you he won’t be able to because you are too strong. It’s in these moments that having confidence in ourselves is something that is a must. You have to believe you really are either too fast or too strong for that other team and that you will prevail.

I know that many of you may see this as arrogance, but here’s my response to that sentiment – if you believe you are too fast and too strong, and you get beat, guess what? That is yourself correct right there. If you truly believe in yourself and have confidence in yourself and you still get beat, then you know you have more work to do, but it will ultimately create that fire to keep it from happening again. So believe in yourself, believe that you are too fast, too strong, and if you allow it to, it will create the fire you need to be successful. Coach Adam out!

-Coach Adam