There was once an old saying, 10 % physical; 90 % mental. This was a saying about sports performance that we all heard once in our lives as athletes and coaches. This old saying is debatable depends how you are comprehending it. Well I'm going to move this over with a new saying about enhancing athletic performances. 10 % Talent; 90 % Coachability.
Talent- 10%:
Talent is a given! We all have some sort of talent. If we didn't have talent we wouldn't make the team. No matter what level you are in your sport, you have talent!
Because talent is only 10% of what make your performance, it can only take you so far in your career. Talent is good but I wouldn't take it into full account depending on it to go far.
So what is it with the other 90 percent?
Coachability- 90%:
This allows us to look to see of the athlete is coachable. The Coachability has three major components that is easily interchangeable with each other to allow to make the athlete more unique with their performance. This allows maximum performance at is best! The three components includes mental toughness (mental game), character, and physical. Each components must work together to find that balance so therefore each of these components are 30 percent.
1. Mental toughness-30%: Mental toughness is most important factor to help us over come obstacle such as distractions (environment) and fear.
There are times we feel being distracted but allowing it to get the best of you. It is best to block those distractions out mentally to focus on your performance. You should always stay focus on your mental game on what you know to do. After all, you are in control so be your own boss!
Fear is normal. We all have fear in us. However being mentally tough is all about overcoming fear. Most fear comes from the athlete that may not feel comfortable about the skill or not sure how to do the skill. In this situation it is best to break the skill apart into its components and gradually build up to the finish skill as they become more confidence.
Mental toughness is all about attitude. The attitude of "I can and I will". This is about believing and trusting in yourself of your performance your are attempting. Bad attitude hinders your performance in which leads to poorer performance. Saying "I can't" should be changed to "I can't yet". I can't yet means your don't have it now but you are willing to work towards it. Setting goals can go along ways! So have goals set for short term and long term. Goals should be realistic and easily manageable so the expectation is not set too high. Setting expectation to high leads to failure and leads to other issues that will hinder your mental toughness. You lose your mental game!
2. Character- 30%: Character is about commitment, dedication, attitude, honesty, and being responsible.
Commitment is a major factor when it's comes to being on the team. Most kids seem to be more committed to be with heir friends and not have respect for the program the team coach has to offer. Being with friends is great but you need to be committed and follow through with the expectation of the team's program. Being on a team is a privilege and an honor. You should be committed to the program and treat it with such pride and honor. There are time for friends outside the gym. When I'm at the gym I'm a competitor not your friend because I'm committed to train and do my best.
Most kids like to do more than one sport (which isn't a problem) but all far too common, parents ask coaches to see if they can change the workout time because the soccer, wrestling, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse schedule interfe. What message do you send about being committed?
In some cases kids just choose not to come to practice just because they don't want to come. The question to ask is, how bad do you want it? If you want it bad enough, follow your heart and make that commitment that you are obligated to.
Dedication is the will power that you want to improve your performance. I have encourage kids to come in a few minutes early do some extra stretching or working on skills they are having the most trouble on before practice time starts. Coming to practice on time and using the valuable time to deliberately practice to be productive is certainly being dedicated in the sport.
Attitude is everything. Bad attitude such as I can but I don't want to changes everything on your performance. Bad attitude hinders your commitment and dedication that can results in poorer performance. A few of my favorite quotes I remind people about. First, bad attitude is like a flat tire. You can't go anywhere unless you change it first. Secondly, the only disability in life is a bad attitude. So before you walk through the door or on the field, ask yourself how s my attitude toward practice today? What are my goals in practice? Positive attitude can go along ways!
Honesty is another character trait that is important as well. Are you honest with yourself or are you cheating your way through the workout? Cheating your way through the workout is certainly not productive and only hindering your performance. Be honest with yourself if you want to get better. Skipping through assignment by making an excuses to find an out is certainly not being honest with yourself. Overtime you start to lose trust with yourself and starting to get doubts (jeez, can I really do it?) running through your head.
Responsibility is a big one! This is a trait every athletes needs to work on. Responsibility is everywhere from school, work, home, and the gym. This is also time management. Are you being responsible for your workout or are you being irresponsible hanging out in the back of the gym playing with your cell phone? Are you responsible to have the necessary equipment to practice with. Be responsible to be committed and dedicated, after all you want it and you want it bad. Be responsible to be hold accountable for your goals on what you want to achieve on the team. Coaches have responsibility as well to help you. Coaches study and always trying to find answers to best suits your needs of improving your performance. Athletes should be responsible as well.
3. Physical Traits-30%: Physical traits are what makes you body strong to enhance athletic performances. Theses traits includes, strength, power, speed, agility, endurance, flexibility, and coordination. No one likes to do conditioning but it is the most important part of the workout to help improve your performance and help avoid major injuries from happening.
While talent is good to have, but it's only so much you can do on how far you can go just relying on talent alone. All three components of Coachability work together as a whole. I believe we need to have balance in all three to make it worthwhile to be coachable if you want to go as far you like to go. Example: An Athlete who is dedicated (character) to get stronger, spent time doing conditioning (physical) can help builds his/her confidence (mental toughness) in his/her performance.
Good luck!