Competition, Progress, and Rewards with High School Athletes

Competition

Competition is a good thing. You need to compete in training to test yourself physically and mentally. To learn how to not quit when things get challenging and push farther and harder than you ever thought you could. I think it’s necessary for athletes to constantly train in a competitive environment.

However, while competition against others is necessary, your biggest competitor has to be against yourself. If you constantly compare yourself to others it will be hard to feel good about your progress. There are a lot of strong, jacked, genetically gifted people that would take your best day in the gym and use it as a warm-up- if that. Some people can simply breathe on weights and get jacked and strong. Others need to put in the time under the bar and get their nutrition in check to even see the slightest of progress. Results don’t come over night so don’t expect them to.

Progress

When dealing with athletes (typically 8^th-12^th grade), there are some that obviously are naturally stronger and more athletic than their peers. Whether they started training earlier or they physically matured faster, these types of athletes are usually your “studs”. They will respond very quickly to a solid training program and turn into even bigger freaks. These types of athletes need to take full advantage of their gifts and develop them even further.

So what about the athletes that are “behind”? They are deconditioned and untrained. They would be classified as “weak” and/or “un-athletic”.  Personally, I don’t care about their physical abilities, or lack there of. If a kid like this comes to me looking to get trained I could care less about how much he lifts or what his 40yd dash time is. I can take care of the physical part...if he’s willing to get coached and make sacrifices. I can control all of his training- a program that has worked on many kids that came before him. What I can’t control is his mindset.

I want to train the kid that is tired of his current level of training. Tired of not getting enough playing time- or not playing at all for that matter. I want someone who would do anything if it made him stronger, tougher, and more athletic. If a kid is coachable, responsible, dedicated, and accountable, then they can get better. I can get them A LOT stronger and in better shape than when they came to me if they have the capacity to have, and grow these traits. These kids can compete with their peers when needed, but they can’t constantly compare themselves to them. They only need to look at their own individual progress. If they went from not even being able to hold themselves in a push-up position, to being able to do 10, or even 5 push-ups, then that is a huge accomplishment. Naturally, we’d want to improve this number even further but remember that getting big and strong takes time.

From my experience, once a young athlete starts to see and feel the gains from his training then they become even more dedicated. Their confidence grows and their self-image changes. Even though they still might not compare to some of the other “stud” athletes physically, their mindset and attitude doesn’t allow them to recognize these physical differences. This mental outlook is progress that can’t be measured with numbers. This is the type of stuff that kids take away from their training the most (especially the ones that have to work the hardest for their results) and will use in their every day lives for a long time- well after their playing days are over.

Rewards

It’s rewarding as a coach to see these athletic and mental changes take place. It’s progress like this that keeps me energized and coming back every day, while always looking to improve as a coach.  Most athletes will get a small window to play a few years of organized sports in high school. What they don’t realize is that when they’re maximizing this opportunity in the gym they’re learning valuable lessons that will stay with them long after their playing days are over. I’m still a relatively young coach but having an athlete that I coached come back once they’re done playing and say how I impacted them-even in the slightest way- is totally awesome, as any coach will tell you.

Consistent, hard work will pay off- in one form or another.

Thanks for reading guys and girls!

-Mark