Advice from 3 CORE Coaches: How to Keep Your Head in the Game All Year Long
As athletes, we know there is always an off-season to any sport we play, but the unexpected off-season of the stay-at-home quarantine brings new challenges for each of us. Although we would prefer to be playing sports, let’s make the most of this off-season by strengthening our body, mind, and athletic skills through complementary training.
The off season helps us grow in complementary ways. It is an opportunity for us to strengthen mentally and physically and it challenges us to continue to work hard towards our goals even when there is no immediate reward in sight. However, having the willpower and motivation to continue without the consistency of practices, tournaments, and teammate interaction can be challenging.
I will be the first person to say it: Sometimes it is hard to find motivation! This is especially true when we do not see a reward on the horizon, like team tryouts or practice with teammates. It’s even more discouraging when events are canceled, like a big tournament we’ve been training hard for. When unexpected events create a roadblock to our goals, it is easy to want to quit.
We asked 3 CORE Coaches questions on how they stay motivated in the off-season, planned or not. Grab your athlete and let’s learn how they stay on track!
Coach Malia, Lead Coach & Administrative Specialist. Sports: Softball & Volleyball
Coach Derek, Lead Coach & Trainer. Sports: Baseball & Basketball
Coach Josh, Lead Coach. Sports: Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Swim, Shot Put & Discus
What tricks do you use to stay motivated in the off season?
Coach Malia: Watching sports on TV or going to a local high school/college game was always one way I stayed motivated. While I was not in season, watching other athletes put in work made me even more excited to get back on the dirt or court.
Coach Derek: What I have found to be the best trick for staying motivated is finding new ways to get better. Depending on the sport you play there are always things you can work on to improve in that sport. When I played basketball growing up I was always good at shooting but my dribbling wasn't the best, so I would spend most of my time in the off season practicing my dribbling. I wouldn't neglect my shooting, though. You always want to work on all parts of your game, so I made sure to focus on my weaknesses to continue getting better.
If you love the sport you are playing and want to play when you get into middle school and high school, you have to keep practicing to get better.
Coach Josh: One of my best tricks to stay motivated is to first consider where I want to be as an athlete. If I want to be the best athlete I can be, I cannot just sit around most of the day. What I do in the off season is what pushes me past others, skill-wise. Everyone works on their game during the season so you cannot separate yourself as much. If you work in the off season just as hard, if not harder than you do in the regular season, then you will have an advantage over everyone else. Another trick that I find helpful is having an inner dialogue with myself. Personally, I like to tell myself if I get a workout in, work on fundamentals, or play a game for an hour, then I will have a reward set in place for afterward. That reward may be a protein shake, a certain amount of time playing video games, or something else I enjoy. Just don't use a reward that negates all the work you put in. For example, do not do a workout and go eat potato chips or drink soda as a reward. One final trick that I find helpful is to use new games to develop my skills. Recently, I have taken up Spikeball in order to improve my hand-eye coordination, reaction time, and body control while I have fun with the people around me.
What activities inspire you to work hard and achieve your goals?
Coach Malia: There is nothing better than a challenging workout to inspire me. My new quarantine workouts and training have shown me how fulfilling it can be to push my body to its limits even while modifying. The feeling after a hard workout or training is the best!
Other athletes and teammates always push me harder to achieve my goals. Whether it be a text just to ask how their training is going, advice, or even a FaceTime call to train together, nothing gets me going quite like friendly competition and teamwork. My teammates and friends have always pushed me to achieve my goals and are there to cheer me on when I do.
Coach Derek: I was never the biggest or most athletic person on the team, so if I wanted to play and be good, I had to work harder than everyone else and hustle as best as I could.
My all time favorite athlete is the late, great Kobe Bryant. I grew up watching him and no one worked harder than him, which is what made him the best. Yes, he was incredibly gifted and talented but so were most people in the NBA. The thing that made him different was his relentless drive and work ethic, the Mamba Mentality, which is what I tried to have growing up and still apply to anything I do now.
I always heard “hard work beats talent,” and I have seen it first-person, so that continues to drive me. I had to work hard at every sport and at everything I did if I wanted to be good at it. It was just the way I grew up and the way I went about everything I did. My work ethic is what made me successful at different things and I feel if I do not work hard, then I am not doing what is best for me and I am just wasting my time. Hard work, respect, and kindness will take you far in life as long as you continuously apply that to everything you do.
Coach Josh: What makes me want to achieve my goals is my competitiveness. If I want to be better than others or good enough to start on a team in the future, I have to put in the work--and I want to be better than others at most things I do. While winning is a great motivator, losing is a stronger one for me. I hate to lose more than I enjoy winning. This mindset pushes me to do all I can to refuse to lose.
What advice do you have for our CORE Kids to keep their head in the game even when they don’t know when their next game will be?
Coach Malia: My advice for CORE Kids is to train hard and visualize that next game. What are things you want to work on? What is something you do well? Utilize this time to become the best athlete and know that your next game is on the horizon. Watch old highlights, professional athlete interviews, or anything relating to your sport. That game you know and love will be back soon and the feeling of playing your first game back will be unforgettable!
Coach Derek: It is definitely hard to stay motivated when you do not know when your next game is going to be. I will say, if you truly love your sport or sports, then that drive should keep you going to stay focused on getting better. This break will only last a short amount of time and you have so much more time to play these sports. Everyone is going through the same thing right now but the ones who continue to stay focused and work hard at their sport will be the most successful when this is all over.
Coach Josh: My advice would be that being great at a sport does not just mean you are doing everything your coach tells you, but that you are taking your development into your own hands. You have so many drills accessible to you, whether they were the ones your coaches taught you or drills on YouTube that are available at your fingertips.
Stay Accountable
A great combination of mental tools for creating motivation is goal-setting and reflection¹. By setting our goals we are able to clearly see how much effort is still required to reach success. Reflection and tracking our progress helps us identify our improvements, which increases our confidence and drive². The more work we put into achieving even our small milestones will help us gain confidence and motivation over time.
Chase Your Potential
The late Kobe Bryant stated, “Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.” If we want to achieve something, we have to earn it. Nobody gets to greatness without hard work and effort. We may be without our favorite sports and team interactions right now, but don't let this deter you from staying focused on your athletic goals.
Success is determined by what we make of each challenge. Succeed by making your athletic goals a priority. Take a few tips from our Coaches or find your favorite ways to stay motivated to train and improve. Remember, keep yourself accountable: find what motivates you, create a plan, track your progress, and stay focused on your goals. Success will follow!
As Kobe Bryant once said, “The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win.” Set yourself up for success and prove that you deserve to win.
Stay motivated with CORE Sports Drills and Games. New videos each week on the CORE YouTube Channel.
By Rachel Hoeft, M.A., Director of Program Development, CORE Athletic Training
Rachel is the Director of Program Development at CORE Athletic Training. Rachel has completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Psychology & Leadership and Master’s Degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology. Rachel is currently completing her Doctorate in Sport & Performance Psychology. Her education in sport psychology and many years of competitive athletics help her work with athletes to identify and resolve many common issues that impact athletic performance and everyday life. Learn more and follow Rachel o Instagram @rhoeftspc.
References
Shapiro, J. L. (2009). An individualized multimodal mental skills intervention for college athletes undergoing injury rehabilitation (Order No. 3377513). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
de la Vega, R., Ruiz Barquín, R., Aguayo, E., & Márquez, S. (2017). Restoration of confidence and perception of coaches following sports injury. Cogent Psychology, 4(1), 1312047.