The Lesson Coaches Must Teach Athletes About Preparing for Practice
Coaches where many hats. However, the most important hat they where is that of a teacher. In that role of a teacher, there is one lesson above all that coaches must find the time to teach their athletes about preparing for practice. This is the lesson of mind and body harmony.
While the idea of teaching mind and body harmony sounds fancy and complex, it’s really a very basic concept. Simply stated, when an athlete learns to focus their mind on what their body needs to do for success, the two are in harmony. On the other hand, when the mind focuses on things other than what the body must do for success, the two are out of harmony.
For example, when high school athletes come to practice after a full day of school their minds and bodies often are out of harmony. A typical high school athlete will come to practice thinking about things such as friends, girlfriend/boyfriend, homework, test, playing video games, eating or sleeping. When an athlete’s mind is focused on these other things, they won’t be able to get the most out of their bodies.
Therefore, coaches not only must have a process to help their athletes bring their minds and bodies in harmony before the meat of practice begins, but they must also teach their athletes the importance of this process.