The Choice That Causes Average Athletes to get Average Results
Average athletes are average for a reason. It’s not luck, it’s not nature, and it’s not nurture. It’s one thing and one thing only. CHOICES! Simply stated, average athletes make average choices.
It’s not that hard to do the research it takes to identify the behavior patterns of elite athletes. There are books like Peak by Anders Ericsson, Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin, and Developing Talent in Young People by Benjamin S. Bloom among others that give you enough details to start one’s search. From there, an athlete can easily define the behavior routines that elite athletes in specific sports consistently follow.
Then, once an athlete identifies the patterns and routines that make an elite athlete elite, they can also identify the repeatable behaviors they must model to have that same level of success.
It’s at this point where making progress from average to good to great comes down to choices. An athlete is either willing to do what it takes or not. Unquestionably, elite athletes are willing to do things that average athletes aren’t willing to do.
An athlete is either willing to consistently repeat the behaviors that are a requirement for success or they’re not. If they’re not, this must be totally fine for the coaches and parents in their life. No need for anyone in their support system to be delusional about this. It will only cause everyone involved angst and grief. It’s just fine to play sports for fun and not care about being elite.
However, if being elite is truly what the athlete wants but just can’t seem to find the motivation to put the extra work in, it’s time to make an investment in a mindset change using mental skills coaching.