Win The Off-season!

So it’s about that time again. The world’s craziest year in high school sports is coming to a close which means summer is just around the corner. To many high schoolers, summer means chillin on the beach all day, surfing and fishing, working their summer jobs, and chasing their crush around town trying to catch their eye. BUT to the elite, summer means more free time to improve! 

Very few teams get to end their season with a win. There are actually more people that end their season with a loss and many people can point out exactly what moment or what play it was that ended their season. The truth is, championships are won in the off-season. Yup! That dropped touchdown that would have won the game last season could’ve been caught if you ran more in the summer and you weren’t so tired when the ball was thrown your way. That breakaway layup that changed the game last year could’ve been prevented if you spent more time focusing on your speed in the off-season. That pop fly that brought the outfielder to the warning track might have carried the extra few yards it needed to be a home run if you focused a little more on strength training in the off-season. 

Don’t get me wrong—the idea isn’t to not have any fun or be with your friends this summer. Those things are also important. But there is plenty of time each day of the summer for work, play, AND improvement. It is never just one play that makes or breaks a game, series, or season. It’s the accumulation of choices throughout the year that come to fruition during a big play. If you worked out all off-season and got the edge on your opponent, then you’ll be more likely to be successful on the field or court. Every day you have the opportunity to be great. Every day you are moving up or down the ladder. If you are practicing that shot you missed last season or going for a jog in the morning before you go to work, you’re moving up the ladder, you’re getting the edge. If you’re sitting back and sleeping in until you go to work and then staying up late to socialize, you are falling down the ladder and your opponent is getting the edge on you. When you start falling down the ladder it is that much harder to reverse the direction. Before you know it, the season has started and you are working to get just as good as you were in the previous season. You’ll feel good about the progress you made over the few months of that season, but imagine how much progress you’d make if you worked to improve year round. One unprepared player on a team is all it takes to lose a game. One player who could have been great but didn’t work hard in the off-season has an impact on the entire team. One off-season can truly change your life. You can work hard and allow yourself to be great, score the game winning goal and proceed to play for the rest of your life. Or you can relax throughout the off-season, not be trusted with the ball during big games, and risk losing the drive to keep playing. If you don’t maintain drive,  you are never reaping the benefits that come from improving your personal game. 

Kobe Bryant is well known for being one of the greatest basketball players of all time and it is attributed to him being the hardest working athlete in the league. He was known to work out from 4:00am to 11:00am, and he refused to leave the gym until he made 800 shots! It’s that dedication and determination that lead him to be trusted by his teammates to take the shots in the final seconds of a game. He worked so hard in the off-season that when those opportunities came up, he had the confidence and ability to guarantee success. 

Sure you MIGHT not be the next Kobe Bryant, but if you don’t work as hard as you can—you DEFINITELY won’t be. 

Last but not least—be thoughtful about who you choose to spend your time with—be selective. Not everyone has the same goals as you, and not everyone actually wants to see you succeed. There are a lot of people that can be jealous of your success and want to bring you down. You need to rise above it. When those people are calling you a “try hard,” embrace it. Nobody got to the next level or reached their full potential by taking it easy. Every successful athlete, heck, every successful person in life is a “try hard.” To be the best you must be the hardest worker. And you must surround yourself with both motivated and supportive people.

Nobody becomes great by accident. Size, natural strength, and prototypical body types have nothing to do with it. There are examples of players in every sport where they don’t fit the stereotype or build that we as a society think is ideal or acceptable BUT you can’t see their heart or their effort. You can’t see the countless hours outside the house shooting or the early mornings they got up to go to the gym before work. You can’t see the sweat they poured on the fields while practicing alone. No one can say you can’t be great besides yourself. Allow yourself to be great. Work for it. Earn it. And when the time comes next season you will be prepared, confident, and successful.  

- Coach Tom