Youth Training: What a Champion Looks Like (Part 1 of 8)
What a Champion Looks Like: K.I.S.S.
Are you familiar with the acronym K.I.S.S? Keep It Simple Sweetheart
Isn’t it hard to do that? Doesn’t it feel like the world is just trying to complicate your life, even if you’re trying to keep it simple?
We fight for simple because we realize, relief comes when life gets simple. When the buzz of life silences and you can focus on just what you need to and nothing else… It feels great!
And in your athletic life, focusing on the simple- does the same thing. It prepares you for when the clock is ticking, when you feel pressed, hurried and pressured.
The perfect throw in. The ultimate goal shot. A timely pass.
It doesn’t have to be complicated, because doing the simple well, really well, is what keeps you grounded when things get complicated. And critical.
If you are competent in using organizational tools like a planner and hone your skills of metering out your time for deadlines and obligations, when life gets crazy, you have the structure you need to keep everything running smooth.
In the same way, if you’ve been practicing your goal shot, and perfecting your rhythm, your breathing, your foot placement, trajectory, force and balance, you’ll be much better prepared for the game changing opportunity when it arises.
During the down time of off season or in between games, lies an opportunity- to return to your basics.
To slow down, simplify, and practice the fundamentals. All great champions practice their fundamentals.
Questions to ask while working on your fundamentals:
Where should your feet be planted? Your center of gravity be?
What part of the movement is explosive? Is controlled?
How should you land so impact is minimized?
How do you explode so your force is maximized?
Remind yourself what it feels like, what it looks like, to do those things well. Watch those who have perfected the move and mimic their motion until yours looks like theirs.
Break that movement down to its pieces, its ingredients, and slow down to get each one just right. Burn off the dross of bad posture, poor muscle activation, wrong muscle load, incorrect timing, and imbalances to purify your form.
Then, put it all back together again. But this time, it’s better. Much better.
And then, with your fundamental movement improved, you can jump back into the fray of complicated. Grounded by the technique you’ve developed during your K.I.S.S. time. At our gym, we call this a skill session. And we dedicate time to practice movements every time our athletes come to the gym so we can keep it simple and dial in great form.
With your busy life, you may have to part some very big waves and keep forces pressing in on you at bay in order to make the time for the simple fundamental work.
But in the end, it is worth it!
Make the time to reset, revisit or start anew.
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