Youth Training- “What a Champion Looks Like” Series (Part 4 of 8)
The OZ of a Champion: Routine
If you’ve seen the classic “The Wizard of Oz” you’ll remember the iconic scene of the four main characters before the Oz: the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Dorothy and the Lion trembling in fear of the projection of “The Great Oz” that appeared large and mysterious. Only when Dorothy’s little dog, Toto, tugs the curtain to reveal what is behind does the whole mood change and the trepidation replaced with curiosity. Today we’re going to do the same thing when we look at sport champions. We’re going to pull aside the curtain to see what’s behind and answer the question: Why are they SO GOOD?!
To help us a little, the sports psychologist Bob Rotella reveals one thing he has learned about great athletes in this clip (in referring to LeBron James):
“Once an athlete has learned a skill—as LeBron had learned to shoot a basketball—he needs to trust that skill, focus on the target, and let the shot go without thinking about how to do it or being concerned about the result. In slightly more scientific terms, the subconscious areas of our minds do the best job of controlling motor skills. When the conscious brain gets involved, our bodies tend to become awkward. Doubt has a way of turning on that conscious brain, which is why confident shooters are better than shooters who lack confidence. A great deal of my work with athletes revolves around teaching them how to keep the conscious mind inactive or quiet when they’re performing.” (1)
Two things stand out to me in this paragraph:
–> shoot without thinking about it
AND
–> not be concerned with the result
How do you accomplish these? The only way to perfect a movement is to simply practice it correctly, A LOT. So many times, that your subconscious mind knows how to do it every time. I covered ways to work on correct movements in the article: Mastering Your Fundamentals.
Diving Deeper
But diving in a little deeper than “focus or just practice” is the concept of developing a ROUTINE.
A routine is a repeatable series of steps followed on a regular basis. It is the HOW of what you need to do. The more frequent the repetition, the more ingrained the routine becomes in the mind. To the point where we use the phrase “I could do this in my sleep!”.
You need to develop a warm up routine. This is your warm up, every time. Your warm up needs to do three things:
- Warm up your core temperature and elevate your heart rate (going for a short run, jump rope, agility ladder, etc.)
- Mobilize your joints and muscles (i.e. move your hips, your shoulders, dynamic (or moving) stretches for the legs, arms, torso)
- Practice movements you will use in your game or training session (ball dribbling, ball passing, shooting, volleys, serves, etc.)
Your warm up should last 10-20 minutes and be the same exercises, repeated in the same order, for the same amount of repetitions.
When your warm up is the same every time, you will be able to judge how you are feeling at the beginning of each training session.
Are you tight?
Are you tired?
Does it take more effort than usual to do the same routine OR do you feel great and everything moves easily?
The answers to these questions can be found accurately when you repeat THE SAME ROUTINE every time. It will also help you make adjustments so that despite how your body is feeling that day, you can still perform at the same level when it counts.
Practicing Your Key Skills
Develop a series of repeatable exercises for each major skill you want to improve. In tennis, skill work will focus on the forehand, backhand, volley, serve, and return. Based on your age and skill level, you can repeat a routine of 3-5 exercises for each movement. Begin with 10-20 minutes of work specifically for each move. As you master those exercises and as time permits, increase your volume. For example, Optimum Tennis suggests five exercises for improving the forehand:
- Down the Line
- Up and Back
- Cross Court
- One Corner
- Serve and Volley
As a beginner, you can work each drill for 2 minutes for a total of 10 minutes of skill work on the forehand. As your skill improves, you can lengthen the amount of time spent on each drill or even dedicate a whole skill session to this one movement.
The point is to develop a ROUTINE for each movement. A series of repeatable drills for either a set number of repetitions OR a set amount of time.
As you repeat this routine regularly, your skill level will begin to improve, and you will be laying the foundation of a habit that all champions possess.
Keep moving!
Coach Priscilla
1- http://fortune.com/2015/05/12/lebron-james-attitude-success/
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