Every year teams fall short of their potential because they fail to commit to all four pillars of training needed to maximize performance: Technical (e.g. ball handling, shooting), tactical (e.g. executing plays and making reads), physical (e.g. strength, conditioning, rehab), and mental (e.g. confidence, focus, communication). While different aspects of training ideally are more emphasized than others during various times of the year, maintenance work, at the very least, needs to be put in by every player year-round. After all, time and energy are limited! For example, during the off-season strength training and skill development usually assume a larger role while during the pre-season and in-season coaches typically emphasize tactical development more heavily.
The training pillar that is usually neglected yet is as CRUCIAL, if not more, as the other three is MENTAL SKILLS TRAINING. Coaches, learn how to help your athletes become more confident, more attentive, better leaders, and stronger communicators! And don’t just do it the old-fashioned way, treating mental skills development as a mere by-product of training that can be addressed by simply making your players run when they screw up or by yelling at them to focus when they’re not paying attention. Ask a specialized mental skills coach for advice just like you would go to a strength and conditioning coach for help with getting your athletes in shape.
To get started, implement the unique exercise below on the first day of the pre-season to set a tone for holistic training and a balanced approach to WINNING!
Coaches, follow these steps:
- Bring a solidly built four-legged chair to your first pre-season team meeting.
- Have several of your players sit on the chair and safely try to balance on less than four legs.
- Then ask them if it was more challenging to balance on just a couple of legs compared to four. If they are honest, they will say yes!
- Next, tell your players that the chair represents team performance and each of the four legs represents one of the pillars of elite training. If one or more are neglected, team and individual performance is much more unstable and unbalanced.
- Then share with your players how you will address each training area throughout the year and what you expect from every individual and the team in the process.
- Tell your team that the bottom of each leg represents complete deficiency in the respective training area and the top represents ultimate excellence (Pick an NBA team or player that is most representative of the highest standard).
- Together with your players decide where your team stands currently in each of the four training areas; then mark each leg in the respective spot with a sticker that says Week 1.
- Repeat Step 7 at the end of every week of practice/games throughout the year to track weekly progress and regression. Use the exercise as an opportunity to discuss training and commitment issues and give praise for improvements, as appropriate.
- Put the chair in a highly visible place (e.g., locker room) and consider placing an object (e.g. a trophy) on the chair for symbolic meaning…By maximizing training efforts in each of the four training areas, the team will inch closer and closer to their ultimate goal!
Always, remember that a creative teaching approach like the one above encourages athletes to learn and memorize CRUCIAL information when they’ve been conditioned to view learning as a boring activity they are forced to participate in. The Four-Pillar Elite Training Approach is the ultimate key to success if you can get your team to buy in!