Four Steps to Sports Success

Photo: Keven Law | License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Over the past several days, I've labored over a post.

In it, I'm striving to articulate a teaching cue designed to enhance the dynamism of a phase ("entry" through "catch") of the freestyle stroke.

I finally realized that I can't "drill down" to the precisely correct metaphor without getting in the water to feel the movement for myself. (I haven't been able to get in the pool in a while; and it may be a while longer, alas, until I can.)

I've "lost the feel" for that movement. In fancier terms: the neuronal pathway that governs my performance of that motor skill part has weakened.

So when I finally do get back in the pool, I'll need to work on reestablishing, "regrooving" the movement pattern I wish to teach.

Only then will the right words reveal themselves.

What's the take-home lesson?

Since this blog is about your development as an athlete, not my struggles as a coach, here's what this means for you:

In your sport training sessions, you need to 1) constantly attend to the details of what you're doing (technique).

Next, 2) introduce a variation into your movement pattern, one that might plausibly help you go faster (or throw farther, jump higher, increase your free throw percentage).

If you can't think of a potentially fruitful variation, ask a coach.

Next, 3) evaluate the results of this "mini-experiment." Did adopting Variation X actually make you go faster, throw farther, etc.?

If you're unsure, ask a coach.

Finally, once you've established that Variation X did induce a performance improvement, 4) do it more often, more consistently. Train it to ingrain it.

That's one cycle of improvement. Now try a new variation… (How does the saying go? "Lather, rinse, repeat.") So

1) Feel it; 2) change it; 3) check it; 4) train it!

…and you're on your way to attaining your utmost performance!