As the high school season approaches the halfway point its good to take a step back and evaluate your performance over the first half of the season. I have been very fortunate over this past year to witness some incredible growth and development in many of my athletes. Some of the things they have been able to do in a relatively short period of time is truly remarkable. I have been fortunate enough to witness some athletes become completely transformed as players.
As it has a tendency to happen with younger players some of my athletes develop some frustration not because of poor numbers but rather inconsistency in their performance. Many of my athletes have made such great improvement in their abilities and they have had games early in the year that were so much better then games they had the previous season that they develop some level of frustration when they aren’t performing at this higher level every game. As such I get questions from my athletes as to why they can be inconsistent at times?
Obviously it’s difficult to maintain a high level of performance at all times. But, what is the reason behind this? Why is it that we can play at a certain level one day and the next day not even resemble the player we were the day before?
It’s important to remember that the mind plays an important if not crucial role in the performance of the body. You body’s ability to perform proper mechanics depends on your mental state at the time you are trying to perform those mechanics. Different thoughts, emotions, and mental states can either enhance or inhibit your body’s ability to perform proper mechanics. If you were to play one game in a different mental state then you did the previous game then chances are you physical performance will be affected regardless if there is something wrong with you physically.
Inconsistent performance is usually the product of inconsistencies somewhere else in your life. These inconsistencies include:
Inconsistent Work Habits- Many times athletes will be consistent with their work habits in the preseason. It’s easy to find time to get in your extra work or get to a lesson. However, once the season starts extra time becomes scarce and some athletes feel like they don’t need to get in their extra work because they are practicing or playing games everyday. The problem is, during practice and games the player rarely works on the same drills they work on during their lesson or on their own. In addition they aren’t getting the same number of swings that they got in the preseason. Even though they are spending more time on the field, the time for their personal development has reduced. As a result the athlete experiences a reduction in performance. Sometimes they do their extra work and then have some success. This leads some athletes to believe that they are “fixed”. Therefore they slack off on the work and their performance suffers. Whatever the case maybe if an athlete is inconsistent with their work habits they will be inconsistent in their performance.
Inconsistent Emotions- As much as we try to leave our problems off of the field it is extremely difficult. Anything can happen before a game to change us emotionally and add negative emotion into our life. One game might be played on a day where everything goes right. The player gets an A in a class, they have a good time with friends, whatever. That day the player is full of positive emotions and it carries over in the game. When an athlete is in this positive state it becomes easier for them to perform good mechanics. Conversely, an athlete may have a bad day and for whatever reason they show up to the field full of negativity and negative emotion. This negativity produces roadblocks in the mind and roadblocks to the body’s ability to perform proper mechanics. This can cause a reduction in performance and inconsistencies in the player’s overall performance. It’s important that the athlete do what they can to foster only positive emotions. More important it’s important that the athlete tries to stay consistent with their emotions from game to game.
Inconsistent Thoughts- An athlete who is unaware of their thoughts is setting themselves up for inconsistent performance. The thoughts we have at any given time produce either fluidity or tension in the body which obviously effects the body’s ability to perform. It’s important that athletes become aware of their thoughts at any given time. This way they can not only repeat proper physical mechanics but they can repeat good thoughts enabling their bodies to perform. This is why I always recommend that players keep a journal. With the journal they can have a record of how they performed in a game, what they were feeling and what they were thinking. They will begin to notice familiar patterns when they are performing well and then they can reproduce these same thoughts and feelings to maximize their performance and keep their performance consistent.
Inconsistent performance can be very frustrating for every athlete. Many athlete makes the mistake of looking only at physical reasons for these inconsistencies. What we must remember is that the mind controls the body. Any breakdown in physical mechanics usually has a mental origin. If you can keep your mindset consistent you will be able to keep you performance consistent. Start a journal, record your thoughts and emotions from game to game. Try to recreate the thoughts you were having when you were performing well. You will find that the more you recreate these thoughts the more consistent your performance will become.
