A quick thought on motivation
Action often precedes motivation.
We think of it the other way around; somebody’s speech inspires you and then you take action.
Sure, things can start that way. But, motivation is fleeting.
Motivation might help you initiate a project, but it alone won’t help you keep going in the long run.
Having the discipline to initiate action, however small, breeds motivation.
Being disciplined enough to walk in the gym and start a light warm-up often breeds motivation to start doing more intense exercise.
Being disciplined enough to sit down at the computer and start typing something, anything, often breeds motivation to write a good article.
So, don’t wait for the motivation to kick in. Take action now, motivation will follow.
A deep dive on we vs me.
During track season a few years ago, one of my athletes pulled her hamstring.
The track team was good. They had a real chance to win a WPIAL title and she was by far the best sprinter on the team.
They had their first team-playoff meet 3 weeks after the injury and the coach really wanted her to run.
But, she was a senior and track was really just a side gig for her. She was committed to play Division-1 soccer and reported to campus just a few weeks after the track season would end.
It was clearly in her track team’s best interest for her to rush her rehab and try to come back quickly to help them win a WPIAL title.
But, it definitely wasn’t in her best interest. If she came back early and pulled her hamstring again, the set-back would be significant and she would report to campus injured and unathletic.
What’s the right move?
1. I before We?
Would you rather be a superstar on a winless team or ride the bench on a state championship team?
I ran that poll via Instagram and this newsletter a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked to see that over 70% of people chose to be the best player on a terrible team instead of being a state champion.
Should I really be surprised, though?
Social psychology differentiates between individualistic and collectivist cultures.
Individualism values personal independence. Individualistic cultures promote people seeing themselves as separate from others and defining themselves by their personal traits.
Collectivism values personal interdependence. Collectivistic cultures promote people seeing themselves as connected to others and defining themselves by their relationship with others.
America is heavily dominated by individualism. Why should I expect team sports to be an anomaly?
Coaches and Hollywood movies both promote an “always team-first” mindset. I don’t know if that has ever really been the case, though. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.
I do know that’s not the case now.
Even if collectivism did reign supreme, athletes play on so many different teams now. Which one takes precedence?
You can’t be team-first for every team you play on all of the time. Those teams are going to have opposing needs sometimes.
I think it’s important to be clear that collectivism and individualism are not dichotomous. It’s very possible (and usually the case) to be team-first in some situations and me-first in others.
My favorite example of this is Jalen Hurts in 2017. He led Alabama to the national championship, but got benched in the second half. He handled it like a pro and did everything in his power to help the team win.
He was genuinely happy when they came out on top, despite getting benched. It was the ultimate team-first attitude.
He didn’t win the starting job in 2018 at Alabama and kept his team-first mindset.
However, in 2019, he needed to do what was in his best interest. He transferred to Oklahoma, put together an incredible season, and has spring-boarded into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
He took a me-first approach and left Alabama.
I’m not here to comment on the rightness or wrongness of individualism in team sports. In fact, there is no right answer.
But, I think that it’s important to take an objective look at the framework of our youth sports landscape so that you and your athlete can successfully navigate it.
2. There are too many cooks in the kitchen
Main high school sport team. Secondary high school sport team. Local travel team. National travel team. Private skill instructor. College recruiters.
That’s a lot of people and a lot of opinions. Those opinions are almost never in alignment. You know who suffers? Your athlete.
If you were baking a cake, how well would it work if 3 different chefs put 3 different recipes in the same bowl, mixed it together, and threw it in the oven?
That’s what happens when your athlete goes from his basketball team lift on Mondays and Wednesdays to his baseball team lifts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
You can’t be all in on every plan that each of your 4 coaches puts together. You’ll be over-baked and burnt out.
This is an affliction of the overachiever. The athlete who wants to do everything right all the time gets the raw end of the deal.
Taking a 100% collectivist approach to team sports sounds noble, but you’re not going to optimize your own long-term potential.
If I’ve learned anything in my years of coaching it’s that these chronic overachievers aren’t going to stop on their own.
It normally only gets through when the parent and an informed coach sit her down and say “you’re doing too dang much- you need to learn to say no.”
Saying no is so hard. Someone will probably be mad.
But, if you’re trying to serve everyone, you’re probably serving no one.
An extra note on team lifts first
If you’ve trained with me and had team lifts at the same time period, you’ve heard me say “team stuff comes first.”
I’ve always been adamant about it. Team lifts come first, my job is to fill the buckets that aren’t being filled there.
I’m still a believer in that, but I think there are way more exceptions than there used to be.
If you have two different team lifts going on at the same time, which one takes priority? Sometimes you just have to decide you’re not going to attend stuff.
If you have lifting being designed by an unqualified person, it might be outright dangerous to go. I’ve heard some absolutely crazy workouts being put together that are straight negligent.
The weight room can be a dangerous place if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Bad coaches do exist and sometimes you draw the short straw.
Sometimes you have to put your foot down and do what’s in your best interest, not someone else’s.
More from me…
- Check out the most recent podcast episode where I give you a 4-step process to start actually gaining weight. Just click here!
- If you think this newsletter doesn’t suck (or maybe you even enjoy reading it), I would really appreciate you sharing it with some other parents that might benefit from reading it. You can just send them to gtperformance.co/free and they can subscribe there!
Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about long-term athlete development!
Best,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS
The information in these newsletters are meant for educational purposes only and not intended to be medical advice. Don’t self-treat, go seek help from a qualified professional.