The hardest part of coaching young athletes, in my mind, is teaching consistency and commitment. I need them to value training and value punching in the clock day after day. In the days of instant gratification through the internet and technology, it becomes harder and harder to value the process as we rely more and more on material devices.
Fortunately, athletics can never become instant gratification, as it relies on your body and brains ability to stress and adapt. I say fortunately because you will not find anything worth while in life that you don't have to put in a significant amount of time and effort. Athletics CAN BE a tremendous tool that teaches and ingrains these principles.
How do we teach this? Here are my suggestions.
Connect- Show them that you truly care and will not judge.
Ignite- Make it an enjoyable experience through your environment
Educate- Teach them how the body and brain learn.
Relate- Find stories that ingrain your message
Progress not Perfect- Should be at the heart of your program.
