Day 257 – Spartan Way

The purpose of practice, in a sports setting, is to prepare players for a game. What then makes practice good or bad? If we look to Kobe Bryant he said, “It’s not about the number of hours you practice, it’s about the hours your mind is present during the practice”.

My AND is this- If you aren’t present, then you’re not playing the same way you would play during the game. We don’t get better by practicing one way and playing another, yet we see it all the time. BTL practice is supposed to be a place to practice so that when with clients, players, or teammates, you can apply what you’ve practiced in BTL. BTL and sports are very similar in many ways. Some people show up to practice passive or tuned out. If you want to be great, remember Kobe Bryant’s words, be present and lean into building mental toughness through practice.

The real ‘freakin magic’, thanks Chet, is found by the players and coaches that show up present. They have put themselves through self-induced stress, the good kind, and are asking to be pushed further to become better. These are the teammates that I believe when I see them in BTL practice. As I reminded a BTL team recently remember this- We don’t do the work at BTL to write a summary of the things we have learned. Rather, we do the work at BTL by applying what we learn to our life. These are the steps toward building a mentally tough team.