You’re Not Behind. You’re Just Early in the Process.

Progress in sport is like a marathon not a sprint. No matter what kind of athlete you are or what sport you play, growth happens over time. One of the greatest gifts of playing sports is that you learn the lessons of discipline and delayed gratification. More often than not, the practice, the running, and the repetitions you do today won’t make you immediately better tomorrow, instead, they pay off over the course of the season. 

If you are feeling frustrated with your progress, and you are not seeing the fruits of your labor at this moment, it’s not because you are behind. It’s because you are early in the process. 

In high school my track teammates and I would start training 24 weeks out from our State Championships. For my first marathon I began training 20 weeks before race day. My high school Varsity Soccer team held pickup games in July to begin a quest for the State Playoffs in November. 

We all want results right away, but in order to reach your new level you have to understand that growth happens over time. If you’re feeling fatigued at practice in August, give yourself some grace, as it’s likely you don’t need to be in peak shape until the late fall. If you are having a rough training week in the middle of a 20 week build, give yourself some grace, you’re still building. 

This perspective of not being behind, but simply being early in the process helped me as an athlete and a coach, and it may help you to reach your New Level too.