Pushing Through the Mid-Season Wall
It's inevitable. We play one of the most grueling schedules in all of sports. Traveling to tournaments every weekend, practicing a few times a week, often times year round (I don't agree necessarily with playing year round, but I'll save that rant for another day). We put our bodies through a lot, but even more so we put our minds and emotions through a lot.
We're now right around the halfway point of the college softball season and this is when you start to see teams do one of two things: Crumble or Take Off. The interesting part to me is that every team and every player experiences this mis-season moment, no matter how great or how terrible the first half of the year went. It's a grind and you WILL hit that wall. The physical fatigue and the mental wear and tear will catch up to you. So how do you beat it? How do you ensure you take off and finish well?
1. The Boxer Mentality - I touched on this in a previous blog, but I believe this has to be our foundational mindset. Anyone can start well, but can you finish well? The first half of the fight (the season) is information gathering. Now, it's time to deliver the knockout punch.
2. Physical Preparation and Care: to be durable you have to be strong. Being strong also helps our mind stay sharp and focused in a long season. I always recommend my athletes are lifting at least 2 if not 3 times a week while in season. After all, if you don't use your strength you will lose your strength. The next layer of this is a proper arm care routine. I cannot overstate the importance of this for the young softball player. Band work and a properly implemented plyo ball routine will not only save your arm but strengthen your arm. If you are in need of some plyo balls and a throwing program, check out High Level Throwing and you can use my code "Haylie5" at checkout.
3. Journaling - It is critical for us to process our emotions over the course of a long season. Emotions left unprocessed can lead to fatigue which will ultimately negatively impact our performance. The easiest and most effective way to process our emotions is a journal. After a game or a practice, jot down honestly how you are feeling. Are you tired? Excited? Proud? Were there any cool things your teammates did that you want to remember? Approach this with an attitude of honesty and gratitude and I guarantee some of that emotional weight you're carrying will start to fall off.
Stay the course.
Finish well.
--Halo
