Athletes today face unique challenges in terms of distractions, and shutting out the noise that prevents them from focusing on what is important to them. A huge source of these distractions is without a doubt caused by social media. Now I know what you’re thinking “ok boomer”, but before you classify me as an old head who’s out of touch with gen-Z’ers, hear me out.
My experience developing youth athletes runs 10 years deep, which has allowed me to see so many athletes come and go. Kids with superior talent fizzle out, and kids with extraordinary work ethic exceed expectations. As the years fly by and times change so do the ways that athletes showcase their skills, or have access to information that can enhance their development. These are good things, and social media has played an important role in this. But like most things there’s a bad side to this as well, and that’s where being mindful plays an important role.
At its core, being mindful is about increasing your presence and or consciousness in the present moment (the definition of consciousness is the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings). This means an athlete’s ability to be completely immersed in what he or she is doing in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. Sounds pretty simple right? Simple yes, but not always easy. Mindfulness requires athletes to value the process, to see the importance of even the most mundane aspect of their development. This can be hard for a generation of young athletes who typically (through social media) see the end result and less often the process.
Mindfulness is soaking up the coaching cues during a speed training session, pushing yourself in the weight room, studying every detail of your opponent in film, practicing with the goal of proper execution, and studying for a test with the intention of learning. Mindfulness is the understanding that there is value in all that we do that can ultimately lead to being our best selves. This value transcends athletics and pours into everything we do as human beings.
Imagine the athlete, better yet, the person you’d become if you applied that type of energy into everything that you do. There’s power in being mindful that far exceeds what many athletes believe they are capable of, but it’s also very easy to ignore. It’s easy to ignore being mindful when your scrolling through the gram and seeing a hooper with crazy handles getting buckets from downtown, or a reel of a baseball player hitting 3 homeruns in a row, or how about the all too common “blessed and humbled to receive an offer from….”. As cool as these things are, they are often the end result of the many days of mindfulness practice that these athletes undergo in order to showcase these feats.
Ignoring the power of mindfulness can create real anxiety in some athletes who feel the need to measure up to others achievements. Thirsty for the shine, going viral, or telling the world they’ve received a scholarship offer, many athletes ignore the opportunities to be mindful and therefore miss the opportunities to earn their glory.
Look, there’s nothing wrong with accomplishing something great and sharing it with the world. But you can’t skip the commitment to the often monotonous grind that is getting better. And you can’t do it just to say you did it either. Mindfulness is approaching each task knowing there’s opportunity for growth, and most times it’s done when no one is watching. When you tap into being a mindful athlete, you tap into your power, your potential realized, and you become unstoppable.
Owner, Boost Training Systems
Level 1 & 2 Coach Bommarito Performance
CSCS, USAW
