Becoming a top athlete takes a lot of dedication and hard work and the work doesn’t stop when an athlete walks off the field. For young athletes in particular, sticking to an off-field schedule can be tough, because there are so many distractions and so many other things that they want to do, but it’s the dedicated athletes who will one the ones who succeed. Whatever type of sport it is that you excel at, there is always something else to be learnt and something that you could be doing to improve your game. Here’s a list of ten activities that all players could be doing, off the field, to become a better athlete.
Study the rules
Understanding the rules could make the difference between a victory and a loss, so it really is worth taking the time to learn the rules inside out. Even some of the top pro players have been caught out simply because they didn’t know the rules of their game well enough.
Establish a workout plan suitable for your sport
Establish a solid plan for your off-field workouts and then you will have goals to aim for and milestones that can be achieved. In most sports, working out is going to mean weight training, because that will make you bigger and faster. You should keep a record of your workouts as well, so that you monitor your progress and you can celebrate your successes.
Study the pros
You can learn a lot by studying video footage of the professionals who are at the top of their game in your sport. However, it is important that you study pros that have a similar physique and speed to yourself, or you might just wind up trying to copy moves that are not physically possible for you.
Eat a healthy diet
It has been estimated that what you eat is responsible for 80% of your muscle growth and training only accounts for 20%, so it’s vital that you eat a healthy, protein rich diet to fuel muscle growth and improve your endurance.
Study video of your own performance
If your team isn’t using endzone video technology, such as Hi Pod or the HiRise Camera system, then you are missing out on what could be an important part of your off-field training. Watching video footage of games and practices allows you to study your performance from the prospective of another person, and that can provide you with invaluable insights into the areas of your game that could be improved.
Consider the coach’s feedback
Off-field time can be used to revisit and consider the feedback that you have received from your coach. If your team is using endzone video technology and video coaching software, like VideoChamp Sports, your coach will be able to send you video footage of you playing, which you can be used to illustrate visually what the coach has told you verbally.
Endurance training
It is estimated that most athletes are only performing at about 85-90% of optimum capacity by the fourth quarter of any field sports, so endurance training is vital if you want to be one of the few athletes on the field that can perform at 100% for the entire duration of a game. Quite simply, the more you train at the same pace that you would play a game, the more prepared your body will be to last the full distance.
Get enough sleep
Getting enough sleep allows your body to recover and it will give you more energy to train and play. Your body does most of its repair work when you are asleep, so keep to a regular sleep pattern and you will be able to train harder and perform better.
Study the tactics of opponents
You can prepare yourself mentally for an upcoming opponent by studying endzone video footage of their past games. That will give you a heads up on the plays they are likely to make and which of their team members are likely to cause you a problem.
Set yourself goals
Use some of your off-field time to set yourself some goals, and then break those big goals into smaller, achievable goals for each season. Your goals give you something to aim for, they motivate you. They are a benchmark against which you can measure your progress.
The important thing to remember if you want to succeed in sport is that you can be doing something to improve yourself as an athlete every single day of the week. That’s why it’s only the truly dedicated athletes that make it to the pro leagues and reach the very top of their sport.