What Is Your Why???

They call it the grind for a reason. Because day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, doing the same thing over and over gets gritty. It gets chalky, it looses its flavor and fails to taste as good.

Last week I was eating my go to lunch (protien bar with a protien shake) for about the 10th consequtive week and I thought, ‘why am I doing this?’

I’m sure at some point you’ve thought the same. Why do we go from sport to sport, from practice to practice, from game to game?

Fortunately, I lived on the other side of this dynamic, as an athlete, and I can tell you, my parents sacrifice completely changed the course of my life (I actually called them recently to tell them thank you!).

Their sacrifice has shaped me inside and out, given me purpose and provided me with limitless connections and opportunity. What a gift!

But my parents didn’t just dip their toe in the water of athletics, they supported my brother and I going ALL-IN when it came to athletic participation.

I refer to this as enhanced athletic commitment and if you are reading this right now you likely have employed enhanced athletic commitment with your child or are thinking about it.

So what is your why?

Everytime you trudge up another set of bleachers to find your seat for the game, or plug in your gps to find some crazy location for their next practice, or rework your budget to account for more weekend team travel costs…what story are you telling yourself???

Well in case you are in need of a pep talk, allow me to remind you of some reasons why enhanced athletic commitment pays dividends for young people.

Character

‘Not every kid is meant to be a college athlete…’

What does this even mean?

People use this as an excuse to not be all in when it comes to athletics. But this logic would be like sayiing not every person is meant to be a billionaire so why create a budget?

Had I never played college or pro ball my life would have still been forever changed by a stauch commitment to being my best in sports. More specifically, athletics modified my inner-self in a monumental way.

My athletic background has allowed me to become prone to hard-work and perserverance. Whether it was staying late after practice, getting up early on weekends or living across the globe where I had no friends or acquaintances, or even losing my career and making my way through law school; I have learned to be tougher than tough situations.

Sheer mental toughness, grit, determination are not things you can buy for your child, and kind of like an rainy day fund you never know when you are going to need these skills in your proverbial bank.

Health & Wellness

We are all a product of our habits. This is why we teach kids to brush their teeth, eat their veggies and say ‘thank you.’ These all represent salubrious practices that will bode well for their future selves.

Implementing the habit of regular physical exertion and exhaustion not only builds young bodies, but also young minds. With the waning of physical education being taught in most schools, students are missing out on creating the habit of physical activity.

I refer to this as athletic education becuase like academic education, it is fundamental to a young person’s overall growth AND future success.

Physical training obviously enhances body type, balance, and strength. But it also signifanctly enhances confidence, which is a game changer for developing children.

Social Skills

Chick Fil A bases the foundation of their world-renown customer service on three principles: make eye contact, smile, and speak with energy. Obviously they are good at what they do, but the point is that soft skills lead to sustainable success.

While many are focused on sports-specific skills, it is the intangibles that your kid is gaining which will eventually take their life to the next level.

Becoming a member of a team, self-awareness, fulfilling a role, reliability to the group, dealing with difficult people, developing friendships, overcoming haters, etc. are all critical life skills that translate into every area of our lives.

Recognition

As I said earlier, I often hear the phrase: ‘Not every kid is meant to be a college athlete.’ While statistically this may be true, many, in fact most, kids are meant to be high school athletes.

As an Athletic Director I come across student-athletes who have been transformed by the opportunity to develop, showcase and become recognized for their talents at the interscholastic level.

Your average high school athlete who matriculates from Jr. High, improves as a player and becomes a Varsity starter or key contributor by their Senior year will learn that hard work and perserverance is a real thing that pays major dividends.

“Many, in fact most, kids are meant to be high school athletes.”

They will see their team’s posters splattered across school hallways, pep rallys thrown in their honor, and nowadays maybe even a billboard or NIL deal!

To recieve this type of attention for doing something positive creates a dopamine that causes most to continue to seek approval by doing good. It also teaches young people that when you work hard, positive things can follow.

Often times their peers know them for being a good athlete, maybe even their girlfriend or boyfriend has been attracted to them because of this dynamic.

Your child’s ability to not only identify their unique skills and strengths, but also be recognized by others for them, is yet another life-changing dynamic that enhanced sports participation provides.

So pack that snack bag, bring your lap-top and prepare for more long nights and weekends, but know your enhanced commitment to athletics will in one way or another lead to enhanced results.

Dr. Jason Parker

JP3 Training & Performance