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How well do you perform when your back is up against the wall or when you are playing an elimination game?

Some athletes perform better when there is a sense of urgency or perceived pressure. We often call these athletes clutch in those situations.

However, are all athletes who play better when their backs are against the wall clutch? How about an athlete who underperforms against a lower-ranked opponent but kicks it into gear late in the game to steal the victory? Is that athlete clutch?

For example, if a Top-10 tennis player competes against a player ranked No. 200, generally speaking, the player with the better ranking should be able to win handily. Let’s set the stage, the top-10 player loses the first set 6-0 and finds himself down 4-0 in the second set.

He is not necessarily being outplayed as underperforming due to a lack of effort and focus. Late in the second set, the Top-10 player kicks it into gear and wins the second set 6-4 and the third set 6-2 for the victory.

Is that player clutch because he won or just an athlete who overcame underperformance early in the competition?

Underperformance is caused by taking another opponent lightly or thinking you can magically flip a switch to turn the game around. If you wait to give your complete preparation, effort, and focus, often, it will be too late.

Underperformance can be avoided by adopting a champion mindset to every game or competition. A champion mindset approaches every competition with equal importance, whether you are competing against a top-ranked opponent or a person ranked 200th, a team with a winning record, or a winless team.

In their Stanley Cup playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers were down three games and facing elimination from the playoffs…

The Panthers underperformed throughout the series and lost Game 3, 5-1. Despite averaging a league-high 4.11 goals per game during the regular season, the Panthers have scored only three goals through three games in the second round of the playoffs.

Florida coach Andrew Brunette talked about the team’s underperformance throughout the playoff series.

BRUNETTE: “[The Lightning] have more will and more desire than we do. We’re a good team when (our) backs are against the wall, and it looks bleak. Hopefully, we can find some energy and some passion and some joy.”

Having the ability to perform is not enough to perform at your peak. To be on top of your game, you need to approach each game as a playoff game, a championship meet, or a high-level tournament.

Start by understanding what causes you to underperform in competition. Do you prepare differently depending upon the opponent? Do you feel more pressure to be perfect? Are you worried about disappointing others?

When you understand what leads to underperforming, you can take steps to improve…

Most of the time, athletes underperform due to fear of failure. That means you get too worried about outcomes and what others think about your performance.

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By Patrick Cohn

2. Understanding the differences: High school vs. college athletics
2.1 The increased level of competition
When transitioning to college sports, one of the most significant differences you'll encounter is the heightened level of competition. College teams consist of some of the most talented athletes from around the country or even the world. Be prepared to work harder than ever before and constantly push yourself to improve. The intensity of training and competition will require a higher level of commitment, both physically and mentally.

2.2 The higher expectations and standards
College athletics demand a higher level of performance and dedication. Coaches and teammates will have higher expectations for your skills and abilities. You'll be competing against athletes who have been playing their respective sports for years and have honed their craft. This means that you'll need to step up your game and continuously strive for improvement. The coaching staff will push you to reach your full potential, and you'll also need to take personal responsibility for your growth as an athlete.

3. Preparing academically: Balancing sports and studies in college
3.1 Importance of time management and organization
Managing both sports and academics in college requires excellent time management skills. Balancing practices, games, and workouts with classes and study time can be challenging. It's essential to create a schedule and prioritize your responsibilities. By effectively managing your time, setting realistic goals, and staying organized, you'll be better equipped to handle the demands of both athletics and academics.

3.2 Seeking academic support and resources
College campuses provide a wide range of academic support and resources to help student-athletes succeed. Take advantage of tutoring services, study groups, and academic advisors who specialize in working with athletes. They can provide guidance on course selection, help you create study plans, and offer strategies for maximizing your academic performance while juggling your sports commitments. Don't hesitate to ask for assistance when needed – it's a sign of strength, not weakness.

4. Navigating the recruitment process: Strategies for securing college sports scholarships
4.1 Researching colleges and athletic programs
Securing a college sports scholarship requires thorough research. Take the time to explore different colleges and their athletic programs to find the best fit for you. Consider factors such as the team's competitiveness, coaching staff, facilities, and academic offerings. Reach out to current student-athletes or coaches to gather insights and gather as much information as possible to make an informed decision.

4.2 Showcasing skills and achievements to college coaches
When it comes to the recruitment process, showcasing your skills and achievements is crucial. Attend showcases, tournaments, and camps where college coaches can see you in action. Create an athletic resume highlighting your accomplishments, and make sure to include relevant statistics, awards, and notable performances. Additionally, maintain a strong online presence by sharing videos of your games or competitions. Engage with coaches through emails, phone calls, or visits, and express your interest in their program.

Transitioning to college sports from high school may feel overwhelming at times, but it's also an opportunity for personal growth and incredible experiences. Remember to stay focused, work hard, and enjoy the journey. And most importantly, embrace the challenges with a positive attitude and a drive to succeed. Good luck!
5. Adapting to higher competition levels: Training and conditioning for college athletics
5.1 Understanding the physical demands of college sports
When transitioning from high school to college sports, one of the biggest adjustments is the increase in competition level. College sports are faster, more intense, and require a higher level of physical fitness. It's important to understand these increased demands and prepare your body accordingly.

In college, you'll be facing athletes who have been training rigorously for years, so it's crucial to work on your strength, speed, endurance, and agility. Focus on developing explosive power and improving your overall athleticism. Incorporate exercises that mimic the movements and intensities of your particular sport.

5.2 Developing a personalized training plan
To meet the challenges of college athletics, it's essential to have a personalized training plan. Work with your coaches and trainers to create a program that suits your specific needs and goals. This plan should include a combination of strength training, cardiovascular exercises, and sport-specific drills.

Remember to listen to your body and allow for proper recovery. Overtraining can lead to injuries and hinder your performance. Incorporate rest days into your training schedule and prioritize adequate sleep and nutrition.

6. Adjusting to the college sports environment: Team dynamics and expectations
6.1 Building relationships with teammates and coaches
A successful transition to college sports isn't just about improving your physical abilities; it's also about building strong relationships with your teammates and coaches. Take the time to get to know your teammates and find common ground. Encourage and support each other both on and off the field.

Developing a positive relationship with your coaches is equally important. Be open to constructive criticism and show a willingness to learn and improve. Building trust and respect within your team will enhance both your individual and collective performance.

6.2 Embracing the team culture and values
Every college sports team has its own culture and values. Embracing these will help you feel connected and invested in the team. Understand and abide by the team's rules, expectations, and code of conduct.

Contributing to a positive team culture means being accountable, showing respect, and being a good teammate. Celebrate both individual and team achievements, and learn from setbacks together. Remember, the bonds you form with your teammates will be some of the most valuable aspects of your college sports experience.

7. Managing time and commitments: Finding a balance between sports, academics, and social life
7.1 Prioritizing and scheduling responsibilities
College sports can be demanding, and it's crucial to find a balance between your athletic commitments, academic responsibilities, and social life. Prioritize your time by making a schedule that allows for dedicated study periods, practice, and social activities. Be disciplined and stick to your schedule as much as possible.

Stay organized by using tools like calendars, to-do lists, and study planners. Communicate with your professors and coaches if you need extra support or accommodations. Remember, finding a balance is about making choices and managing your time effectively.

7.2 Making time for self-care and relaxation
While it's important to maintain a busy schedule, don't forget to make time for self-care and relaxation. Take breaks, engage in activities you enjoy, and find healthy ways to relieve stress. Physical and mental well-being are essential for peak performance.

Prioritize getting enough sleep, eating nutritious meals, and staying hydrated. Find outlets outside of sports and academics to unwind and recharge. Remember, taking care of yourself is not only beneficial for your overall well-being but also enhances your performance on the field.

8. Overcoming obstacles and seeking support: Coping with setbacks and leveraging resources in college sports
8.1 Dealing with injuries or performance slumps
Setbacks are inevitable in college sports. Whether it's an injury or a slump in performance, it's essential to approach these challenges with resilience and determination. Seek support from your coaches, trainers, and teammates. They can provide guidance, encouragement, and help you navigate the road to recovery.

Focus on the aspects of your training that you can control and modify. Work closely with your medical team to rehabilitate injuries properly. If you're experiencing a performance slump, analyze your techniques, and identify areas for improvement. Remember, setbacks are opportunities for growth and learning.

8.2 Utilizing campus resources for mental and emotional well-being
College campuses offer a wealth of resources to support student-athletes' mental and emotional well-being. Take advantage of these resources, such as sports psychologists, counseling services, and support groups. They can help you develop coping strategies, manage stress, and maintain a healthy mindset.

Don't hesitate to reach out for help when needed. Seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness. Remember, college sports is not just about physical abilities; it's also about nurturing your mental and emotional resilience to thrive in all aspects of your life.In conclusion, transitioning from high school to college sports is a significant step that requires preparation, adaptability, and perseverance. By understanding the differences, balancing academics and athletics, navigating the recruitment process, and embracing the challenges of higher competition levels, you can thrive in the college sports environment. Remember to manage your time wisely, seek support when needed, and stay resilient in the face of obstacles. With the right mindset and determination, you can make a seamless transition and embark on a fulfilling and successful college sports career. Good luck!

FAQ

1. How do I balance my academics and sports commitments in college?
It's crucial to prioritize and manage your time effectively. Create a schedule that includes dedicated study hours, practice sessions, and rest periods. Utilize academic resources such as tutoring services and study groups to stay on top of your coursework. Communicate with your professors and coaches to ensure they are aware of your commitments and work together to find a balance that allows you to succeed both on the field and in the classroom.

2. What can I do to increase my chances of securing a college sports scholarship?
Research and identify colleges and athletic programs that align with your skills and goals. Attend college showcases, tournaments, and camps to showcase your abilities and get noticed by college coaches. Maintain a strong academic record and stay in touch with coaches, providing updates on your achievements and progress. Consider working with a recruiting agency or seeking guidance from your high school coach to navigate the recruitment process effectively.

3. How can I cope with setbacks or injuries in college sports?
Setbacks and injuries are a natural part of the sports journey. It's important to have a support system in place, including teammates, coaches, and athletic trainers. Follow proper injury prevention techniques and listen to your body to minimize the risk of injuries. In the event of setbacks, stay positive, remain focused on your recovery, and utilize the resources available on campus such as sports medicine facilities and counseling services to bounce back stronger.

4. How can I navigate the team dynamics and expectations in college sports?
Building strong relationships with your teammates and coaches is key. Communicate openly and honestly, respecting and understanding each other's roles and responsibilities. Embrace the team culture and values, and contribute positively to the overall team environment. Be proactive in seeking feedback and continuously strive for improvement. Remember that college sports require commitment, dedication, and teamwork, so always give your best effort and support your fellow athletes.

- Written by JV

Close your eyes and imagine performing a skill – really picture yourself doing it.

What you’ve just done is called visualization, which means representing a movement or routine, a process in which athletes use all their senses to create a mental image of what they want to achieve.

Chances are you’ve heard of it or even tried it before. This word is thrown around in sport, but athletes often don’t understand the impact it can have. So, why should you visualize? And how can you do it more effectively? Our sport and performance psychologists weigh in with tips.

Visualization is important for improving performance in a range of different ways. A vast amount of research has shown the many different benefits of visualiZation, which include:

• Allowing athletes to stay confident and focused by regulating any nerves or stressors. 
• Motivating them by giving them a vision of what they want to achieve.
• Growing muscle strength by enhancing the cortical output signal, creating a higher level of muscle activation and therefore increasing strength.
• Increasing focus of attention.
• Reducing tension and fear.
• Helping athletes learn to be more positive – mental practice is characterized by positive and successful representations, eliminating negative thoughts.
• Allowing athletes to develop a more disciplined, organized and planned type of thinking, raising a greater awareness of the skills they perform.
• Better preparing athletes for stressful situations.
• Helping with pain management and performance endurance.
  
  

Another interesting bonus is that it can even help you come back from injury stronger. Research has shown that simply visualizing an action produces muscle patterns that are similar to those produced when the action is actually carried out. Therefore, whilst an injured athlete cannot practice their skills, they can practice visualizing it to make the execution easier when they are able to practice again.

Make it physical

You’ve probably been encouraged to carry out visualization when “lying or sitting comfortably”. However, this can be ineffective as it will relax you rather than offer the necessary arousal you need to perform well.

Instead, visualization should be a physical process, where you imagine the relevant physical characteristics. For example, footballers should try and carry out visualization standing as they would before a penalty, wearing the same clothes that they would play in, or even holding a football by their feet.

Use all your senses

When visualizing, engage your body’s sensory system. Visualize a vivid picture so real you can almost touch it. Not just what would you see, but what you would hear and feel, too.

Get emotional with it

The role of emotions in sport is often underestimated. Try and visualize the positive emotions you will experience when on the pitch as this will improve your performance. However, don’t let any negative emotions creep into your visualizations. To find out more about how to better manage emotions.

Replicate the environment

Research has also found that replicating the environment can be beneficial.

For example, golfers who visualized their bunker shots whilst stood in a tray of sand showed an enhanced execution of such shots on the golf course. Whilst it may be impossible to carry out visualization on the actual competition course, athletes should try and carry out visualization in an environment that is as similar as possible.

Make it specific

When carrying out task visualization, you need to try and be as realistic as possible to ensure the imagery is specific to your abilities and level of performance.

In other words, don’t visualize a skill that is way too advanced for you, and don’t visualize skills differently to how you actually perform them. It is vital that what you visualize is specific to you and realistically applicable to your performance.

Done in real time

Try to imagine the timing of the action you are visualizing. Timing is key to the success of many skills, so visualizing them in “real time” is much more beneficial. However, slow motion imagery can be useful at times if you want to focus on more specific movements and skills you find most difficult.

Keep it updated

As an athlete, you should be continuously reviewing and adapting your visualizations as you make improvements and develop. This is so that what you imagine matches what you are now able to produce. If you’re still visualizing a basic skill when you are now able to do a more advanced version, this will not be beneficial.

Keep perspective

So, how should you visualize yourself playing?

Whether you see yourself in the first person (through your own eyes) or in the third person (as if you are watching yourself on the TV) probably does not matter too much and is simply down to personal preference.

It may be that you use a combination of the two: using the first-person perspective to mimic what you actually see when you are playing, and the third-person perspective to analyze the different components of the skill you’re visualizing.

Visualize regularly

To perform at your best, you need to be pumping two key hormones: dopamine and noradrenaline. Visualization releases both – so the more you do it, the better equipped you’ll be for performance. Improving your mental skills is the same as improving your physical ones – it takes repetition and focused practice.

Visualization isn’t a substitute for training, but using it regularly alongside your training will help you to become the best athlete you can be. Aim to carry out the process in a similar environment to where you will be performing it, imagine what emotions you will feel, and adapt your routine to your evolving abilities.

Visualization is a complex process, made up of many different aspects. Therefore, it needs to be practiced. You would never dream of showing up to an event and trying a new skill for the first time – and you should treat visualization in the same way. Practice your visualization so that when it comes to competition day, you can use it effectively.

written by: innerdrive.co.uk

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Sports season is about to start again!

The Milwaukie Bucks just won the NBA championship because Giannis Antetokounmpo is committed to training with weights consistently.  He is the most physically dominant player in the world because he has added 50lbs of muscle since being drafted into the NBA by the Bucks 8 years ago. This should serve as notice to all young athletes – TRAINING WILL HELP YOU REACH YOUR POTENTIAL.

There are many examples of athletes taking their skills to the next level after working with a professional strength coach or getting onto a team that prioritizes strength and conditioning. The biggest benefit to enhancing overall explosive strength, speed, conditioning and mobility is that it speeds up the athletic development process and limits chance at serious injury, regardless of age. The younger an athlete develops physically, the more chance they have to dominate their sport from then on.  Logically this makes sense.  Practically it is difficult for most athletes to focus on weight training during the early years.  Why is this?

Most young athletes play multiple sports throughout a year.  This is what most refer to as sufficient ‘cross training’ and majority of coaches and parents believe this to be a sufficient way to stay ‘injury free.’  Reality is that athletes who do not spend enough time recovering and training in the weight room will be more prone to injury regardless of how busy they are playing different sports.  The body is weak when the body is weak, no matter how busy it is.

Young athletes, parents and coaches need to spend less time and money on travel teams, tournaments and gear and more time and money on TRAINING.  Plain and simple, it is the most beneficial allotment of resources athletes between ages 12-18 years old can make.  This is an investment which will pay back dividends in college scholarships and possibly even the athlete making it professionally.  But most importantly, athletes learning to eat right and train consistently are assets to them for the rest of their lives.

Sure AAU basketball is fun, 7 on 7 football gets you exposure and club team travel tournaments for softball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, etc are a great way to get your name out there.  It is certainly important to compete in sports and skills practice sessions. But what matters most is how athletes’ bodies perform and hold up in the long run.  Regardless of where an athlete goes to high school, if they are strong and dominant they will be noticed and on the radar of college scouts.

College scouts and coaches are paid a nice salary to find athletes with elite potential no matter how small their school or town, state or country.  Some of the best athletes in the world come from the smallest towns in the United States and Overseas and they all have one thing in common, they all TRAIN EXPLOSIVE CONSISTENTLY AND NEVER GIVE UP because they understand it will be worth it when they win.

Here is a simple full body routine straight from our training app that can be done by any athlete any day anywhere at anytime:

4 Rounds

40 Dumbbell Walking Lunges

(10-20% body weight each hand) 

30 Marching Planks

20 Squat Jumps

10 Prone Y-Extensions 

*2-3 minute active rest after each round (roll out)

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Written by: Sam Johnson

Date: 07.24.2021

There are many misconceptions in youth sports and society when it comes to training. One of the most detrimental is that “female athletes shouldn’t lift heavy weights because it will make them ‘bulky’”. This is far from the truth. Female athletes need to lift light, moderate and heavy weights. They should begin as early as 12 years old to help speed up athletic performance development. This will also keep them from experiencing a career-altering injury. According to studies, between 2010 and 2020 ACL tears were at an all-time high for ages 12-15, especially amongst female athletes. Most of these ACL tears happen during non-contact, athletic movement. This means a lack of stability and strength in the ankles, knees, hips, trunk and shoulders are to blame. 

We have a solution for this – by improving stability through training the bio-mechanical efficiency needed for slow and explosive movement. The SFX Athletes training philosophy is: as soon as athletes are able to play sports, they need to start performance training. Effective performance training begins with developing a foundation of ankle, knee, hip, trunk and shoulder stability. We teach athletes how to crawl, walk and run efficiently and in a safe manner. We love to do this from day one.

The first step in development is incorporating stability in the warm ups and cool downs every single day. Step two, build strength from the ground up and the inside out. This means we add in weight training that compliments the stability work. Step three is adding in plyometric exercises to compliment the strength development. This means we begin speeding things up and increase the ability of producing and absorbing force – the main factors in keeping the athlete healthy and strong while competing. 

Female athletes at the professional and collegiate level have access to elite strength and conditioning coaching. At the high school level and below, this kind of training is rare. High school athletes need strength and conditioning more than college-age athletes, because they spend the majority of these years growing and developing. Injuries can impact their growth and development. There is a possibility that it can even be stunted. This may prevent them from reaching that next level. SFX Athletes is designed to provide younger athletes a training system comparable to what college and professional athletes receive. We hope that athletes, especially female athletes, will train explosive with us using the SFX Athletes mobile app. Together we can help reduce incidences of injury nationwide!

Written by: Sam Johnson

Date: 02.03.2021

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