As is the case with most things in life, it is the invisible work that people do that leads to breakthroughs in whatever they are pursuing. As Michelangelo said, “If people knew how hard I had to work to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful.” This is especially true in the field of athletics. Unfortunately, our media is obsessed with the notion of overnight success and talent, perpetuating these myths in many of its stories, despite evidence to the contrary.
Whether it’s an astonishing athletic performance by a previously unknown athlete (think decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton, who is likely to conquer the world at the London Olympics this summer), the sudden rise of a new miracle drug ( think Lipitor, which revolutionized the treatment of high cholesterol), or an invention that revolutionizes the way we do things (think smartphones; it’s hard to believe the first model hit stores just 13 years ago). All of this took years of behind-the-scenes work to bear fruit.
With NFL teams just weeks away from opening their training camps, and the NBA in the midst of its offseason, many may have forgotten that a year earlier, both leagues’ seasons were in doubt. A year ago, all of these players were banned from any contact with their team’s staff or training facilities.
As a result, many athletes (often from several different teams) organized their own informal groups to train in the off-season. A group of NFL players included some college stars in their workouts at a local high school in Los Angeles. NBA PlayersDerrick Rose, russell westbrook Y kevin love they worked together on what was said to be the toughest offseason regimen most had ever seen.
Others, however, found that the lack of structure and availability of their team’s coaching staff made it more difficult to adequately prepare for a season that might not even have come, and they worked minimally in the offseason. Unsurprisingly, once their seasons finally began, many of the players who hadn’t properly prepared in the offseason began suffering an inordinate number of injuries ranging from nagging to season-ending.
I don’t think this was a coincidence. Not a single player who stuck with me during the offseason suffered a significant injury in the first three quarters of last year’s season. More than half of those who cited the uncertainty of the upcoming season as a reason for quitting our normal offseason work were injured at the end of the first month of last year’s season. In my experience, those who engage in mental training in the off-season are more likely to place equal or greater importance on their physical training in the off-season.
One of the challenges of mental training is that you can’t look in the mirror and see the results. I think that’s why my clients rarely take a break from working with me during the season. Our in-season work is often more focused on immediate concerns, so results are often immediately apparent. In contrast, during the off-season our work is more focused on long-term growth and can go unnoticed for longer periods of time.
While both are important, offseason work is where you develop the clothing that will propel your career to higher heights. As Muhammad Ali said: “The fight is won or lost far from the witnesses: behind the lines, in the gym and on the road, long before dancing under those lights.” Are you putting in all the effort you can when no one is looking? If you are not, you can be sure that the people who end up taking your place have been.