Pressure Over Time Makes A Diamond
Is your child athlete a diamond in the rough? What will it take to make them stand out? It requires extreme pressure and time to make a diamond (or GOAT).
As a physician, I have experienced the countless hours and years it has required to become an expert dermatologist. Opportunities were not handed to me, and I had to seek guidance on my own to succeed. And that success didn’t just happen overnight, as if I was done learning and mission accomplished. Anyone who is a doctor committed to their craft understands the continued testing, validation, and scrutiny required to become and remain a practicing physician. To this day, I have to prove myself daily, and that will never end. So I embrace this pressure and learn from it to continue being the best.
It is no different for a young athlete wanting to become a professional. Your child might aspire to become an athlete because they have big dreams and real potential. But just like with a career in medicine, this may not be enough to get them to their goal. And if they get there, that’s just the beginning. Even when they feel they have given everything or too much, the reality is, they are not even close to done.
To be the best, something must set a person apart from others. There may be talent or skill, but it must be forged further into excellence to be deemed the best. To be the best requires pressure and time. Being a professional is a lifestyle forged out of hard work and dedication.
Pressure makes human diamonds through strategy.
How that pressure is applied over time is the key. Too much pressure can have physical, emotional, and mental consequences that set your child back. Your child might feel overwhelmed, get injured, or quit if there is too much pressure too fast. If there are not enough opportunities to deliver pressure over time suitable for skill development, they may not excel enough to become great. No parent wants any of these outcomes for their child. So parents must understand themselves, their athlete, and their environment to help realistically support their child’s goals with strategy and ongoing reassessment over time.
5 Things you can do to apply strategic pressure over time to support your child athlete:
Talk to your child about embracing pressure and how that can positively inspire their mindset to excel as a top athlete. Be consistent with the message and gauge its impact on them mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Record your child and have your child watch videos of their games or plays to review their current abilities.
Discuss the skills and strategies that are lacking and could be improved to highlight them as a skilled player for them personally, as well as to their coach, team, and spectators.
Keep a SPORTS GOAL JOURNAL: Document an actionable plan and timeframe to improve these skills. Review future videos or plays and identify how and when skills are being demonstrated, improved, or missed.
Apply the appropriate pressure over time as milestones are achieved. Continue to increase expectations to excel. Carry out numbers 1-4 and repeat with intentional and strategic pressure consistently to achieve excellence.
