Over the years, we have had the privilege of working with thousands of athletes through training, coaching and collegiate recruiting.
The top athletes stand out as self directed athletes. This is not to say that these self directed athletes do not get guidance and support from family members and coaches; however, when you meet them - they are the driving force behind the pursuit of their dreams - not their parents, coaches or advisors.
So who is a self directed athlete? A self directed athlete has his own vision - a dream of playing ball at a certain level or attending a certain college.
This athlete is passionate about the game, understanding all aspects of the game.
The self directed athlete loves the process of pursuing the dream through training with the best...and competing against the best.
When you meet the self directed athlete - he is the one asking all of the questions - not the parents, coaches or advisors.
The self directed athlete keeps his eye on his goals and knows that the sum of the choices he makes allows him to reach his goals.
The self directed athlete seeks out and surrounds himself with others on the same path - knowing that these people with help him achieve his vision.
The self directed athlete does not seek out the easy road - but the road that will allow him to reach his highest potential.
So why do the self directed athletes become the best performers? In order to compete at the high levels, athletes need to have a burning fire from within. The road is hard and the sacrifices are big - so unless that fire is during from within - the sum of the choices made from athletes that do not have that burning fire from within will not add up to being elite.
We have seen countless times situations where the parents want elite level athletics for their player; however, if that fire is not burning from within the player, the player will inevitably get the power of his own choice and self destruct or derail from that pursuit.
Can you help your player become a self directed athlete? Absolutely! Start by helping him find the sport or activity he is passionate about.
From there, support your player in getting the very best training from professionals that also want to foster that self direction and support the player in their passion for the game. (Note: this is not the trainers that give you what you want or tell you what you want to hear - these are the trainers that see the potential and challenge you.)
Teach your player to pursue betterment in the game by encouraging him to ask his own questions and pursue his own workouts.
Support your player in the process of the pursuit - not the results from given games. In the end process wins!
Finally - support your player in building friends with a similar mission. This will help your player make choices that are consistent with his vision of playing at the highest levels.
College Baseball Match is a recruiting platform that supports self directed players in their exploratory pursuit of college by allowing them to MATCH with schools, CONNECT with coaches and ask the right questions to determine theist FIT.
Hard 90 Baseball is the leader in the Sacramento region of building self directed players through personalized group training programs.