Why Young Athletes Need to Learn the Importance of Commitment Right Now

Commitment is one of the most important fundamental aspects of our lives. So many of our daily tasks require some form of commitment. Whether it be family, religious, work, school, extra curricular, sports, etc., we all have commitments.

Just like most things in our lives, the more we put into something, the more we tend to get out of it. Commitment for young athletes, and kids in general has a much deeper meaning. There are so many other character traits and skills kids can develop that stem from commitment, such as: Time Management, Integrity, Accountability, and Discipline.

TIME MANAGEMENT

We live in an extremely busy world where our time is one of our most valuable assets. Showing up on time validates the importance of our commitment, but also affords us the ability to get the most out of our time, which contributes to the success of our day. Teaching young people to utilize their time efficiently is key because this sets a foundation for many important endeavors down the road.

If constantly showing up to basketball practice a few minutes late seems innocent now, a kid will grow up thinking that being a little late doesn’t matter. When it comes time for an 8am final or a 7am job interview, being late suddenly just became a big deal.

Time management is not a switch we can just turn on and off; you cannot just magically become efficient. It takes time to engrain the importance of showing up on time, so start now. I have also found that those with the busiest schedules are typically the most organized and successful. Two tips that have helped me tremendously with my time management are: 1) Operating on “Lombardi Time” – if you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late and 2) Planning my schedule for tomorrow, tonight. While it is not always possible to be 15 minutes early, striving to be 15 minutes early will put you where you need to be on time. Planning out my tomorrow, tonight has also helped me tremendously. Mapping out every hour of my next day allows me to go to sleep knowing what I have ahead of me. Will my day pan out exactly how I had it planned every time? Of course not, however, it certainly fills me with a sense of purpose and drive knowing that I have a specific schedule to adhere to.

INTEGRITY

I truly believe two of the most important things we can do to demonstrate integrity are: 1) Show up on time (for the reasons stated above) and 2) Tell the Truth. While there is much more to life, I believe nailing down these two simple concepts will put you ahead of the game regardless of the field.

While every kid in America, is going to tell their fair share of white lies, commitment and integrity can certainly compliment each other. If we can teach our kids the simple notion of “say what you’re going to do and do what you say,” integrity will be developed subconsciously. If Johnny says he is going to do something it is essential for the coach/teacher/parent to see him through his commitment to encourage the value in giving his word. This will not only help Johnny understand the importance of following through with his commitments, but will also give him a sense of validation for completing a task he has committed to.

While I have made more mistakes and told more lies than I care to admit, I always try my best to share with the kids I work with the importance of telling the truth. I truly believe in telling the truth despite the consequences. And, following through on my commitments, whether they be related to family, work, relationships, etc., has definitely played a major role in developing my integrity.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Another very important trait that goes hand in hand with commitment is accountability. It is impossible to be committed to anything without being accountable.  This is why I believe sports and/or extra curricular activities are very important for kids. They encourage commitment and structure, which naturally creates an environment where kids have to be held accountable not only by their coaches and teammates, but most importantly themselves.

I have never met a successful student, athlete, musician, or artist who has experienced any long-term success without accountability. Developing accountability as a kid is extremely important because this creates dependability, and which aspects of life don’t require dependability? Whether it is working as a team on a group project or as a team on a 4th down goal line stand, accountability is everything. Your peers, teachers, coaches, etc., know exactly who they can and can’t count on and this will become very apparent in aspects ranging from playing time on the varsity football team all the way to coordinating a team project for your future employer.

One of my favorite quotes is, “Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to results,” by Bob Proctor, a successful motivational speaker. If there is one thing you can be, be accountable.

DISCIPLINE

Discipline ties all of the above traits together. It is essential to be disciplined to our commitments. A man that I highly regard, Jim Wendler, (creator and author of the 5/3/1 Training Method), coined a very simple phrase, “Discipline over Motivation.” I love this statement because of its plain and simple truth. Not everyday is going to be our best day, nor is our motivation always going to be where we’d like it to be, so rather than relying on our emotion to accomplish our commitments, we can rely on our discipline to carry us through. This is so important for young athletes to understand because that initial excitement for baseball season can quickly run out two months later when there is a 7pm practice scheduled on a cold and rainy Tuesday night. If the athlete and parents relied on their motivation to go to that practice, more than likely Xbox is going to be on revised agenda Tuesday night. This brings me to next point of the importance of parents not bailing their kids out of commitments. If I had a dollar for every time I asked mom or dad growing up if I could skip “X” only to hear, “you’re not missing what you’ve committed to,” I would probably never have to work again. Unless I was too sick to move or a bone was showing, I wasn’t missing. At the time, I didn’t understand why I HAD to go to Rec league basketball practice. I now understand the lessons my parents were teaching me and am very thankful for them because their discipline helped shape the driving force of my commitment to success today. Letting your kids skip out of commitments teaches them that it is okay to stop doing what they’ve committed to when it becomes inconvenient. While this may bring temporary pleasure to your son or daughter, it sets them up for a future full of entitlement, believing, “when I don’t want to, I don’t have to.” Good luck with that mindset in the real world. A kid with well-established discipline also learns to love the process and not just the end result.

Working with a large number of adolescent athletes in the field of strength and conditioning, I have learned a lot about commitment. I can now see and understand why some kids have more success in the classroom, on the field, and in their everyday lives than others. Commitment is not a sometimes thing, it is an all the time thing. When I am working with an extremely dedicated athlete, more times than not he or she is dedicated and succeeds in the classroom as well. This is certainly not an absolute, but definitely a trend I have picked up on working with this age demographic. I try to mentor, inspire, and influence all of my athletes to the best of my ability and it all starts with stressing the importance of commitment, not only in my gym, but in every phase of their life. Commitment opens the door to develop many critical attributes important to their success right now and in their futures.