#9 Adapt Every Season:
Next season won’t be the same as the last. And next season won’t be the same as the following season. And change is painful for the parents, the players and the coaches. But it is guaranteed that there will be different dynamics, different coaches, players unexpectedly rotated to new positions, support players moved into starting roles, stars becoming support players, and new parental personalities in the bleachers every season. So your son played quarterback the last three years? And that is what you paid money for and he focused on at summer football camp? Understand that the coach may move your student-athlete to a different position based on “what is best for the team.” Offensive and defensive schemes will change based on changing personnel. Adapt. No team in history needed 23 quarterbacks.
Adapting also means preparing your student-athlete to be mentally tough, confident and resilient when asked to play a key role next season. This is where kids really stumble if not mentally prepared to move from a supporting role to a starting role. We spend a lot of time talking about how to handle getting “benched” but not enough time talking about moving from the bench to the field. And the increased expectations and pressure can be tough to handle if not prepared in advance. This is why it is so important to spend time this offseason working on dealing with unexpected change, developing skills for overcoming adversity, and handling worst case scenarios.
And it really doesn’t take a lot of time or a big set up - just ask simple questions along the lines of “If X happens, how will you handle it?” and “If problem X comes up, what areas do you have control over and can change?” Maybe watch Apollo 13 together and use it as a springboard to discuss working under pressure, adapting, improvising under imperfect conditions, and not quitting when adversity hits unexpectedly.
