The Puzzle

In this installment I want to give you a technique that I use to stay focused and motivated throughout a long training period. This is something that you can use during your training and season to help you stay on track working toward your individual and/or team goal. As we enter our pre season the air is filled with optimism and excitement and we all have a general idea of what we want to do personally and as a team but we rarely put down on paper the day to day things that will help us get there. This has led me to the “The Puzzle”. Think about putting together a really hard puzzle with a lot of pieces and of a picture with a lot of colors and shapes. That’s the type of puzzle we are putting together every season. But this puzzle is an everyday road map of your season starting from day 1 of training to the final game, match or race of the season. If done correctly the puzzle will put you and your team in the best position to achieve your goals.

Setting up The Puzzle: The way I set up my training periods of the 4.5 months before a marathon is by taking a calendar and literally writing out every run I have to do every day. Whether it’s a 20 mile run, a 12 mile Tempo or a day of rest, I put it down on paper and look at it every day so I know what I have to do and I can hold myself accountable to getting after it and getting it done. This can be applied to any sport. For example, Sunday- rest, Monday- hitting to the opposite field, Tuesday- glove side ground balls, Wednesday- turning 2 and BP, Thursday- Game vs. ___.

It is very important to be specific on the things that you want to work on from day to day. Don’t just write “Practice” because when you are done for the day you go back to the calendar and highlight the day if you accomplished that day’s task with purpose. And what I mean by purpose is that you set out that day to work on the thing that’s going to bring you and your team one step closer to the goal. It also helps to journal every day so you have personal feedback and reflection on how you are working. As the days go by you will be able to look at your calendar and see how you are progressing. So why is the calendar called the puzzle? Think of each day you complete with purpose as getting a piece to the puzzle. Then when it is time to put the puzzle together (tournament time) it will be clear what fits together and you will have all the pieces you need to achieve your goal. On the contrary, if you do not have all the pieces it becomes very difficult to put it together and there will be holes in it.

Here is a real example from my last 2 training logs for the Disney Marathon and the Boston Marathon.

Disney Marathon: Goal 3:10, 18 weeks of training, 92 scheduled work outs, 92 work outs made/highlighted, 678 total miles, 0 work outs missed, Goal Accomplished 3:09:34.

Boston Marathon: Goal 3:00, 18 weeks of training, 108 scheduled work outs, 91 work outs made/highlighted, 704 total miles, 17 work outs missed, Goal not realized 3:19:43.

I hope its clear how important each day is to the realization of your goals. So be consistent and commit to it one day, one step at a time and when the time comes to put your puzzle together you will have everything you need to achieve your goal.

Joe Villapiano. is an assistant football coach at Harvard University and the co-director for athletics programs for iBELIEVE. He received his masters degree in education from UCONN.

Character and Courage

For centuries, the idea of courage has been regarded as the basis of character for all great men (and women). For this reason courage has been pondered by philosophers, researchers, psychologists and coaches since the beginning of recorded history. From Aristotle to former NFL coach Bill Parcells and the thousands in between, they have regarded this character trait to be superior to all others in defining a great player and person. They have tried to devise techniques to recognize courage and understand that it is a fleeting concept that comes out only when pushed to the extreme of our physical and mental tolerance.

Today, sport psychologists have defined Courage as the willingness to act despite the presence of fear in the pursuit of a worthy goal. It is important to recognize the “mean” or middle ground necessary for courageousness. An excess of courage would simply manifest itself through reckless actions and decisions. On the other hand, a lack of courage would manifest through cowardice actions. A courageous athlete would find him/herself somewhere in the middle of these 2 extremes.

Many would say that athletics is a great place for courage to be developed. While others would say that either you have it or you don’t. Lastly, some would explain athletics as a place for this virtuous character trait to be revealed. I believe the ladder to be the most appropriate description of courageousness within athletics. Athletics will allow the opportunity for an athlete to display both physical as well as psychological courage:

Physical courage- This is the type that we see every day when we turn on ESPN. It is the image of an athlete playing after sustaining a painful injury. It is the athlete that leaves every ounce of physical energy out on the field for the sake of something bigger than him/herself.

Psychological Courage- This type is much more subtle. This courage is what happens behind the cameras. It is waking up early before the competition day after day. It’s telling your friend and teammate that he/she is not pulling their weight or recognizing that you might be outmatched but continuing to compete and fight. It is pushing on in the face of insurmountable odds when everyone would understand if you gave up.

In both examples of courage what is expressed is a quality of selflessness that cannot be denied and that defines an athlete’s character on and off the field. Not only does it make a good athlete great, but it also makes a great friend, teammate, husband, wife, mother or father. Like many of the qualities explained in these weekly installments, courage, although very easily recognized on the field of play is just as necessary in the Field of life.

Be courageous & Stay believing.

Pete is a strength and conditioning coach at West Point Military Academy and the director for Athletics programs for iBELIEVE. He received his masters degree in Sports Psychology from Boston University.

Reflections on the ACPA Convention

The ACPA Convention planning team asked us to Be More. Little did we know that this Convention was going to Be More! It was motivating, thought-provoking, and learning-filled. Typically, sessions tend to be hit or miss. This year, the sessions seemed to all be hits. Opportunities for both reflection and engagement were purposefully added to the schedule. And the Opening was tremendous! I left humbled knowingly being in the company fellow educators and eager to bring back new knowledge and ideas to campus. After several yeas of partnering, iBELIEVE is proud to call ACPA our professional association ‘home’.

Injuries, Self-Efficacy and the Circus

As the season progresses, nagging injuries become a part of normal life. Daily visits to onsite physical trainers become all too familiar. Aside from the obvious on field collisions, sprints and nose dives, what else causes us to acquire injuries? Can the mental side of the game attribute to this? Does my confidence (self-efficacy) have an impact on acquiring sport injuries?

A study appearing in this April’s Journal of Sports Medicine, and covered recently in a NYTimes Health article, examined 47 elite competitors in gymnastics, trampoline, swimming and diving. All of which were trying to earn a spot on a Cirque du Soleil team. This team performs athletic dances, tumbles and contortions which requires elite physical abilities. The researchers wanted to determine if self-efficacy separated the injury prone from the impervious during an intensive 8-week training camp. Self-efficacy is the feeling of confidence a person has in performing a task. (NOTE: If I feel I am 100% capable of hitting the ball to the opposite field on a hit and run, I have high self-efficacy towards this task.)

Results from the study suggested that the athletes who had a low self-efficacy score were almost twice as likely to be injured when compared to those who had scored high on the self-efficacy measure. In this case, low athletic self-confidence increased injury. Researchers believed this could be attributed to attention, fear, and worry resulting in falling during the desired task and therefore causing an injury. These results suggest that effective performance enhancing interventions are necessary to build self-efficacy in all sports for every individual.

The Cirque du Soleil team psychologist suggests a solution for athletes with low self-efficacy, “Someone who thinks rightly or wrongly that he can’t complete a physical task should think small. Concentrate on the process, not the end result. Succeeding at a portion of the task will show you that you have the capacity to succeed at the rest.”

This is applicable to my marathon training. Instead of trying to complete a daunting 10-mile run, I attack 2 miles at a time. This helps me stay focused on what’s important (form, energy, rest stops) and allows me to build confidence while I succeed portion by portion/mile by mile. This also prevents me from being distracted by all the miles that lay ahead.

What are the parts of your game that you have high and low confidence or self-efficacy in? Can the low confidence part be broken down into smaller components, focused on in practice and built up over time? If so, this may be the key to a healthier season.

And Knowing is half the battle.