3 Ways to Improve Your Game When You're All By Yourself
What can I do by myself to get better at my sport?
Training alone is always one of the hardest parts of mastering any sport. When nobody is watching or motivating you, it becomes easier to steer away from previously set goals. However, it is pivotal to put in the extra work outside of practices, games, or even during longer breaks. Some athletes may think that it is too daunting and time consuming to train extra, but there are a few simple and effective ways to improve all alone. Today, we have 3 solo strategies to take an athlete to the next level. Let's check them out!
Conditioning
Conditioning is the most simple and easily one the most effective ways to boost endurance and speed for any sport. Athletes do not usually get enough conditioning in practices, because coaches want to focus on strategy, skill, and building up team chemistry. Although conditioning will be a part of almost every training plan, it isn't enough, and coaches expect that you set aside extra time to keep your body as a fit as it can be. For example, when your team has a winter, spring, or summer break, it lies on you to stay as fit and ready. Coming into pre-season or back from a few weeks off could set you back if you haven't been conditioning on your own.
Watch some Film
When practice is over, or it is the night before a game, it isn't the best choice to focus on getting physical activity. However, there are many ways to mentally and strategically improve. Most teams will have game footage from previous practices and games. Open up the computer, sit back and relax, grab a notebook and pen, and document what has been going right and what has been going wrong. Surprisingly enough, just watching mistakes and successes from previous gameplay can improve one's game drastically. Furthermore, if you have already watched film, or your team hasn't captured enough good moments to watch over, studying professional sports could help even more. Tracking a player that plays the same position and seeing how he or she plays will be super beneficial in improving individual success.
Focus on Recovery
It is a common misconception that training and improving your game on your own always has to be physical and active. Like earlier, as important as conditioning is to take your game to the next level, watching film is right up there and can be equally important. There is another misconception, however. Many athletes think that recovery equals rest. Although rest is pivotal to recover from soreness, injuries, and overuse, active recovery should also be a main focus. Active recovery focuses on stretching, getting some light movement, such as jogging or biking, and maybe even a tiny bit of lifting. Check out this informational blog post, to learn a little bit more about active recovery and why it is important for athletes!
Come back to practices and games as a new player!
Taking the time to get better while no one is watching is always hard. Although there are so many more strategies, focusing on these 3 things could turn you into an even better athlete. Having good fitness is the bare minimum, but having excellent fitness will put you ahead of so many others who only want to put the work in during practices and games. Watching film from your own games or from your favorite professional will give you the immense mental knowledge and understanding of your sport. You will start to notice yourself making better decisions and making less mistakes. Finally, just resting isn't enough. Working to actively repair your body will give you opportunities to play more and last longer. Keep working on being the best athlete that you can be and share with others that you know will benefit from this advice!
Thank you, and we will be back next week for another blog post! Please feel free to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates and news for all things Top Tier.
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