players like Chritiano Ronaldo, Rooney and
Messi. They leave world class players
looking foolish. These players are even superior
to the most superior players in the world. Why?
They repeatedly work on the basics…over and over
and over.
Here’s why we have to do things over and over
again. While our brains and muscles are wonderful
creations, they forget quickly. Neurological
highways unused and muscle memory not reinforced
leads to atrophy and what once was second nature
begins to take work again. Your highway has
overgrowth and your muscles have forgotten.
Here’s where many players and teams make the
mistake. They forget to keep traveling the
highway (repetition) and keeping the muscle memory
alive. What happens when a highway is not used?
It breaks down and even begins to crack and
crumble and what once was a well traveled road
becomes barely passable. Muscles that once
remembered quickly forget and remember other
things.
I’ve found that helping your players understand
the way the human body is designed helps them
with why we do what we do. Imagine if Rooney,
Ronaldo, Messi or Kari Walsh and Misty May said,
“We’re the best in the world. I don’t need to
practice anymore. I don’t need to work on the
basics I already know them.” They would no
longer be the best in the world. In fact once you
become the best in the world you will have to work
harder and repeat the basics more often to be the
best.
Instill in your players the necessity of
repetition. As you are doing this you’ll discover
that you’ll have to keep repeating this message.
Warmly,
saria@tanzaniasports.com
