Actions and Behaviors That DO Work

When Striving for Success for all Athletes

1. Attending practices, classes, or training sessions

 a. You can learn and grow when you are present.

2. Being on Time

a. This prevents disruption and avoids the athlete rushing to “catch up” at the expense of quality training.

3. Planning vacations or time off during appropriate times

a. Avoid taking time off right before competitions or during the competitive season.

b. Preventing taking a long period of time off for more than two weeks at one time.

c. Too many vacations can also prevent the growth of any athlete

4. Staying for the entire time of the practices, classes, or training sessions

 a. Time spent away is time spent not learning, progressing, or growing.

5. Sufficient practice or training time, that is appropriate for each level

a. Gymnastics is a complex and difficult sport. An adequate amount of dedicated training time every week is necessary to be successful in the sport.

6. Not OVER practicing or training time

a. Large amounts of training time (more than 25 hours per week) can be beneficial at given times of the year but can lead to overload when overdone.

7. Having an excellent support system

a. Due to the demanding nature of the sport, athletes must have adequate support from parents and those close to them to be successful.

8. Believing that you are capable and ready for new skill development

a. If your first reaction to a challenge is to look for reasons why you cannot succeed then you are guaranteed to fail. Positivity and trust in oneself and one’s coach can lead to amazing achievements

9. Preventing fear to control your behavior

a. Fear of a negative outcome, fear of failure, or fear of success can be a crippling emotion blocking an athlete from achieving their best.

10. Respecting or understanding how much dedication, effort, and focus it takes to reach your full potential

a. No one has ever reached their potential by only committing to something halfway. When giving 100% effort, each athlete can reach new heights

11. Believing that a commitment to a non-academic discipline such as sports, art, or music will positively impact other areas of life

a. Trying new things and learning new skills can help each person grow mentally and emotionally, and in turn, help grows one’s self-esteem.

12. Getting adequate sleep

a. Sleep is vital for proper physical and mental functioning.

13. Proper and Balanced nutrition

a. Proper nutrition and fueling are also vital for proper physical and mental functioning.

14. Keeping your health and wellness as a high priority (mentally and physically)

a. Ignoring health issues or injuries can prolong or stall recovery ultimately leading to limited or no progress and lower motivation levels.

15. Respecting or practicing activities and behaviors that do work

a. Ignoring things that help improve recovery, health, outlook, and motivation are damaging. This would be the opposite of all the behaviors on this list.