Practice Above 100% Game Effort to Unlock New Levels of Performance


By Team Speed - August 14, 2018

Every athlete strives to be the best version of themselves in games, yet so many struggle to maintain consistency or to rise to the occasion during the biggest moments.

It’s easy to build confidence going through the same repetitions over and over again in practice, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to chaotic, unpredictable game situations. What can you do to give yourself the best chance to deliver when it matters most?

At Sterling’s Team Speed, we pride ourselves on helping athletes of all ages, in all sports, reach their peak performance consistently. The secret to better in-game performance is raising the level of your practice and training. We know that better than anyone, but we also love to hear the perspective of other experts in the field of sports performance training.

We recently had a great conversation with sports performance expert Lowell Wightman about the mental side of translating practice to real game situations. Read on to see what he has to say.

Translating Practice/Training Into Better Game Performance

Lowell Wightman is the founder of 360 Mindset, which helps athletes achieve peak performance through mental conditioning.

Wightman developed his performance coaching skills by working with the Colorado State University football team, as well as Illinois athletes, such as Antwaan Randle EL (Washington Redskins), Eddie Curry (Chicago Bulls), and Curtis Granderson (Toronto Blue Jays).

From 1998 to 2000, he coached the Illinois Wolverine basketball club and in 2000 he coached the U16 team to an AAU National Championship.

We asked him for his best advice to athletes looking to do a better job of translating practice into real game situations.

“As a sport coach and sport performance coach, I believe in practicing harder than the effort you typically produce in a game. Why would you do that? If you produce beyond what you need in a game during practice, you will be well prepared for the competition. So, during practice bring more than 100%.

Energy and being physical is only one of three skill sets to being your best. The skills you learn in practice transfer to each game because you practice them until you master them. Sometimes games show up when you have not mastered the needed skills, and this is where the third skill sets arrives.

No matter how many errors or games lost, you need to bring your desire for your sport to every game. Your love and passion for the game will carry you through failure to the next practice, delivering improvements you create for the next game.

Finally, you must connect all three parts in order to bring your best. So, connect your energy with your skills while you feed them with your passion for the sport you love.”

Start Training Today

At Sterling’s Team Speed, we are committed to helping athletes of all ages better understand how to train and stay focused to improve your consistency in in-game situations.

Stay tuned to our blog for more expert opinions on achieving peak performance. If you’re ready to take your training to the next level, get started by booking youth sports performance private training sessions at our facility in Centennial.

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