5 Ways College Prospects Can Hone Their Craft

College prospects should know that when they are practicing, they are honing their craft.

We rarely think of sports in that vein, but it is time we do. The days have passed when athletics were played on sandlots, empty streets or vacant fields by unsupervised youngsters simply because they loved the game. Now kids are taking grounders, attempting layups or kicking  balls into a net by the age of 5, pushed into organized competition by eager parents not wanting their children to fall behind or be left out.

The kids who survive all of that early backyard coaching and are committed enough to go on to club or travel sports learn quickly that they are in a new world surrounded by very serious kids intent on becoming stars.

To earn playing time, a kid has to put in the time away from practice and contests to improve. Without the extra work, they become the next layer of victims to be weeded out in the battle to become college prospects.

Those fortunate to continue onward and upward are under the gun to improve, improve, improve. There is pressure to succeed. It is an intense environment.

With all that intensity comes burnout and fallout. It normally happens in ninth and tenth grade as youngsters realize they have other more important interests, don’t want to exist just for athletics, or get tired of it all.

Kids who are aiming for the college ranks face the fact that their sport is no longer something they do for fun.  When that happens, the stakes become high and very real. That is when a sport morphs into a serious craft, and honing that craft is the athlete’s focus.

Every day counts. Every drill matters. Every mistake is highlighted.

For those young athletes, the ones whose dreams are tied to their performance, the evolution of his or her skills is more crucial. They know they are competing not only to win a game, to be named captain of the team or to make All-Conference. Now their purpose is winning another contest, the one which pits them against unknown athletes in faraway places, athletes who want that scholarship offer as badly as they do.

Honing your craft is paramount. Here are some tips on how to do that successfully:

1. Get an outside assessment of your skills. Coaches’ and parents’ views are jaded to various degrees, so getting an outside opinion on your strengths and weaknesses gives you perspective on what areas of your game to work on.

 

2. Make a plan based on improving all the deficiencies in your game. Go into each practice session knowing what skill, what fundamental, you are going to hone.

 

3. Video your practices to review afterwards and to compare with previous workouts. Make notes and add those to upcoming practices.

 

4. Allow for imperfection. Know that even the best in the world at your position makes mistakes. They happen. Accept them as part of the growing process and move on. Be critical, but kind to yourself.

 

5. Give yourself credit for positive strides. Celebrate the major steps forward. Without recognizing your improvement, the pressure can mount to untenable levels. Learn to accept compliments gracefully, even when you direct them at yourself.