Sei sulla pagina 1di 26

The Athlete

Motivation
Manifesto
Champion Strategies to Ignite Team Performance

Ben Crookston
CEO + Founder, TrainHeroic

Contents
Why?
Users Manual
Athlete of the Month
Game Time
Share it on Social
Monster Max Out
Ration the Rap, Dose the Dubstep
Movement Master Videos
Pin the Skins
Rack em and Stack em
Culture Quotes
Strongman Series
Standards of Excellence
Outro

Title of the book

3
5
7
9
11
12
13
15
17
18
20
22
24
26

Why?
6 years ago, I was a teacher and coach on the Southside of Chicago at one of the
worst schools in Illinois.
We were in the last 1% in nearly every statistical category.
Our facilities were haggard, the neighborhood was riddled with gang
violence, and hope was more a fleeting abstraction than tangible reality.
The experience changed my life.
In those roles and environments, I learned an abundance about human
behavior, social structures, and skill acquisition.
And, while those lessons proved valuable, the most important lesson I
learned was this:

The real energy crisis in America is not about our fuels,


its about our people.
Being energized and motivated in society today is not an expectation, its
an exception.
Lacking accountability to a goal or purpose, many aimlessly fall into a life
of dependency.
The majority of young people in our society are plagued by self-doubt,
insecurity, and fear. They got that way because we made em that way.
Now, its our job to fix it.
As expert coaches and teachers, this is our calling. Its why we got into
this business.
If we can imbue people with the fire of life at a young age, the majority of
societys ills are eradicated.
It all starts with a goal. A goal that fans their own inner fire.
Motivation is the fuel that feeds thousands, moves mountains, and
sustains societies.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

Passion is high octane motivation.


Its the stuff that results in exploding breakthroughs.
It is the heart of civilization.
Starve a team of motivation, and like a plant without sun, it will die.
The perfect plan, program, and system are rendered useless in the face
of a motivation shortfall.
But unleash a team with motivation and commitment behind a shared
purpose and that team will achieve dreams.
This is why TrainHeroic exists.
We serve coaches so they can empower athletes.
We serve coaches so they can affect lasting change and motivate people
for a lifetime.

The
impediment to
action advances
action. What
stands in the
way becomes
the way.
- Marcus Aurelius

We do this by providing the tools coaches needed to engage, instruct,


and hold athletes accountable.
We do this by facilitating a deliberate practice model that allows for expert
instruction, structured training, immediate feedback, and goal setting to
occur in seamless harmony and with fewer resources so that athletes can
achieve mastery.
This book is just one more resource to help you motivate your team.
Its another tool in your toolkit.
Whether youre more laden with resources than UCLA or more
strapped than I was at South Shore High School in Chicago,
these concepts are proven by the top coaches in the game to
improve team culture and amplify your athletes attitudes
regardless of environment.
Theres no BS here. Nothing soft, nothing fuzzy.
Just tried-and-true strategies that get results.
Use them. Get results. Send us your stories.
Train smarter,

2
Expert
Instruction

1
Specific
Goal

3
Focused
Training

4
Immediate
Feedback

Ben Crookston
CEO + Founder, TrainHeroic

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

How to use this book


There are two forms of motivation in the world
Carrots and sticks.
Sticks to punish and hold accountable. Carrots to excite and drive.
This book is full of carrots.
Carrots your athletes will love and theyll boost the health of your team.

Before you start, here are three quick, important disclaimers:


1) Everything starts with you,
the Coach
Youre their leader, the one they trust. Almost all
young athletes (and arguably even experienced
pros) trend toward the extrinsic end of the
motivation spectrum.
They pull their energy and behavior from outside
sources.
More specifically, they pull their energy from you.
So, when picking motivational strategies to test
with your teams, find something that you can get
fired up about, too.
If you bring the heat like Scott Cochrane mainlining a 6-pack of Red Bull, your athletes will feed off of that.
Conversely, present the concept like youre more embarrassed about than a 12-year old hiding their first zit
and expect your teams motivation barometer to plummet.
Do what you believe in. Stay authentic.
Get excited about it.
It almost doesnt matter what you do, it matters why you do it.
Do what you believe in.
Do it with confidence and excellence.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

2) Every team is different


There is no one size fits all application, but the concepts are universal.
In a way, its like saying, everyone wears t-shirts...but they require different sizes, colors, etc.
Different strokes for different folks.
Start by getting to know your athletes.
Learn what makes them tick. Figure out why they show up. Identify the leaders, then select concepts you
can easily tailor to their tastes.
Trust me, itll make a BIG difference.

3) K.I.S.S.
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
If what you do is complex (and complexity comes thru a volume of random initiatives) you wont follow
through on any of them.
Lack of follow through is worse than not starting something in the first place. Youll crater your
credibility, confuse your athletes, and lose their trust.
Instead, heed Bruce Lees words:

Fear not the man who has practiced


10,000 kicks once, but fear the man who
has practiced one kick 10,000 times.
Be lethal with one knockout strategy.
Thats a foundation you can build on.
Roll that strategy with ruthless consistency for three
months.
Then, and only then, add in one more.
Rinse. Repeat...Win.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

Athlete Motivation Method #1

Athlete of the Month


Why - Two things make an Athlete of the Month powerful
1) Public recognition / praise.
Receiving a shout out in front of the whole team is the adolescent equivalent of winning an Oscar. All the
benefits of the spotlight, no lengthy acceptance speeches needed.
Be specificTell em why.

2) A physical, tangible reward.


Like Marvin Gaye crooned, "Ain't nothing like the real
thing." As far as awards go, nothing beats being able to
hold, wear, and/or show off your prize to your teammates,
friends, and family. Make sure you create an award that's
truly worthy of pride to own.

How - Build the Bounty


The award should be authentic to your team's culture.
Working with thousands of coaches, we see it all. Some
make a trophy in the team mascot's figure, more and more
celebrate with a prizefighter style championship belt, and
plenty still emphasize their blue collar culture with a Hard
Hat award.
Really, there are no limits here, but the award should
reflect what you believe in, what you stand for, and where
you want the team's culture to go.
Also, this award should be reserved to once a month rotation.
Dont overdo it and dilute the value.

This isnt T-ball.


Not everyone has to win. Not everyone should.
Anymore than that and it loses its mystique, any less than that and it becomes an afterthought your athletes forget.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

Athlete Motivation Method #1 (cont.)


Athlete of the Month

What - Motivate across your three big needs


Awards should be aligned with the behaviors you want to see.
Here are the three most common categories:
1) Attendance/Effort - If you're struggling to get consistent
compliance, energy, or focus in your weight room, recognizing
athletes who lead from the front and are the exemplar for the
lunch-pail culture you're trying to build is a bulletproof way drive
your point home.
2) Improvement - Your goal as a strength coach is to progress
athletes. By rewarding improvement across testing cycles and
gains in technique you send the message that "it's not where you
start, but where you finish" that matters.
Training's a journey, not a one time event.

Oh, how
blessed young
men are to
have struggled
for a
foundation and
beginning in
life.
- John D.
Rockefeller

3) Performance - While weight room performance doesn't


necessarily translate to the court, field, and competition stage
100% of the time, the leaders in the weight room set the tone for
the entire team and guarantee your team is pushing hard to
maximize their potential.
The utility of their efforts is not to drive everyone above a fruitless
objective like a 500 lb squat, it's simply to build a culture of hard
work and commitment.
Those intangibles are invaluable.
While PR's, big weights, and fast times are a nice thing to see, the
most significant gain that happens from excellence in the weight
room is building intrinsically motivated athletes who sell out for
each other and understand the long-term returns of short-term
sacrifice.
Rewarding these Benchmark heroes for their achievements gets
the rest of the gang on-board and pushing for excellence.
*Regardless of category, it's important to note that you're not
praising or rewarding nominal and expected behaviors. These
awards are for breaking away from the norm and going above and
beyond.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

Athlete Motivation Method #2

Game Time
Why - Three things will make
your team unstoppable
1) The willingness to compete
I dont care if its going toe-to-toe with their grandmother in
Scrabble, your athletes must be willing to compete. They
need to be encouraged to compete for every extra yard,
every loose ball, and you must provide every opportunity
for them to compete whether in-or off-season.
Athletes that love to compete will fight for you on game
day or any other day of the week. Theyll fight for their
teammates and theyll love every second of it, whether
they win or they lose, they will be fierce competitors and
that type of team is scary.

2) Learning to win and lose as a team


Losing is tough to swallow. Winning can be just as
challenging. By creating competition routinely, your
athletes will learn to win and lose as a team. Theyll learn
what it takes to win and theyll reflect on why they lost.
This is the type of behavior and culture that you can
create.

3) Having fun

Do something that you love and youll outwork


everyone else in your field. Jim Harbaugh
I dont care if thats tax accounting or playing football.
Create a culture that is fun and a culture that athletes love
to be a part of. If they love what theyre doing, theyll
outwork their teammates and the team will outwork their
opponents.
It wont be close.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

Athlete Motivation Method #2 (cont.)

Game Time
How - Stay Focused
Keep it relevant. Focus on building
better athletes.
Games should be aligned with what
your goals are in the weight room
and physiologically they can benefit
your teams development too.

What - Put it on them


Give your captains a few choices
and switch things up to keep it
interesting.
Here are some proven winners:

Dodgeball
Tug of war
Tag
Capture the flag

All games are known (no need for


rules explanation or otherwise) and
require little to no equipment.
Your athletes athleticism will be on
display in each of these games and
theyll start to reap the reward of
their training too.
Award the winning team. A "team"
picture on Twitter will go a long way.
T-shirts or chocolate milk for the
winners will take things to another
level during the competition. The
losing team can drink whole milk
instead but they didn't earn the
chocolate!

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

10

Athlete Motivation Method #3

Share it On Social
Why - Notifications on social apps drip dopamine faster than your
granny's broken faucet leaks water
Today's athletes live on social media.
You can chose to embrace that reality or you can fight it.
Fight it, and your athletes will fight you. Lean into it, have fun, and you'll reap the benefits of connecting
with your athletes.
Creating an account on social media to spotlight your teams efforts is a free, effective, and low-effort way
to drive athlete engagement.

How - Post once a day


Create a Team account on Instagram and Twitter.
Post 1X/day on Instagram to build rapport and
consistent motivation with your athletes. These
posts can be directly pushed to Twitter too.
Tag athletes modeling the behavior you want in
each post.
This volume of a singular post a day works for
two reasons:
1) The scarcity of a singular post makes it special.
If there are 10 posts each day, no one really feels
recognized.
2) Any more than one post a day, and you just
created a bunch of work for yourself. Focus on
coaching, not snapping a hundred pictures/videos
each training session.

What - Instagram and Twitter


These two channels are easy to access, heavily leveraged by your athletes, and perfect for the real-time
atmosphere of training.
Tag @trainheroic to get spotlighted in our community.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

11

Athlete Motivation Method #4

Monster Max Out


Why - Its simply awesome. Epic actually
Few things will get the T-levels skyrocketing like a cruise missile like donning a cape, tossing some body
paint on, and wearing the persona of super hero.
Further, itll recruit new kids to the weight room in a way nothing else in your program will.

How - Play this video


Let your athletes know well in advance of the Max Out date.
Hype it up.
Tell em to get creative. Let them know there will be awards for best costumes, grittiest performances, etc.

What - Go over the top


Shoot plenty of video footage.
Post the spectacle on social media. Put it everywhere. Let the AV kids make a highlight reel and use this
both as a memory for the kids and a teaser trailer to get buy-in from your incoming classes.
Bonus points: The coaching staff dresses up with the athletes. Smoke/fog machines. That's low hanging
fruit for turning this into a spectacle the kids won't forget.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

12

Athlete Motivation Method #5

Ration the Rap, Dose the Dubstep


Why - At times the iron can seem daunting
But 120 beats per minute has an unmatched capacity to make the weight seem lighter, the goal seem more
achievable, and the pain more tolerable.
The stimulant hormones culled by motivating music actually increase free testosterone in the body.
This factor is ideal for driving training intensity and muscle growth. Inversely, mellow, ambient music can
speed recovery by pushing the body into a parasympathetic state faster to improve an athlete's stress
response.

How - Ask your athletes what they want to listen to


Sure, you wanna listen to Kenny Chesney and watch the Sun go Down while your kids clang the iron. But
if you want the music to motivate, it needs to matter to them...not you.
Feel free to put some constraints on it (you don't have to support anything that's overtly offensive, violent,
etc.), but chances are you'll need to step outside your comfort zone. Let them have a bit of creative
control and the energy will jump.
Oh ya, faster and louder are typically better.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

13

Athlete Motivation Method #5


Ration the Rap, Dose the Dubstep

What - Be intentional
Believe it or not, if you blare music all the time, the stimulus it
provides weakens in direct relation to the amount it's used. Use it
too frequently, and you'll dilute the motivational effect. Like any
stimulant, reckless dosing will dampen the nervous system's
response and increase tolerance.
Make sure your beats pack a punch. Apply them sparingly.

Here's a simple method to make sure you have the


optimally effective dose:
Keep music off while you introduce the workout
Have it quiet during the warmup and as your instructing
movement
Ramp it up as athletes hit the intense pieces of their training
On Max effort days, test the integrity of your speakers. Blow it
out. Let the athletes get loose!

Successful
people have a
bigger fear of
failure than
people who've
never done
anything
because if you
haven't been
successful, then
you don't know
how it feels to
lose it all.
-Jay-Z

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

14

Athlete Motivation Method #6

Movement Master Videos


Why - A foundation of movement quality
is the bedrock of optimal strength
Without solid technique, expecting an athlete to routinely load
themselves with 300+ lbs and move it for a volume of reps is
like expecting a shanty built on sand to withstand a hurricane.
Once things get serious, the frames gonna cave.
The kid's gonna go down.
Fast.
Having worked with thousands of coaches, we know first-hand
that even today, the weight room is an epidemic of unbearable
form. Valgus-kneed squats and canoed backs have infected
the high school training world more rampantly than zombies
plagued Brad Pitt in World War Z.
While that's good news for your local PT, it's bad news for your
team's starting lineup.
Motivate athletes to be good movers by shining a spotlight on
flawless technique.

How - Start small, start simple


Announce to your athletes that youll be selecting top movers
in each of your staple movements to be in videos used for
instruction with all current athletes in the athletic program as
well as incoming Freshmen, etc.
Make the announcement one month before the actual video
shoot.
Remind the kids each training day until the day of the shoot.
Hype it up. Make it special. The kids will respond and get
moving with more precision than a Steph Curry crossover.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

15

Athlete Motivation Method #6 (cont.)

Movement Master Videos


What - Map out the
movements that are
core to your program
If you don't know where to
start here's a quick list:
Squats (fronts, backs,
overhead if used)
Deadlift variation
(conventional, sumo, trap
bar...again, whatever you
apply)
Clean variations
Press variation (bench,
seated, push press, etc.)
Warm Ups
Running + Plyos
Shoot the videos.
Two easy ways to get this done:
1) Use a DSLR or your teams
video cam to shoot the videos
all at once. Then load to
Youtube
2) Download the Youtube Capture
app for your phone, shoot vids
with your iPhone/Android and
automatically load them into your
teams youtube channel
Spotlight one relevant video
before each training session.
Top coaches like Ron McKeefery and Fred Eaves make this experience even more intimate for their athletes
by pushing their videos in athlete's daily workouts thru TrainHeroic's iPhone + Android apps.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

16

Athlete Motivation Method #7

Pin the Skins


Why - At the end of the day, all that matters is the W column
As we mentioned above, the results that matter the most aren't the numbers in the weight room, but the W-L
record of your team. To make this message is clear, this strategy, relayed from Notre Dame HS's Nick Garcia
(and borrowed from our old Coach Shannon Turley of Stanford) makes sure nothing is lost in translation.
Turley calls this "Confirmed Kills."
While the language might be a bit jingoistic for the high school
setting, the strategy resonates anywhere.
Focus on the things that matter.
Focus on how the team, as a whole, performed in competition.
No individual accolades, weight room achievements, or efforts
trump a victory on the battlefield.

How - Chalk 'em Up, Knock 'em Down


1.
2.
3.
4.

Post these three things visibly in the weight room.


Your Competitors Logos and Names
The Score of your games against them
The Date of the Competition (it's a powerful effect to have
last season AND the current season side-by-side)

What - Update 'em In-Season, Reflect on 'em Off-Season


Often the thing that lags in team training is the in-season motivation. The season can be a grind, and it can be a
dangerous habit for athletes to view their time in the weight room as a perfunctory endeavor.
It's not.
The best teams train hard and consistently year round.
To keep them on point, update this board each week in your pre-workout announcements.
Emphasize the correlation between their efforts in training and their results in competition.
During the off-season, stay consistent by reflecting on each game. Revisiting each win and loss will have its own
relevant message contributing to your team's overall training and hard work narrative.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

17

Athlete Motivation Method #8

Rack em and Stack Em


Why - Stack rank each athlete to bring out their best
Leaderboards are simple to set-up and easy to maintain (again, consistency and follow thru are key in the
success of athlete motivation strategies).
Leaderboards create a healthy forum for competition and embed this culture in your team's DNA. Further,
they provide potent immediate feedback for athletes and a context for an athlete's performance amongst
peers and rivals. That context is invaluable for maturing athletes.

How - We recommend two applications of the Leaderboard


1) To build everyday engagement, a
daily leaderboard is a must-have.
Simply pick an element in your daily training (no
need to change your program or do anything
special here) and let the athletes know at the
beginning of the day which element will be up for
competition. Next, have athletes log their results
(you shouldn't spend your time doing this for them)
to build out the leaderboard.
Then watch engagement sky like a bottle rocket on
the 4th of July.

2) To build a lasting tradition and


historical records, post benchmark
leaderboards.
These boards should always be viewable and
publicly shown. It's a badge of pride to get in the
Top 3 of any given benchmark and athletes will
work tirelessly to clamor for a top spot.
Pick up a few pieces of cheap shower board from
HomeDepot to post these leaderboards as an
effective minimum viable product.
If you want to take it digital, make it powerful,
and keep records forever, our Big Screen view
perfects the process.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

18

Athlete Motivation Method #8 (cont.)

Gun for the Top Spot


What - Leaderboard management best practices
1. Encourage competition across a
broad range of domains
This ensures athletes are encouraged to
develop all facets of their athleticism (speed,
strength, agility, balance, power, etc.). Also it
guarantees the same athletes aren't atop the
leaderboard each day. Some days, your
lumberjacks win, some days your road runners
win.
It balances the fun.
An example week of mixing it up (with a
basketball team):
Monday - Record heaviest 5 Rep squat
attempt (Strength)
Tuesday - Junkyard Dog Warm Up, Record
time (Agility)
Thursday - Record max reps across three
rounds of upper body superset (Power
Endurance)
Friday - Record worst time, 10 suicides
(Endurance)

2. Mix it up
Don't have the athletes max out everyday as
your de-facto leaderboard application. Use
leaderboards on fun warm-ups, conditioning
workouts (met-cons), heavy barbell
movements, and any skill practice you might
naturally prescribe into your team's training.
You dont have to trade the proven science of
your program in for some extra engagement.
Be creative.
Like a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine
go down, a leaderboard in your weight room
makes the barbells go up.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

19

Athlete Motivation Method #9

Culture Quotes
Why - Start with the Why
If it is important, do it every day. If its not important, dont do it at all. - Dan John
Scrawled in white paint on a deep navy backdrop, that quote sat on the West wall of the USD Varsity
weight room.
It spoke to us each day as we stepped foot in the facility and has been etched in our minds everyday since.
In fact, if you were to look at the other walls in that 5,000 sq ft. sanctuary of performance, similar sayings,
each profound in their own simplicity, galvanized our purpose.
Stephane Rochet, our
strength coach at the time,
took the time to paint those up
there. Each quote made us
think of him. They made us
think of the work we had
ahead of us and they made
us think about our
commitment to what we'd sign
up for.
They bonded us.
Like we remember Rochet's
quotes, your athletes cling to
every word you say.
But sometimes, you're not
around.
Reinforce your message and what the team stands for by painting quotes around the weight room that parrot the
positive language and culture in which you believe.
This small investment in culture shows up in serious on-the-field ROI.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

20

Athlete Motivation Method #9 (cont.)

Culture Quotes
How - Round up the Staff and some 12 oz. Inspiration
Pack your staff into a team meeting room with laptops, a printer, and inspirational fuel (coffee,
beer, pizza, etc.).

Follow this meeting agenda:


Google + Fuel (30 min) - Have each coach scour the web for 3 quotes to represent your
culture (set a goal to round up 20 total or so)...cue beer and pizza
Vote (10 min) - Pick the top 5-6 quotes as voted by your staff
Print (30 min) - Type out your quotes in a Word doc in your desired font and print 'em out
Trace (30 min) - Have each coach trace the printed quotes onto the walls of your weight room
Paint (1 hour) - Bust out some team colored paint and try your best to stay between the lines
For a step-by-step video guide on painting typography on a wall, click here
Total time for creation: 2.5 Hours
Lasting impact: Forever

The name on the front of your jersey is who you play for, the name on
the back of your jersey is who raised you. Do them both justice.
-Herb Brooks
What - Remember, this is an investment
Though it's a short activity, the ramifications of your efforts are permanent (or at least until someone
stumbles upon the desire to paint over your art).
Make sure you're deliberate in your approach.
Spend time in your brainstorming process.
Ignore the clich and the most known quotes. Dig for something unique to your squad.
If you need a kickstart, read Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle is the Way. It's packed-full of examples to ignite
your inspiration. Make it required reading for your team/staff.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

21

Athlete Motivation Method #10

Strongman Series
Why - Strongman is universally cool
Every kid has spent at least a few sick days on the couch locked-in on ESPN, watching re-run episodes of
The World's Strongest man.
It's fun. It's addicting. It's a little weird.
Every athlete loves it.
And, while recreating your own Strongman contest is a surefire way to break up the monotony in your
program, it's also sound and proven strength programming.
Strongman lifts (odd objects, carries, etc.) are incredibly functional and applicable to the world of sports.
Strongman activities develop efficient movement patterns (hinging, pressing, balancing, etc.) and power
output in a manner second to none.
Toss in a day of Strongman to let the kids get a taste of something a bit different. Their bodies and minds
will thank you.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

22

Athlete Motivation Method #10 (cont.)

Strongman Series
How - Get em Outside
Swap your Strongman day in for a previously scheduled end-of-the-week training session.
Give out awards for the Team's Strongest Man (or woman).
Pick a handful of events to balance the program. Included in your roster of contests should be some
variation of a carry, a throw, a hold, a press, a pull, and a drag.
Pro move: Double up and make your Strongman event a fundraiser.

What - Gather up the essentials


Stocking up on equipment is a lot easier than you'd think.
The basics (tractor tires, stones, logs, and trucks) are typically either on hand or cheap/easy to pick up.
The wonderful blessing of the Strongman world is that most of the implements are discarded freely in
real world use (mechanic shops, junkyards, craigslist) and are ready for your collection.
One man's trash is another man's...training equipment.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

23

Athlete Motivation Method #11

Standards of Excellence
Why - Everyone needs a goal
Id attribute a singular poster in my high school weight room as the catalyst to every athletic achievement
(and arguably every life achievement) in my career.
The poster was as basic as could be.
Just a simple table showing the standard progression of the 40-yard dash for an athlete from their
Freshmen to Senior year.
I triangulated the coordinates on the table to find that if I wanted to run a 4.5 40-yard dash by my Senior
year, I needed to be able to run a 5.0 40-yard dash in my Freshmen year.
As a gangly, incoming 8th grader staring at that poster in awe, I knew I had work to do.
I had just blazed, or more accurately, crawled to 5.2 second 40 in our testing session.
However, that singular target was all I needed to get the fire in my belly to chase down my dragon.
Everyday from that time on, I ran thirty 40's each day, lifted like Rocky, hammered on my running
mechanics, rehearsed starts, and raced every kid in the school till they quit.
At the Nike Combine, I ran 4.44 and was ranked as the 9th athlete in the country.
That poster started the fire.
The formula for the spark is simple:
Help someone find their target
Show them what's humanly possible
Provide them context and clear path to achieving the goal
Then, get out of their way.
Similar tactics could do the same for your kids.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

24

Athlete Motivation Method #11


Standards of Excellence

How - Determine your Standards


Draft your own standards, or use these old posters from our
friends over at Bigger Faster Stronger as a starting point.
Want to see what the studs are doing at the college level? Here's
a well-rounded example from our friend Josh Everett from his
days at UC Riverside.

What - Just post em and announce em

Life can be
pulled by
goals just as
surely as it
can be pushed
by drives.
- Viktor Frankl

This is one of the easiest and most passive ways to motivate


athletes. Make sure these standards are posted prominently in a
high traffic area so athletes see them all the time and know what
they're working towards.
An easy way to reward athlete progression and achievement is to
create shirts for reaching the top tier of your standards. Stephane
Rochet, our old coach at the University of San Diego took his
standards from his days at UCLA. We had Gold, Silver, and
Bronze levels to chase after. Shirts were passed out only at the
Gold level.
However, regardless of the level each individual reached, the
result for athlete motivation overall was pure platinum.

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

25

Thank you.
Thank you, Coach, for the time you invested in reading this eBook.
Time is one of your most precious resources, and the time you spend with your
young athletes can change lives.
You'll never know, but that time you make the team do 50 burpees for your
sophomore running back showing up late for weights may teach him a life
lesson about accountability to others and that there are consequences for
one's actions.
Just maybe, that lesson you taught him (and the resulting feedback from this
teammates) may really hit home and propel him to some greatness. Perhaps
more likely, he will at least be a better, more responsible person.
TrainHeroic empowers coaches and their athletes in the weight room. Its a
tool and resource that saves you time and, as a result, increases your impact
on athletes.
We would welcome the opportunity to learn about your needs and see if we
might help you "win in the gym."

Wanna learn more?


Visit www.trainheroic.com/teams
to start your free 14-day trial today

The Athlete Motivation Manifesto

www.trainheroic.com/teams

Potrebbero piacerti anche