Prom. Graduation. End of the school year. Time to hang out with your friends. Etc.
AND it's time to really polish your volleyball skills in preparation for the season's final tournaments, AAU's and JO's.
I hear some players talking about how exciting it is to be preparing for the final tournament of the season. I hear others "being so done with school and volleyball."
Each of us has that "do-nothing, hang out a little longer" place in ourselves. Each of us also has that harder-to-engage "work hard, think clearly, compete with intensity" place. What are your priorities now? How do you balance these seemingly competing priorities during the next few weeks?
For most of you, volleyball is what we call a productive obsession. This means you spend a lot of time thinking about it, practicing it, and competing in it. Volleyball is an important part of your life - it makes your life richer. It creates opportunities for friendship, athletic competition, life lessons, college scholarships, and more. It provokes all sorts of mental states - euphoria when things go great, irritation when you feel thwarted, fatigue after hours of mental and physical struggle, excitement when you win. Be ready to handle all of these mental states in these next few weeks. Remember that you are in charge of what you're thinking, how you're feeling and the actions you're taking.
This may be a good time to reflect back on the goals you and your team made in December, and the commitments you made to yourself, your teammates and coach.
Take charge of your thoughts, feelings and actions now so you make sure to live up to the commitments you made last fall.
Take charge of your thoughts, feelings and actions now in these final weeks of the season to reach the goals you and your team set.
Take charge of your thoughts, feelings and actions now so you can end the season knowing you gave everything you had, feeling good about yourself, your effort and your contribution to your team's success.
Work hard now at practices; play hard at AAU's and JO's. Then kick back and relax for a few weeks until your productive obsession with volleyball kicks in again.
Good luck to all of you in the upcoming post-season play.
Tim Engels, M.A., sports psychology consultant to Front Range Volleyball Club, is a sports psychology consultant and counselor in Denver, CO. You can contact him at (303) 956-5691 or tengels@qwest.net.
