TopJLax

In the first of a series of reader letters our own Flowseph gets us started with his letter titled: Perfecting the fundamental

This was one of the best pieces of advise I ever received during my time playing lacrosse, and it applies to all sport in general. What does it mean? Is it to say that athletics is so black and white as to say that some people are given the gift by God for greatness, whilst others are left on the wayside; not better, faster, not stronger. Or perhaps can an elite athlete’s outstanding abilities be explained by a collaboration of physicality with a mental edge and motivation to better themselves, perhaps imposed by parent/coach nurture. It is difficult to attribute sporting success to one aspect more than any other, but what is obvious when looking at elite athletes; no one wanders into their position without high threshold for enduring and mundane practise, despite their level of natural talent.

My thoughts concerning this matter arose from my time playing in California. I, like most lacrosse players at some point, was complaining about hitting the wall, and specifically the fact that I wasn’t really feeling any significant improvement. I was put right by a confidant (props to Victor Poon) with an extremely wise yet glaringly obvious point. If you saw definite improvement every time you hit the wall, everyone would do it, probably all the time. This would be the same with any other sport; sprinters would be getting faster, basketball players would be sinking endless 3-pointers, and everyone would be constantly hyped up on the satisfaction that they are constantly realising new potentials…easily. But sport is definitely not meant to be easy, and what sets some (the best) apart from others (everyone else) is the ability to remain motivated to practise even when they are seeing no real improvement, and can remain focused and motivated during a trough in performance. 

Following this theory, it would be fair to say that it is not just the talented and the talentless that co-inhabit our world of sport, but the talented, the talentless and those who have the mental capacity to realise their own talents. It is the later who become the best athletes, and undoubtedly the leaders in their sporting sphere. Not only must these athletes realise their ability through practise, they cannot relent; even when they become number one in the world and believe they are at the pinnacle of their game. Their game will consequently decline when their physicality can no longer keep up with their mental edge.

There is therefore a distinct separation between those who will persevere in practise and achieve greatness, and those who are content with being a good player on their university or club team. This can possibly be explained by a neurone or a strand of DNA that allows the said person to endure mundane practise. I am not for a second condemning people for not dedicating their lives to a sport, just merely pointing out the differences. As another friend of mine said to me once, again in a conversation over the benefits of hitting the wall during the midnight hours; ‘to be fair, Tiger Woods is probably practising his drive right now’. Connor Martin’s mother recalled him as a youngster painting a spot onto a large piece of wood and standing out for hours just hitting the same area. He only began the sport freshman year of HS, but built upon his talents through (perhaps obsessive) attention to the very fundamentals of the game, and has now gone pro. Similarly Greg Gurenlian advocated eating, sleeping, living lacrosse in order to become a great lacrosse player, as doing this will allow you to be truly at one with your stick (the most basic necessity of the game).

Obviously there are very many more factors contributing to the success of an athlete, and I do not for a second pretend to know the intricacies more than anyone else but one thing is definitely certain, every game is built upon fundamentals. Knowledge of the game and technical refinement can all come later, but needs the foundation of a solid base where the fundamentals are second nature. Fundamentals can only be built up through repetition, which, lets face it, is booorrrring! Most of us do find it difficult to motivate ourselves to the max, so here are a few tips I have gathered from around the place that may help with the less shiny side of lacrosse:

Numero Uno- Get an iPod with a good playlist and ear phones that stay in (you want to include in the experience as little frustration as possible)

Part Deux- Challenge yourself. Setting yourself targets such as ‘no drop’ sets at the wall; hitting consecutive five minute miles at the track, or trying to better your record in push-ups keeps you focused and driven.

Number Three- Mix it up. Don’t let your regime become too monotonous. If you keep a record of what you are doing, you can change it day by day, which helps in keeping you interested.

Numero cuatro- Don’t burn out. If you kill yourself on a run one morning you are less likely to get up the next to do one. Real results come from an endurable routine and not pulverising yourself once in a blue moon.

Part Cinq- Have fun with it.That is basically what we are here for, so if you are not having fun, then perhaps you should think about doing something else with your time.

Six!- Kick it with the team.Continually working at fundamentals by yourself is no fun, and lets face it, if you’re the only guy on your team putting in the hard graft it’s not going to make too much difference to your season. Go to the wall with a bro and try racing your wall routine, do team gym sessions, hit the track together and then all cook a man meal (I recommend bro-rittos).

 
So that is my take on the first step to becoming some sort of an athlete. Whether this means many of us will become masters of lacrosse doesn’t matter- it’s all about realising and acting on your potential to be the best you can be. Your team will thank you for it! ‘There is the Best and there is Everyone Else’.

Flowseph

What’s your take on the secrets of sporting performance? You may agree or disagree with the opinions shown. What we hope to achieve at TopJLax is getting people talking and thinking about these things, so please write to articles@topjlax.com with your ideas and we will get it up.