It’s not mantras, affirmations, or even journaling; it’s action. It’s not what you say you do, but what you actually stand for.
If it’s not already, it will soon be preseason training for many professional football clubs. The first few days are taken up by people with clipboards, taking notes, and comparing data. And the purpose of all this? Baseline measurements.
In between four to six weeks of preseason training, we can expect players to increase their performance from baseline by around 10%. Of course, for some it will be more, and others less, but you get the idea: it helps to know where you began.
And yet, football is a people’s game. Data helps, but it can’t kick a ball for you.
If we were to design pre-season with the connection and collaboration of the individual player and squad in mind, I doubt we would design it like we do now. The first interaction a fitness coach could have with a new player could be with data in mind and a clipboard in hand.
When gathering people on purpose, nothing kills the party like a clipboard.