Fly Your Flag All Year Round
Boy! Now that the playoffs are on, all I see are Canucks flags flapping in the wind on every car in town! It makes me wonder…where are all these fans during the rest of the year? How come they only come out during the playoffs and not throughout the season?
It’s like in dance. During the weeks leading up to the major events, there is a lot more hustle and bustle in the studios. People show up earlier to warm up, get themselves in the zone, dress more appropriately, and dance a lot harder. Where are these people during the rest of the year? And how come they don’t train like that all year round?
I remember when Joel and I were competing; we’d be the only ones in the studio the following day after a competition. To me, it was always funny that people had to take a break after the comps, especially since our local competitions have only 2 rounds, maybe 3 if we were lucky. Whether it was the day after the comp when everyone else was at home watching TV, or a hot summer day when everyone else was at the beach, Joel and I would be working hard at the studio, alone.
The really successful athletes train on a consistent basis whether there’s an upcoming competition or not. Just because there is no competition coming around the corner, it doesn’t mean that you should not be trying to improve yourself all season long. I’m sure the Canucks players train all year round, even though their season is only 7 months long. They may train in a different way during their off-season, but they are certainly still working hard and trying to improve their game.
As a coach, believe it or not, the ‘off-season’ is one of my favourite times of year. When there are no competitions around the corner, I can really get my hands dirty. I like to dig in there, break things down and build people back up again, better and stronger than they were before. Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of improvements to be made during the competition season. However, the really nitty-gritty stuff that will make overall monumental changes are better done with more time and without the pressure of an upcoming competition.
The moral of the story is… To be great athlete, artist or performer, you need to train consistently all year round. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon when you see the Grand Ball flyers come in the mail. If you’re just a weekend warrior; dancing for fun, then that’s fine. But if you really want to excel at what you’re doing, you might want to bring those Canucks flags out more often than just during the playoffs.
