Defining Your Roles in and Out of Sports
Athletes have many roles beyond sports…
Every athlete has multiple roles in their lives, such as student, friend, parent, spouse, club member, employee, etc.
Each additional role increases the responsibilities placed upon you. And more demands can translate to more pressure.
If you are to be successful in your sport, you need to learn to balance multiple roles and manage the responsibilities that come along with each role.
Take for example, a high school student-athlete…
The high school student athlete has classes, homework and test preparation in addition to many hours of training, competition travel, weekend games or tournaments.
The student-athlete may also belong to a high school club.
As a member of a family, the student athlete has certain family responsibilities and commitments.
In addition to all these demands, the student athlete needs friends and a social life.
All these roles can pull an athlete in many directions…
Therefore, if you are to be successful in your sport, you need to balance the many roles and associated demands.
American skier and 2014 Olympian, Sadie Bjornsen, has reached the pinnacle of her sport due to her ability to balance training, competing, school, work and a social life.
Not only has Bjornsen dedicated a tremendous number of hours to training in hopes of becoming the first American woman to medal in cross-country skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics, but Bjornsen is also pursuing her master’s degree at Alaska Pacific University.
An elite athlete has only so many hours of the day required to succeed as Bjornsen acknowledges.
BJORSEN: “[Cross country skiers] live a pretty wild lifestyle. We don’t have time to come home between races. We live out of these 50-pound suitcases. Every week, we are switching countries.”
When she is not training or competing, Bjorsen spends most of her time studying.
How does Bjorsen handle the many demands and roles she must fulfill, including the pressures of competing at the highest level?
BJORSEN: “I work really closely with a sports psychologist, and I try to check in with her once or twice a week. I do a fair amount of journaling… it’s such an awesome way to get your feelings out.”
Managing all her roles effectively and dealing with all the pressure she faces has been the biggest key to Bjornsen’s success.
In order to managing your roles is to first define those roles.
If your roles are not well-defined, you will carry the weight of all of them with you when you are supposed to be training or competing.
By learning to separate your roles, you be more equipped to block out distractions and focus on training and competing… And be the best athlete you can be.
A Tip for Defining your Roles:
Recognize each role you play in life and the times you are actively engaged in that role.
Understand that you are a person first who happens to compete as an athlete!
Prior to stepping into you athlete role, tell yourself, “Now I am an athlete. I am totally focused on my training.”
With well-defined roles, you will be able to manage the challenges of each role more effectively.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Accepting Your Team Role
- What are Good Goals to Set for Golfers?
- Using Your Mind to Mount a Comeback
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The Focused Athlete
It’s probably no secret that you have many opportunities to become distracted in sports. Athletes are bombarded with both internal and external distractions everyday in practice and competition. Focused athletes are able to get the most from their skills because they are more efficient with practice and more concentrated in competition. Athletes who lack focus let distractions run wild through their mind and don’t know how to adjust or refocus.
The Focused Athlete was developed for any level coach, parent, or junior to professional athlete who wants to improve performance and gain a competitive edge. It does not matter if you are a fledgling junior athlete; or a seasoned professional, plagued with distractions; or you just wanting to learn how to improve concentration…
“The Focused Athlete” is a complete system to teach you how to focus like a champion and harness the power of a zone focus every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course in practice and games!