Dr. David Schary: Become a student of your sport

Athletes will spend more time training than competing. They will put in hours and hours of practice each week to play a game that is over in a fraction of the time. Because of this fact, it is important to leverage every possible advantage.

There is only so much an athlete can do physically. Participating in sports already requires a lot of physical effort and anything additional could lead to injury, but athletes can easily increase their knowledge by becoming students of their sports. While not difficult, it often requires an athlete to think differently. Below are three ways that becoming a student will benefit any athlete:

Winning is not everything

As cliché as it sounds, sports are more than just winning. Winning is not a reward for working hard in practice. I am not saying that you should not feel good after winning a game or crossing the finish line first. Instead, winning should not be the reason you show up to practice every day. You should work hard preparing for games because you respect the sport and the challenges it represents. Practice is not always fun, but it should always make you a better, even the easy days.

Learning to love learning

I did not enjoy school until I discovered that learning was fun. This change did not happen overnight. It took years for me to determine how to approach learning the right way, without any preconceived notions. I combined new information with my current knowledge and applied it to solving interesting problems. Learning became less about grades and more about discovery.

In the same way, you need to determine how to love learning about your sport. At first, it may seem boring to memorize rules, review film, or read about strategy. In addition, the more knowledgeable you become, the better you will perform. This is because the more you learn, the more you can practice and apply in games. By no means will studying replace physical practice, but it will, without a doubt, make you better.

Helping your future

There are important lessons to learn from sport, but most of the time the application is not clear. For example, it is well understood that a sprinter needs to sprint, condition, and lift weights to get a faster. In other words, the sprinter must practice (in addition to becoming a student of the sport). But is the sprinter learning any bigger, more important life lessons?

The short answer is maybe. The longer answer involves looking at what the sprinter is doing and what the application is to life. Being fully committed to a demanding practice schedule is not easy, especially when trying to balance school, jobs, and other extracurricular activities. It requires dedication, organization, and motivation. All three factors are helpful to other areas of life but only if it is realized by the athlete. Too many hard-working athletes miss opportunities to excel in school or work because they do not apply their athletic skills to the other areas of life. Parents and coaches should help by intentionally pointing out how skills like dedication, organization, and motivation can be transferred from the field to the classroom. Without intention, the application gets lost.

The best athletes are students of their sports. They will spend more time analyzing film and reading books than practicing on the field. They dedicate the time because it improves practices and helps game performance. In addition, the best athletes also have the most respect for the game. Becoming a student of one’s sport takes time, but the rewards will extend far past the end of your athletic career.

This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Dr. David Schary: Become a student of your sport."