When it comes to athletic success what do you consider the most important “ability?” While aspects of an athlete’s personality relating to coachability, reliability, and durability are instrumental toward athletic success, perhaps the most important “-ability” is availability — and here’s why. No athlete, regardless of raw talent or potential, can maximize his or her athletic abilities if they are not available to compete. And while you might think being available is really easy, there are a number of hurdles athletes of all ages and skill levels must overcome if they are going to compete and play their best. Today we will take a closer look at the challenges associated with staying available, and how athletes have to pay attention to more than simply refraining from injury.
The challenges with athletic availability
Beginning with the most obvious, athletes are regularly at-risk of being injured while competing, especially in contact sports. Staying healthy is part preparation, but also a little luck, making health arguably the most challenging variable associated with being available. For student athletes, keeping up with classes and maintaining minimum grade point averages also factor in to availability, with many young people challenged to remain academically eligible. Athletes today are regularly held to social standards as well, extending to anything from breaking the law to making inappropriate social media posts. And finally, increasingly more young athletes are playing 2 (and sometimes 3) sports during the same sport season — time conflicts between sports can leave athletes available for one team, and unavailable for the other. While meeting these requirements and expectations may be easy for some, they can be a lot to deal with for other athletes, especially those who may not have access to educational support, or posses the maturity needed to make responsible social media posts.
As parents and coaches we often get excited thinking about what our kids might accomplish on the field or court, but none of that can happen if they are ineligible to play. Student athletes today need to be clearly aware of all requirements and responsibilities associated with being athletically eligible, as well as learn where resources are when they need help.
Tips to help
If you are a sports parent or coach, consider using the following ideas to help student athletes stay available and help their team:
- Outline specific responsibilities. Be sure athletes know the rules and expectations for the team, including minimum grades needed to play, social media protocols, and means of communication for when they need to miss a practice or game.
- Show where to get help. Help athletes understand where to find academic and mental health support, as well as proper management of their sports-related injuries.
- Communicating with coaches. With increasingly more kids playing multiple sports during the same season, it is important kids understand how to communicate with each coach so that any scheduling conflicts are known ahead of time.
- Privacy if they need to talk. Assure athletes that they have your trust and confidentiality if they have something personal they need to discuss, and that you will work with them to find the right resources that may be needed.
Final thoughts
You cannot reach your full potential and help your team if you are unavailable to compete. Taking care of bumps and bruises, keeping grades up, and steering clear of social media problems are just a few of the more common challenges athletes — including young athletes — have to manage in order to stay eligible to compete. It is for these reasons that working hard to stay available is the first and most important step toward greatness.
drstankovich.com
