Willing Yourself To Win
I am in the unique position of seeing a lot of power data from athletes. When you dive in and examine the intricacies, you see that each athlete has a unique power profile. You may see that Athlete A is fantastic at 30 second efforts, and that Athlete B is talented at 20:00 exertions. As you dig deeper and deeper, the differences between athletes can seem to get larger and larger. However, if you quit digging, take a step back, and look at the big picture, you see that short of a few outliers, we are all very similar.
If we are all very similar, what allows one athlete to win a race while another falls short? In many cases, it is the will to win. Take client Tom W. as an example. Tom has been riding very well this year, and he has had some results that he has been satisfied with. However, he still felt that he was not achieving the level of results that he was capable of. Prior to the State Championship weekend, Tom and I talked about strategies for maximizing his potential for success during his Saturday and Sunday racing. Saturday came and went, and even though there was potential, a great result slipped away. We talked after, and I could feel his disappointment in a missed opportunity, but I also sensed a shift within him. So what happened the next day? What happened was Tom went out and got in the break, drove the break, and won the sprint. In doing so, he became the Masters 35+ Road Race Champion for 2016.
What happened to Tom between Saturday and Sunday? Did his form improve overnight? No, nothing physiological happened between Saturday and Sunday. Physiologically, Tom was basically the same athlete on both days. What happened to him was a shift in attitude. After too many missed opportunities, he reached a tipping point. He made the decision that he could not go out on Sunday and let another chance to perform slip away. He made the decision that he was going to be The Factor in how the race unfolded. Tom made the decision that he was going to be the one who won the race. So Tom went out and won the race.
Tom – Congratulations on a well deserved State Championship. You dug deep and delivered – well done!
Jason – Another testament to your individual coaching method. Because you know your athletes, you’re able to design programs to maximize their individual potential – both physically and mentally. The combination of your education and experience give you a unique perspective on what is necessary to achieve results – and it shows in your atheletes performances.
I admire your willingness to give of yourself whenever your athletes need you.
You provide more than a training program once per week. You were there for Tom with that extra push and perspective at a crucial time.
Truly admirable, both you and Tom.