Habit and Routine

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit." - Will Durant (?)

I say, "we make our habits and our habits make us." Learn more about habits to develop better routines. Study James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, a New York Times bestseller.  

First, the habit cycle: be specific

Cue - walk into the kitchen at 7 A.M. and see the coffee maker

Craving - "I want coffee."

Response - "Make the coffee." 

Reward - "Ahh, coffee." 

How can we refine or edit the habits. Clear argues, "make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, make it satisfying.

Apply it to volleyball, again, being specific. First, preparation. 

1) Have the practice and game schedule on your door. (Cue)

2) Be prepared (Craving)

3) Response (Organize your gear). Best to have a checklist. 

4) Reward (You're "fired up and ready to go."

Alright, you're saying that's weak sauce, I'll never forget my sneakers, knee pads, or ankle supports. Hmmm. But, Coach, none of this impacts winning. It's a downer when your parent has to retrieve your gear, your inhaler, your whatever. That hurts your focus. 

Second, improve your pregame routine. 

1) Cue - Game day. Gotta be mentally ready.

2) Craving - I want to bring my best. 

3) Response - Go through your routine. 

4) Reward - know you're ready. 

What's in your routine? 

1) Mindfulness, maybe a UCLA script. 5-9 minutes. 

2) Jason Selk 'toughness' - breathing, identity and performance statement, mental highlight reel, breathing.

3) Inspirational quotes. They're yours. One of mine is Tennyson's: "That which we are, we are, and if we are to be any better, now is the time to begin."

4) Pump up or calm down music. Create an optimal state of arousal. Your tastes will differ, but maybe we'll appreciate both. 

Lagniappe. Worth investing the 12 minutes from Coach Donny of Elevate Yourself. 

Then watch the finish of the Melrose - Reading match starting at 1:36:45. Set the playback speed to 0.25 to assess each individual play. Remember, great offense is multiple actions and great defense is multiple efforts. Study the technical actions. Was it a good platform, did the receiver get the first pass into a good spot. Remember coach Donny's 10-15-20? 10 feet from the net, 15 feet from the sideline, 20 feet in the air? You won't be able to make a perfect first pass, but make a good first pass. Against top teams, you must win points because they will not make many errors.