Why Competition Matters

Competition raises the standards, competition separates those who can do the dew from those who cannot do the dew. Over the past several years, the TP staff and I have noticed one commonality between all those who participate in our training classes. Between the novice/ beginner level athlete, and the mature/ seasoned TP vet. It doesn’t matter what level your at, it is about what you’re welling to do to get to the next level. What separates those doing the dew, and those who do not is the mentality of the athlete when they compete.

We cannot host a baseball game in our gym, we cannot take our basketball players out to the parking lot and ask them to play a game for the sake of training. This is not our job. Our job is to prepare the TP athlete for the rigors of competition (physically and mentally), not create their game in our gym. With that being said, what we can do is pair our athletes together, stir them up a little bit, and watch them go!

I ask athletes all of the time “who in this gym can you beat in a race, right now, no doubt?”

Do you want to know the answer from majority of the kids? “Ummmm…. I don’t know…. maybe like 1 or 2 guys??” And that is mentality we are aiming to change at TP.

Having a level of confidence is imperative to success not only in sport, but in life. We aren’t trying to create cocky ass-holes, but we are trying to create an atmosphere of “I don’t care who you are, where you come from, or why you’re here, all I know is I am going to beat you.”

This mentality does more for an athlete than any number of push-ups or squats will do. You may be able to squat the house, but if you wilt under the tiniest bit of pressure, you won’t be playing long.

If kids are able to take this mentality to the gym, the return on investment from their time in the gym will be substantially higher than those who do not have that competitive edge.

A certain level of a competition forces the athlete to be present in the moment, focus on intent, and complete the task at hand.

Over time, little decisions between skipping a rep & completing the set, or sleeping in & getting out of bed, add up. Before you know it, we either have an athlete pleased with their progress, and ready to commit to another semester of training, or a pissed off parent wondering why their hard earned $ didn’t create the specimen athlete they had in mind.

Whether you’re a coach running a weight room, or an athlete training by themselves in a basement, you know what I mean when I say competition matters. Creating that mentality will go propel you further in your career, more than any squat max ever could.

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