Free Play Academy Newsletter #34
Topics that will be covered:
1. The Six Pillars to Performance.
2. Will Coletti.
3. When Stalin asked what the most important training principles were to beat the American in the Olympics.
The Six Pillars to Performance.
Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first women’s Olympic Games marathon champion, believes in balance. She says, “Sports cannot be all-consuming. You have to balance the mind and body.”
After more than five decades in athletics, Joan still has a passion for it, thanks to living by this philosophy. True athletes know that a balanced mindset and training plan is the key to making incremental gains over time. Slow, steady, and consistent wins the race.
Focusing on these six critical areas helps you dial in new habits to keep you on track toward optimal health and peak performance. Pick one new habit a month to implement from each pillar to build serious momentum superpowers.
The Six Pillars of Performance recommendations include, but are not limited to:
Physical Movement and Exercise.
Go to practice.
Get in the weight room, and put load on your body PROPERLY.
Do somatic movement (yoga, stretching, range of motion, etc.).
Do short “spot drills” of micro-movements during the day (walking, stretching, pull ups, etc.).
Our bodies is the greatest asset we have.
Fueling and Nutrition.
Carry fresh water with you and drink half your body weight in ounces every day w/ electrolytes.
Eat natural, high-quality foods 80% of the time.
Cut out sugary snacks that don’t serve you.
Sleep and Recovery.
Do yoga or stretching movements every morning and after every workout.
Schedule active recovery and days of rest in your training plan.
Plan to get between seven and eight hours of sleep. Track it with an Oura ring or your watch.
Stop using electronics one-two hours before bedtime.
Put up blackout curtains and consider using a cooling device to keep you bedroom cold.
Stress and Mental Management.
Practice five or more minutes of box breathing daily (building up to 20 minutes).
Read something inspiring as part of your morning or evening ritual, or do a spot drill.
Say “no” to commitments that don’t serve you and say “yes” to downtime for learning, or for helping someone out.
Time in Nature.
Get outside every day to walk, breathe, get some direct sunlight, and clear your head.
Spend more time in nature camping, hiking, or traveling.
Get direct sunlight as soon as you wake up. Your circadian rhythm is set by this, with sleep occurring roughly sixteen hours later.
Community.
Cherish the teams you are apart of.
Don’t be a lone ranger in your learning and training, find a teammate and bring them along or join in on a group that you know are getting after it.
Fall back on your team and your teammates, enjoy the company of these individuals and aim to feed the them in a positive way with how you carry yourself and act.
Will Coletti.
I continue find myself going back to this film of Army’s starter at the faceoff dot. Athletic, instinctual, technician and a hard-nosed mentality.
When Stalin asked what the most important training principles were to beat the American in the Olympics.
The Soviet Lev P. Matveyev was considered by many an eminence in the global approach to training and periodization theory.
The story goes that Stalin asked him what the most important training principles to beat the Americans in the next Olympics.
Matveyev, after investigating, replied that the key was the principle of individuality.
This clashed with communism and was not applied as the sport scientist suggested.
Wolfgang Schöllhorn trained different German athletes and led them to success with training methods that respected the individuality of each one.
Then, with enough evidence, he published his Differential Learning Theory.
A learning theory that opposes the repetition of an “ideal” movement based on what the traditional textbooks say.
It is about finding performance patterns according to each person’s individuality.
Differential Learning Theory is about empowerment.
It does not force to produce any movement pattern. It forces to discover yours, it teaches you to constantly adapt.
The Free Game
The part of lacrosse that is played with the mind.
What will be covered are the 8 Principles of Performance.
Any lacrosse player can own the 1st ever sport psychology methodology specific to the game of Lacrosse.
This purchase will include a FREE consultation with Coach McDonnell via in-person or Zoom.
Here is a preview.
The cost is $24.99
You can purchase The Free Game here.
Lean in, do the work, stay focused and become uncommon.
Have a great week.