Don’t get comfortable. Train spartan

The post by Allistair McCaw

Luxury Feeds Complacency

Spending thousands or even millions on state of the art facilities, high tech equipment or revolutionary cryotonic ice baths may sound like a great idea for your team or athlete, but I have always believed that luxury thwarts toughness and ‘grit’ – The essential qualities needed for an athlete or team to succeed. It whispers: “Relax, you’ve made it”.

In his superb book ‘The Talent Code’ (Daniel Coyle), he speaks about this exact subject. He goes on to mention that some of the talent hotbeds of the world are by no means luxury. I have witnessed it myself, from Moscow to Cairo. Humble places create mindsets that want to work, struggle and sweat.

In fact, I have witnessed more spirit, culture and work ethic in some of the most run-down training facilities I have visited around the world. Want to know what 84% of grassroots club-level soccer players in England cite as their biggest concern? – ‘Poor facilities’ (BBC sport – Dan Roan). I say: Stop pointing the blame at lack of facilities and start taking responsibility for your own training, start there.

You should be proud of your club that’s falling down, be proud of the grass you have on the field, be proud that your humble training facility is open to train. Most of all, be thankful and grateful for good teaching and coaching because that’s what really matters most!

Why do I write this piece now you ask? Well, the woman’s soccer world cup is upon us and I have just read how lavish the England soccer team are now traveling and training. State-of-the-art facilities, business class, etc. I am using them as an example. Hey, maybe they go on to win the world cup, it could happen. But, I’m sure you can think of other establishments and sports federations who have spent millions of dollars to better their facilities without seeing success on the podium.

Question: Ever seen new prospective gym members getting a tour of the new Gym facilities? They are sold, Why?

They think that the new flashy machines and change-rooms are going to motivate them to get back in shape. What happens after 6 weeks? They’re gone. They have found that the extrinsic motivation only lasted a short while. What matter’s most to getting results is your inner drive (passion) and taking yourself out of the comfort zone.

As a coach, I believe in small additions and incentives when teams or athletes perform well. Putting carrots in front of them.
Not “Here you go, million-dollar facilities”, even though you haven’t performed well enough yet. What message does it give? Better facilities don’t necessarily make better athletes, in fact, the opposite. It makes the athletes (and coaching/Technical staff for that matter) complacent.

Am I saying that we should all ‘slum it out’, have cold running water, or sit in cattle class? No, I’m not. All I’m saying is beware of the perils of success. DON’T GET COMFORTABLE. Train spartan. (Daniel Coyle). Embrace toughness. Be grateful for great teachers and coaches and remember: Too much luxury can soften you.

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