Does The Microwave Work?

"My child should be playing all the time; he’s better than those other kids. I want my child to be the best player on the team right now."

When are they going to get it? Do all players peak at the same time?

Basketball can be one of those things that can drive a parent up the wall, a player to lose interest fast, or quit altogether. Why’s this? What can be done to change this?

During my 35 years as a coach and player, I have seen players who develop really fast and dominate the competition when they are young. Due to their talent and early success, they miss out on lots of lessons that are needed to sustain their early success (unless they’ve been trained to be process-driven). On the other hand, I have seen players who were not very good become good to elite players over time. Why is this? Like the famous author Zig Ziglar says, "There’s no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.” But why do that if I can get there quicker? Sometimes in this race, we think we need to be the best or get to this level right now. We miss out on what the challenges and the struggles are there for us in our lives. The learning curve, failures, the difficulties are all a part of what we truly need to become our best selves. Without these lessons, we will miss out on what we need at some point in our journey.

The microwave is one of the greatest inventions of our time. It speeds up the process and gets you your food hot and quick. However, it doesn’t fill your home with that delicious aroma that has your taste buds watering when you know the one that’s cooking has added all the right ingredients, seasoning, and spices to get it right.

Trying to get to places too fast leads to accidents. You miss signs and often hurt people along. Having a long-term view is exactly what you want to have. This allows athletes to enjoy and fall in love with their process.