How do you motivate your athletes when they don't think things are going well in training leading up to races, but really, they are?

To motivate distance runners in the latter half of the season when they were in really good shape, I sometimes would interrupt a workout when they were all warmed up and feeling good and tell the slowest runner in that group to run an all out 800 until the other guys, they had to stay with him but they couldn't pass him. Invariably, the slowest runner would run a lifetime best in the 800. And many times, several others in the group would also get lifetime bests. Now they had an appreciation for what kind of shape they were in. They were excited. They were confident. And they we're just looking forward to the next race.

So the thing to keep in mind is that training just gives you a chance to compete. Well, okay, I've seen so many athletes, train, horrible, and or pretty poor. And then brace amazing. So the only thing training does is give you a chance to compete. Well, so, so it's the actual competing that matters. But, you know, part of being a coach is Is managing your athletes expectations, both positive and negative. And normally, I think what you're asking the question is, normally I add test to the workouts either low key races or aerobic test to kind of tie show them where they are fitness-wise. Okay, workouts. It mean things that we've done, you know, there's so many workouts that, you know, you can tie to a race with it being very specific. You know might be 4 times a 2 K plus of K for a 10K athlete. It might be a 25k progression for a marathon or okay. So you give them test to show them where they are you know, just because they don't always go. Great doesn't mean they're not going to compete. Well, some people just come to a race and are different human being. They unleash everything. So managing your clients expect expectation is huge and keeping athletes motivated and positive is Part of your job as a coach knowing how to press their buttons, knowing what to say having self-compassion to keep them positive. You know I think you want to be as positive as possible as optimistic as possible without losing your credibility, okay? And there is a time when you want to squash. That grandiose they have at times because it's not always great to have that but manage your athletes, you know, their expectations in both pro and con and realize that, you know, there's always always a chance because trainings training

So the question says, how do you motivate your athletes when they don't think? Things are going well and training leading up to races? But really, they are that that happens all the time. It's it's, you can train and there's critical zones of where you need to be. So there's times that my athletes need to hit at a certain point based off of where we're trying to be for this particular race. And if they're there, I know, they're they're ready to go. But as an Feet. You kind of second-guess yourself, sometimes making sure and you just have to keep reiterating to them that, you know what? And and usually you like, you know, you getting race. You can't control what's going to actually happen. You just have to be able to navigate and and execute what you've been taught. But the way mentally you can deal with that is to have certain target times and if these athletes have hit these targets, Times. And they've done that, then you have to let them know. What I expect of you is for you to just do you, you get out there and you do your best? I tell my athletes all the time that in the end, they always know it. I'm at a certain place that I'm cheering for them or yelling out certain things for them. And when it comes to even in practice, no matter if it's the, if we're doing repeats, whatever, the last one that we come up to, I tell them act like it's your first one, get out there and give me your The effort. So when you get to a track meet or race, Or whatever it is a game, whatever it is you're doing. The whole goal for you is to do you, they say you can't give more than 100%. So I say, give 100 and a little hump and that's going to take you over. If you're ready to go, you're ready to go mind, body and soul and it's that equation. To I'm practices rehearsal for the main event and what are we doing out here at practice? We are putting in deposits in the bank. So now we're going to the track meet. And what are we going to do? Pull out the black card, and the spin spin spin. That's what it's about, and that's how I've been motivating. Debating my athletes and it's been working pretty good.

Well, my athletes. Don't think things are going well in practice. Yet? I know that they're prepared. Pretty much is why I tell my athletes. That every track meet is a quiz. It's not the final test. So I'm not really concerned whether they think that their things are going well in practice, all we're going to do is quiz each other. See what's going to happen? Make sure that they're in the place that I need for them to be in and then personally, as we Going down the road then we will make the adjustments and that's all track. Meets our to me, whether if unless it's the Olympics or the World Championships or NCAA championships or state championships, none of that stuff really matters during regular track meets as long as we are working towards getting better. So I will never tell them anything to try to motivate them to be better in a regular track meet. If it's a major championship then. Then that would be a different story, but on a daily basis, track meets are made to learn from and then major championships are meant to gain metals.

I mean, they're 10 and 12 years old. So I mean, They at that age, they should just be running for fun. I think we get caught up with this idea of what it means to be Pro and when you're supposed to start preparing yourself to be Pro, you leave that in the God's hands. I mean, if God is saying you have the gift to do big things, then big things is going to happen, but at 10 or 12 years old, and you just posted be going out there and having fun. Don't think about anything else. Other than having fun.