A STRONG FOUNDATION

It’s common knowledge that a house is only as strong as the foundation on which it's built. Without a strong foundation, everything else about a house becomes obsolete. You can build a home with incredible curb appeal, a ton of square footage, and every luxury known to man. But if it’s weak in the areas that matter the most – even if those areas aren’t always evident to the casual observer – then that house will never be its best.

In many ways, the same can be said for your child. You may not be a home builder, but if you’re working to raise a champion athlete and person in this world, then you are in the development business. And just like a strong foundation is required for any home to reach its full potential, so too will it be required of our kids.

So what makes up the strong foundation for an athlete and person who reaches their full potential? We talk regularly here in the newsletter about the talents possessed by the champion, in sports and in life:

These talents represent the strong foundation on which your child will build a successful athletic career, and eventually, a successful life. And no one has a greater opportunity – or a greater responsibility – to teach, cultivate, and develop them than you. You are your child's developer.

Just like the foundation of a home, this kind of mental and emotional talent may not always be noticeable to the naked or untrained eye. Most physical talent can be easily recognized just by a casual glance. How big or strong your child is, how high he/she can jump, how fast they are, or how skilled they are in their sport are obvious when they step on the field to play. Those things you might call their curb appeal – they're easy for everyone to see.

But in reality, what people can see from your child on the outside only matters if they've been built with a strong and sturdy foundation on the inside – that is, if they've developed the talents that really matter. Your kid can look the part to a casual observer. Many athletes do that – they look the part. They have elite size or strength, elite physical skill or ability, or elite equipment or training. If those guys were houses, they'd probably look like mansions.

If this is your situation – if you see that your child has a palace worth of potential, then you have a great responsibility. You’ve probably made a major investment in all those curb appeal areas, and that’s a good thing; your child can’t become their best without the size or the strength or the equipment or the training - all those things everyone can see. But you better be just as committed to strengthening and solidifying those talents they can’t see, too. The weight and burden of your child's opportunity will demand it. When it gets tough, just looking the part won't be enough.

If, on the other hand, you’re like most sports parents in the world, your child probably doesn’t possess the elite level size, skill, equipment, or training of some others. That’s okay. There’s encouragement for you today, too. After all, not every house is a mansion. If your child has less curb appeal than others, you still have a great opportunity to help him or her become a champion by strengthening their foundation. If you're committed to using the events and experiences in their life today, you can help make them stronger in the areas that may not be as evident to the casual observer, but are actually so important to their success. And help make them stronger, too, than some of the bigger houses around them.

At a glance, your child’s house might not look all that impressive compared to others. But you might find that competition has a way of exposing what can't be seen on the outside. Those big, beautiful buildings may look good, but without true strength and toughness at their foundation, they will crack, cave, and crumble to the ground. I can guarantee you’d be one proud parent if at the end of the contest – as the dust settles – your small, simple structure of a kid is the one standing strong, amidst the rubble of all those mansions that have collapsed around him. It can happen, but only if your child's been built, and developed, and prepared in the areas where it really matters.

You’d be one proud parent if at the end of the contest – as the dust settles – your small, simple structure of a kid is the one standing strong.

Recognize clearly the opportunities you have to build your child’s mental toughness. Teach them this important reality of sports and life – that just looking the part isn’t enough. Strengthen them in the areas where it really matters today by helping them love the game, give their best, overcome adversity, seek improvement, get coached, be a teammate, take risks, and have a positive attitude. If you do, you’ll find in time that your work as a developer has built a strong, sturdy champion, on the playing field and beyond.