The clean-up phase

I'm in Colorado Springs at the US Olympic Training Center with a couple of my female athletes. We're in the final preparation stages leading into the US Olympic Team Trials. The Trials will take place in Iowa City, IA on April 21-22. All of the hard work is done and it's now time to get organized and take what we have into the most important event in the US since 2008.

This week is very light from a physical standpoint. The girls are tapering and honing their skills. It's too late to add anything and it's too close to push hard. This week is more of a "clean-up" phase. Essentially, the past 6-7 months of training have been a whirlwind and somewhat overwhelming, emotionally draining, mentally taxing and physically demanding. This week is about putting everything back together and in order.

I had a long conversation with one of my athletes two weeks ago and she expressed her frustrations with teammates, training, technique and almost everything associated with the sport. She felt like she was over-training and needed a break. I reassured her that all of this training is working out perfectly. I told her that the nature of her training and continued growth makes everything seem very "messy" right now. The analogy I used was that it's like her room is a mess, clothes are everywhere, she hasn't made her bed in months and now I'm coming with my vacuum cleaner and we're cleaning house: doing laundry, folding her clothes and putting them in the correct drawers (figuratively). We're going from disorder to order.

It's really not much different than a construction site. Before construction begins, the area is clean, orderly and functional. Once you "break ground," it gets a little messy. There is daily maintenance during a big job like sweeping and picking up tools, however, it's not until it's complete that you pull away the plastic and throw away the masking tape that was around the windows. The same is true now for those competing in the Trials. We have to get rid of the plastic, throw some things out and take inventory of all of our tools. We're taking a finished product to Iowa.

This is a big moment for these women. The next two weeks are extremely delicate and crucial. It's two weeks for the rest of their lives. They're feeling the weight of the pressure. If it's all done correctly, the pressure will help them rather than hinder them. Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton said, "Under pressure you can perform fifteen percent better or worse." To perform best, we need to maintain a healthy perspective and enjoy the process.

The probability of achieving the outcome you want increases when you let go of the need for it.