Lost Time

Like a lot of people this week, we missed some days of training. Thirty-six plus inches of snow will do that to you.

We were shut down Monday through Wednesday. And the itch to get back to work was obvious across the entire building. Coaches wanted to get routines back on track. Athletes wanted to move again. Administration was trying to figure out where teams would even practice once the fields cleared.

When you finally get the green light to train again, there is a strong urge to double down. To make up for lost time. To push harder because you feel behind.

That mindset runs deep. Hard work gets rewarded. If you are not working as much as your opponent, you fall behind.

I get it.

But my stance sits somewhere in the middle.

Yes, you have to make up for lost time. We did. We shifted some things from earlier in the week and added them to Thursday and Friday because they mattered. We needed them. Max velocity sprinting moved from Wednesday to Friday, and that felt right for our group.

What we did not do was overcorrect.

We did not add mat drills this week. After three days off, that would have been too much. Not because the work is bad. Doing them off 3 days off would be wrong.

Here is the reality. You do not speed up the process by piling on more stress than the system can handle.

You bake a cake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. If you only have 15 minutes, you cannot bake it at 700.

Training works the same way.

You have to be smart. You have to be realistic. And you have to trust that your process matters more than trying to cram work in just to feel productive.

Sometimes the best coaching decision is knowing when not to push.

Keep the Fire Burning, Leech