Balance is Key

On and Off the Ice

by David Jacobson

For obvious reasons, balance is critical to a skater’s on-ice success. Balance off the ice — between skating, school, family, friends and other activities — is even more important. Fortunately, balance off the ice actually will improve balance (and other aspects of performance) on the ice.

Why? Because a well-rounded life away from the rink frees a skater’s mind when it is time to perform. Which scenario do you think leads to better performance?

• A skater arrives at a competition physically tired from training, mentally distracted by loose ends in other areas of his/her life and emotionally drained from a singular focus on skating.
• A skater hits the rink well rested, mentally comfortable that other aspects of life are in order, and emotionally committed to the moment of competition, already gratified and enriched from interests besides skating.

Clearly, the second skater will perform better. But these scenarios only consider how life balance affects a skater’s competitive ability. Positive Coaching Alliance and the ISI believe there is more at stake for youth athletes than just competitive results. In fact, that is the basis of PCA’s coaching model, the Double-Goal Coach™, whose first goal is winning and whose second, more important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.

Those life lessons are of much greater value if your youth athletes actually have a life outside of skating. Just as we hope skaters apply to the rest of their lives the lessons of determination, teamwork and overcoming adversity they learn from skating, so do we hope they bring to their skating similar lessons learned from their outside lives.

So, how can the leaders and coaches in your organization help cultivate balance? Here are few ideas:

1. Place skating in perspective

The first step is to agree, organizationally, that skating is not the be-all and end-all of a child’s life. Recognize out loud — and in your printed, displayed and distributed mission statement — that your organization is committed to education and character development. Living up to that standard necessarily precludes overemphasizing competitive results. In turn, that reduces the pressure to train at the expense of healthy doses of school, family, friends, relaxation, entertainment and indulgence of other interests.

2. Get all constituencies of your rink to buy in

One reason PCA workshops are so valuable and so successful in enhancing our partners’ organizational cultures is that all constituencies within a given organization receive the same message. If leaders, coaches, parents and athletes have the same expectations and feel they are moving in a common direction, it is that much easier to catch yourself (or have another catch you) if you move toward imbalance.

3. Use your commitment to balance to improve performance

With skating in perspective and constituencies bought in, you can proactively pursue balance with your skaters. You might even introduce the idea that skaters can occasionally miss practice to pursue other interests, such as theater or music, provided they let coaches know their plans ahead of time. Then, coaches can make a great impact by attending the play or concert, demonstrating that they value not just a skater, but a whole person.

Another option is assigning your athletes an academic exercise, such as writing a few sentences on something of importance to them outside of skating. Sharing those essays can help teammates discover new bonds.

A group outing to the mall, the movies, meals, museums — anywhere that removes you from a skating context — can be an outstanding team-building exercise. That shared experience, and whatever your skaters learn about each other and the outside world, can then be reintroduced back at the rink.

Common bonds from off-ice experiences will make your skaters that much more valuable to and supportive of each other. Their shared values will help them urge each other on in practice, which means improved skating; a supportive atmosphere in a close competition may be the difference-maker.

Your rink’s reputation for skating excellence, especially while encouraging a balanced life, will attract the best skaters and the most balanced people. As that success feeds on itself, your efforts to have skaters focus on things other than skating will actually improve their focus while skating.

In the inevitable times when you are less successful in competition, your commitment to balance will carry your program through, because your rink still will be known for attracting great skaters with great attitudes. PCA and ISI strongly urge you to consider these steps. After all, nothing less than your skaters’ futures hangs in the balance.

David Jacobson is senior marketing communications and content manager at Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). He has coached and officiated youth sports, including baseball, softball, basketball and flag football.