Hi,
We are just a couple hours away from one of my favorite yearly events ... hours of watching NFL teams announce the names from a podium! Yes, the NFL Draft starts tonight!
(I know, I am a die-hard fan ... Let's Go, Buffalo! I'm hoping for a cornerback).
But the draft (and all the first round busts that don't live up to expectations) have a valuable lesson to teach us ...
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Advantages for "Less Talented" Players
In the NFL Draft this weekend, many men will begin their professional career with high expectations. But I find it interesting that many of the top players taken in the first round tonight won’t make a ProBowl. Some may be out of the league in a couple of years or get no further than being a reliable back-up. Yet players in later rounds, or even undrafted free agents will become perennial ProBowers and maybe Hall of Famers.
Too often we talk about talent. And no doubt these first round players are talented. Size, strength, agility are all critical and do matter but without an ability to continue learning, to be humble in mistakes and grow from them, a player cannot succeed at the next level.
My warning for these talented players in the first round is this: your athleticism will no longer carry you. Everyone in the NFL is big, strong and fast and the talent that you may have relied on in college will not get you far in the NFL.
This is where the late round draft picks and undrafted free agents have an advantage. They have had to work harder to develop their skills to keep up with others more physical gifted. They have had to find other competitive advantages such as knowing the opponent or paying particular attention to technique. They’ve learned to work hard, fight for what they earn, and persevere through adversity.
By relying on talent, sometimes these first round picks are behind their lesser talented peers in their study skills, practice skills, mental game and work ethic - all factors that have a lot more to do with success at higher levels.
So my encouragement to all the players drafted (and to all of you reading) is this … invest in deliberate practice:
🏅Know what you want to accomplish with every repetition
🏅Be intense and fully engaged with every repetition
🏅Get feedback, and make specific corrections to apply in your next repetition
🏅Repeat
And through it all, strive to get further outside your comfort zone. This is where growth lies.
And for help overcoming your obstacles to excellence, check out Success Stories Membership here.
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FaR Out Compliments
Many thanks to FaR Out Volleyball who had me host 5 workshops to over 600 athletes this season. And congratulations on your numerous championships. It was a pleasure to be a part of it (Their kind letter is below).
"To Whom it May Concern,
FaR Out Volleyball club’s athletes recently had the privilege to participate in five of Dr. Eddie’s workshops regarding mental toughness and preparation as athletes. The first and second workshops, Dr. Eddie presented to all 600+ FaR Out athletes at our season kickoff. 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 provided an overview of skills to be better and more consistent than opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident and in control under pressure.
The second workshop, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵, our coaches and athletes took what they learned from the workshop and built the core of their team values around the commitment contract and what they learned from Dr. Eddie. Throughout the course of the season, coaches referenced the commitment contract and the promises they made to each other. The commitment contract was a creative way to connect to the athletes and coaches and provide them a new sense of accountability which has taken our teams to the next level.
The remaining 3 workshops, 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘱, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘰. 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵., and 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮, were presented to our six month teams at the National and Regional level. 𝗗𝗿. 𝗘𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁.
Dr. Eddie was incredibly easy to work with, and his presentations had our coaches and athletes engaged from beginning to end. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗿. 𝗘𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲, and would highly recommend him for any sports organization looking to reach their athletes at a new level.
Sincerely,
FaR Out Leadership Team
Joe & Roxane Steenhuysen, Cameron Rowland, Valerie Lurye, Allison Sagraves, & Allison Cironi"
Click here to learn more about Dr. Eddie's workshops
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Dr. Eddie O’Connor
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