Advice For Athletes Moving Up A Level

October 19, 2025

Do not compromise on what it is that you know you need to do to prepare yourself just because you've gotten on a new team, or just because you went up a new level.

 I see it all the time where a guy will know what he needs to do. Let's say he's in high school or he's in college, right? He knows what he needs to do to prepare his body for what he's going to ask himself to do with this sport, and then he gets to that upper level; he gets into college, or he gets drafted, or he gets picked up,. And now he's like, “Well, I have to change what it is that I do to suit what they want me to do, right?”

If you completely stop the training you're doing that helped to prepare you and get you ready, you're going to feel the side effects of that, especially if the training now isn't at a level of what you were doing before. 

So here's some things to consider when going to a higher level or new team environment, 

• Do your research on the new team you’re going to

• Know the type of preparation they do ahead of time

• Know how open they are to you continuing the training that got you to that point (if you don’t know, ask)

• Do everything in your power to keep doing that which you know makes you good 

Now, this does not mean that you have to be a lone wolf out on your own separate from the team, right? Make whatever compromises or communications you need to be able to make it work within your situation, but do not stop doing what got you there in the first place because you will feel the negative effects of that very quickly.