Teaching Discipline

It can be difficult to watch your student-athlete be so admirably disciplined in their sport, yet undisciplined in other areas of their life. To put it in perspective: as adults, think about what happens when you’re trying to start a consistent workout routine, or when you fall out of your existing workout routine.

When you’re in a good groove, it’s easy to get up, go for a run or go to the gym, and start your day on a great, endorphin-driven high. But let’s say you go on vacation over winter break and take some rest days. Coming back from that vacation and convincing yourself to work out can feel like an insurmountable task. That being said, you can jump back into work and other structured parts of your life because you recognize what’s required and you have the discipline to get it done. For many of our student-athletes, it’s the opposite. The structure of their sport and the accountability coming from their coaches keeps them disciplined on the ice, field, or court. When it comes to school, they may know what needs to get done, but they don’t know how to convince themselves to get there. (Also, sometimes they honestly don’t know what needs to be done and that’s where resources like Untapped can help!)

Learning Discipline the Hard Way

As a former student-athlete, I thought I was prepared for the demands of college athletics. I quickly realized that I was in over my head. I struggled to balance my academic workload with athletic demands, and on top of that, I was trying to maintain a social life. I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up, like pushing a rock up a never-ending hill.

With the guidance of coaches, mentors, and peers, I slowly began to develop the discipline and time management skills that would transform my college experience. In this article, I’ll share the lessons I’ve learned with you so that you can help your child develop the self-discipline and time management skills they need to thrive academically, athletically, and beyond.

Preparing Your Child for Success

As a parent, you play a significant role in helping your child develop discipline and time management skills. By instilling these habits, you’ll help them develop a strong foundation for helping your child manage academics, athletics, and beyond.

The Building Blocks of Discipline

To help your child prepare for success, focus on the following strategies:

Model self-discipline: Children who observe their parents prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively are more likely to develop these skills themselves, setting them up for long-term success.
Encourage goal-setting and discipline: By helping your child set specific, measurable, and achievable goals in academics and athletics, you teach them to prioritize what matters, boost motivation, and cultivate a growth mindset. This skill set will serve them well throughout their academic and athletic careers as they learn to break down ambitious goals into manageable steps and maintain the discipline needed to achieve success.
Teach time-blocking: Scheduling tasks and learning how to block time helps your child develop a sense of control and responsibility, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase productivity and efficiency. Student-athletes have limited time, and they will need to make the most of it.
Help them prioritize: Teaching your child to prioritize tasks empowers them to concentrate on what matters most. By learning to identify and tackle high-priority tasks first, they’ll develop a life skill that will serve them well in academics, athletics, and beyond, even when faced with an overwhelming to-do list.

From Foundation to Application

Now that we’ve established the building blocks of discipline, it’s time to put them into practice. As your child grows and becomes more independent, they’ll face new challenges that require them to apply these skills in real-life situations.

Discipline Strategies for Independence

As your child transitions to independent living, they’ll face new challenges requiring them to apply discipline building blocks in real-life situations. Here are some ways they can put those skills into practice:

Applying time management to real-life scenarios: Your child will need to learn to balance academic responsibilities, athletic commitments, and friends effectively. To learn time management, have them create a weekly schedule that balances study sessions, team practices, and social events to ensure they meet their academic and athletic commitments. Give the feedback and keep assessing how they can better improve their time management.

Making decisions confidently: Your child will need to learn to make informed decisions that align with their goals and values. To develop decision-making skills, have them weigh the pros and cons of different options, such as choosing between a summer internship or extra sports training. Discuss their thought process with them to help them refine their decision-making skills. Once they make the decision, we don’t want to second guess, but we do want to assess to make sure the correct decision was made.

Staying motivated and focused: Your child will need to learn to stay motivated and focused on their goals, even when faced with setbacks or distractions. To develop self-motivation, have them set specific, achievable goals, create a plan to achieve them, and then regularly check in with them to provide feedback and encouragement.

The Power of Discipline

As Jocko Willink, a renowned Navy SEAL, frequently says, “Discipline equals freedom.” By incorporating discipline into your daily routine, you can create the freedom to pursue your passions and achieve your goals.

For student-athletes, this means implementing small disciplines like dedicated study routines, regular training sessions, and a consistent stretching routine. By doing so, they can finish their academics more efficiently, train more effectively, and enjoy more free time with friends. This mindset is essential for student-athletes to adopt and is one we can constantly reinforce.

The Importance of Accountability

Accountability is needed to stay on track with your plan. Encourage your child to share their schedule and goals with a friend, mentor, or coach and ask them to check in regularly. Great student-athletes learn to accept accountability and view feedback as an opportunity to improve. Average student-athletes fight accountability, and feedback is a blow to their ego. By positively reinforcing acceptance of accountability, you can help your child develop a growth mindset and a willingness to learn from others.

Embracing Structure

Structure is needed for student-athletes to have success on the field and in the classroom. Student-athletes who learn to embrace structure are more likely to complete their tasks at a high level and, paradoxically, have more free time. Teach your child the importance of working with tutors, seeking help when needed, and communicating with their coaches and teammates. These skills will serve them well in the long term, particularly if they aspire to be a college athlete.

A Story of Transformation:

Emily, a talented volleyball player, was struggling to juggle her athletic and academic responsibilities. She felt overwhelmed and anxious, worried that she was falling behind in her schoolwork and not performing at her best on the court. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t seem to catch up.

That was when Emily met with a coach who helped her see things differently. She realized that her problem wasn’t getting everything done but developing habits and creating a structure that would help her improve in areas where she lacked confidence.

With newfound determination, Emily started implementing a daily routine that included:

Dedicated time for studying and reviewing her schoolwork
Regular training sessions to improve her volleyball skills
Relaxation time to recharge and reduce stress

She also learned to prioritize her tasks, focusing on the most important ones first and saying no to non-essential commitments that drained her energy. Emily began attending office hours, seeking help from her coaches and tutors, and looking for ways to become more efficient with her time.

As Emily developed her discipline, she noticed a significant reduction in her anxiety and overwhelm. She felt more confident and in control, both on and off the court. With her newfound structure and habits, Emily was able to perform at a higher level, achieve her goals, and enjoy the process.

By teaching your child discipline and time management skills, you give them the tools they need to succeed in academics, athletics, and beyond. Remember, it’s not about being perfect – it’s about making progress and developing habits that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

How Untapped Can Help

At Untapped, we’re committed to helping students develop the skills they need to succeed. Our experienced coaches and mentors provide personalized support and guidance to help your child develop the discipline and time management skills they need to achieve their goals.

Click here to schedule an appointment and get started today!