The Factors that Impact Female Athlete Sport Performance

17 Jun The Factors that Impact Female Athlete Sport Performance

Early in my coaching career, I was all about the training.

The reps.

The drills.

The intensity.

The exercise progressions.

I’m still all about the training, but it’s the bare minimum of my work to get athletes results in the gym and on the field.

There’s so much more to female athlete sport performance than the training we do under the iron, or in between the speed timing cones.

I write about the importance of these 7 pillars in The Strong Female Athlete book:

All of these have a profound impact on a female athlete’s mental, physical and emotional health, and they tie into how she shows up during competition. Will she be tired or energized? Will she lack focus or be dialed in? Will she be a step behind or explosive? Will she die out in the minutes or plow through?

Maybe it’s not her conditioning level causing her fatigue, but her iron deficiency or the lack of carbohydrates in her diet.

Maybe it’s not her lack of skill with the ball, but her sleep deprivation causing her inability to execute sharp moves.

Maybe she’s not motivated to work out because her relationships (family or friends) model bad exercise habits.

Maybe she’s not excited to play her sport and put in the extra work because she lacks a clear purpose.

Before making assumptions as to why a female athlete isn’t competing at a high level, take inventory of these 7 pillars of performance.

Here is a video explaining each one in depth:

So how are your female athletes doing in each category? Look, I don’t expect perfection, although, we should strive to aim for it the best we can. Everyone needs to be stricter on themselves.

So, yes. Take inventory of these 7 pillars daily, and make progress. I know it’s hard. I know it takes discipline. But look : it is better to deal with the pain of discipline, than the pain of regret – the regret of an injury, the regret of lacking in speed and energy, the regret of being exhausted at the end of the game.

Be disciplined in all of these pillars. This goes for female athletes, as well as ALL of the adults in their lives – coaches and parents. Behavior is truly learned.

GET THE STRONG FEMALE ATHLETE BOOK, A SCIENCE-BASED APPROACH TO REDUCE INJURY, IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AND INCREASE CONFIDENCE IN FEMALE ATHLETES HERE

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