Benefits of Journaling for Athletes

Most athletes think of journaling as a chore their coach or personal train gives them to prove they are progressing in the weight room. It can have a negative association it is forced on an athlete and without emotional context. Encouraging athletes to journal that promotes introspection, self-reflection, and personal growth should be side-by-side with tracking numerical data points. Let’s look the benefits of journaling and how to create a personal sports journal that will help you or your athletes develop healthier means to tracking growth.

When an athlete takes the time to practice introspection, they are more in-tune with their thoughts (good or bad, rational and irrational), incoming emotional swings, and behavior patterns. We have all seen athletes who act out of angry or fear, who have a difficult time calming down without being completely removed from a situation. Regulating emotions is not a natural talent of an athlete, it’s a trained skill. In fact, you’ve probably heard commenters during college and professional games praise athletes that seem in control of highly stressful situations, recognizing the amount of training required to do so.

Setting aside time during a post-game talk or in a practice plan to have athletes self-reflect is a value use of time and energy of both the coach and athlete. Self-reflection should have two focuses, physical and emotional, along with two tones, encouraging and analytical. Having standard questions athletes ask themselves in specific tones with either focus is helpful in training them to be reflective without being degrading. For example, the following questions below have two different tones and with the same focus. Focus: Physical

1. What skills did I master or do well at practice today?

2. If I had more time, what skill or drill would I continue to work on today?

Focus: Emotional

1. What word or phrase would best describe today’s efforts?

2. What part of practice did I feel the most upbeat?

Being at the Be The Best Convention in 2023, with one of the presenters Joey Lye (Canadian Softball Olympian), she spoke about mentally setting up players before and after practice to prepare and reflect. One of the questions she stated she would ask herself is, “Could I have an at-bat right now?” meaning could she be calm and focused enough to give a good effort to perform in the box against any pitcher? Obviously, any Olympian is mechanically sound enough to face any pitcher in the word and have a chance to get a hit. What she’s asking herself is what emotions are negatively affecting her ability to give her best effort. If you are only focused on reflecting on the physical strengthens and weaknesses, you’ll miss out on the emotions that affect how an athlete will perform.

Lastly, athletes can track their progress over time and see their own personal growth. This can be a powerful motivator, especially during times when progress may feel slow or stagnant. Additionally, journaling can help athletes identify patterns or habits that may be hindering their growth and develop strategies to overcome them. One the flip side, journaling can help athletes identify patterns or habits that they may want to lean into to accelerate their growth. Athletes who have an accessible way of tracking of their strengths and weaknesses can make more informed decisions about how to train their bodies and minds, ultimately leading to greater success on and off the field. So if you're looking to take your game or your players to the next level, consider journaling as a part of pre-game or pre-practice routine.

Where can I find a journal catered towards athletes? You can do a google search and find pretty intense journals that some athletes will not buy into. Starting off with a journal you know players will fill up is important to keeping them engaged in journaling. If they find that journaling takes up "too much time" they won't be as reflective, treating the journal as more of a chore vs necessary routine. Check out a customized weekly journal with basic questions that players can easily fill out for the first few weeks, then more into daily reflections once they have built a routine of journaling.

Sports Journal link

If you are looking for a customized sports journal for your daughter or team, reach out to Amanda at thatpowergame@gmail.com.