Right now you’re not in season. You are conditioning, practicing, and spending a lot of time and energy without the fun stuff, games.

The running, weight lifting, and all of the above is going to be worth it. The endless miles, hills and days that you don’t think your legs can go any faster are making you a better athlete. You’re getting faster and stronger and this will pay off when you get to season.

1. Don’t cheat.

Don’t skip out on workouts, don’t make excuses, and don’t let your team down. You may think that the shortcut is the easiest way to get it done, but it’s the easiest way to short yourself and short your team, so do the workouts. Yes, it hurts, but it’s going to benefit you and your team.

2. Push each other.

Push your teammates to run that extra mile and go up in weight. Right now you are building your strength mentally and physically, so push each other to be the best you can be.

3. Make relationships.

Now is the best time to build strength in your relationships with your teammates. Learn to trust them and let them know they can trust you because soon you’ll be competing together and if the chemistry is there it will make your team unstoppable.

4. You signed up for this.

Not to be rude, but you did. You committed yourself to this, you wanted this, and this is what made you happy. When you committed yourself to this sport you signed up for the tears, blood, sore muscles, long nights, early mornings, and countless miles. Remember that you have to get through the tough part to get to the fun part.

My dad once said, “A coach’s job is to make practice so hard that competitions are a breeze.”

5. Practice hard

Just wait until you see how great season is.