#sweepthefloor #training #development #mindset

"Training is like sweeping the floor. Just because we’ve done it once, doesn’t mean the floor is clean forever. Every day the dust comes back. Every day we must sweep." - Daniele Bolelli

What do you do today that sweeps your floor?

So often we forget that every little skill requires consistent focus. Every single element of your game needs refinishing or it will become rusty.

The quote itself is fairly straightforward...we must daily train and develop to get where we want to go.

But let's take it a step further.

Think about cleaning your room. You can 'sweep' it by putting everything under your bed. You can stack all your belongings in your closet like a complicated game of Jenga. You can hide things and mask the mess. You can sweep all of your dust up into the corner and hope that it doesn't find its way around the room again later.

Now compare this to how you train. You show up to practice and go through the drills with your team. You don't know what you're training nor why. You do everything that your coach asks you to do, but no more. You 'sweep' but not to the best of your ability. Your game doesn't become clean...only reshuffled and reorganized, and still dusty and dirty in some areas.

Alternatively, when you clean your room, you can really CLEAN it. You can remove the dust and dirt, not just move it around. You can fundamentally reorganize and replace items to their rightful place. You might create a strategy to best attack your mess and clean things up one by one.

What if you took this mindset to your training instead of the first one? What would that look like?

Well, it is 'sweeping' until things are clean. It's focused and deliberate practice...not just to get the approval of your coach or doing the bare minimum to make it look like you're put together.

It's having a purpose. It's getting down and building the core skills that will make you better in a year, and three years, and five years...not just throwing things in the closet to look good for tomorrow.

Sweeping until things are clean means starting off each following day with a clean slate.

And wouldn't it be nice to have a clean slate?

Get sweepin'. Stay frosty.

‍

Josh

‍