Championship Shape

According public health data, roughly 80% of Americans are “out of shape,” meaning they lack the vitality to meet recommended guidelines for aerobic and anaerobic activities.

Out of the 20% who are “in shape,” what percentage of individuals are in “game shape?” Game shape refers to a current ability to perform at a high level, not just at the beginning of a competition, late into a game or match. Furthermore, as I get ready to enter my 10th season of professional lacrosse next year, I have come to understand there is a final frontier. I call it ...

Championship Shape

There are three things we can train: our bodies, our crafts, and our minds. When we exercise, progressive overload allows us to strengthen our muscles, increase our cardiovascular capacity, and enhance our physical fitness. When we learn and engage in repetitive training at work, skill development allows us to deliver products and services with competence. When we become mindful and gain clarity on what’s most important in our lives, neuroplasticity allows us to wire and fire brain circuitry and physiological movements with acuity and focus. Most of the population deliberately trains their bodies and their crafts; however, most minds remain passively undeveloped.

Why? A strong argument could be made about the invisible nature of the mind. When we lift weights, our muscles bulge. When we practice our trade, tangible results follow. It’s difficult to quantify growth of the mind.

Flexibility

It's the key marker of health. On all fronts, just like a tree with healthy branches that sway instead of snap in the wind, what’s flexible is healthy. How far one’s limbs and body parts can stretch without pain is an indicator of his or her physical vigor. How much a worker can problem-solve and overcome obstacles in his or her job is a signal of occupational success. When a person is under psychological stress and emotional pressure, how quickly he or she shifts from feeling to refocusing is the hallmark of mental strength. Again, flexibility is synonymous with healthy.

In the 2020 Premier Lacrosse League Championship, my team was winning by six goals in the 4th quarter. Our players were physically fit and extremely skilled at the technical and tactical elements of lacrosse. Nevertheless, as our opponent stormed back into the game, scoring multiple goals and defending well, doubt creeped in. Assertiveness gave way to hesitation as time seemed to speed up. We lost.

Devastated, as the captain of the team, I felt like a failure. Days after that game, I was at the gym warming up on an assault bike, getting ready for another workout, similar to the 350+ other days of the year. However, a thought crossed my mind as I pedaled faster and faster: under urgency and pressure, it does not matter how physically fit you are if you are not mentally calm. I may have been in game shape, but I was not in Championship Shape.

I dedicated myself to training my mind, engaging in mental performance training sessions with my mentors in Sport Psychology, who I now call my Personal Board of Advisors. I embraced the deep, uncomfortable inner work. I journaled. I visualized. I came to believe in who I could be… through compassion, love, and self-respect. I worked on my emotional fitness. I enhanced my inner circle. I trained my mind as often, if not more than, as I trained my body and craft.

In 2021, as a captain of Chaos Lacrosse Club again, we won the Premier Lacrosse League Championship.

Participants train their bodies.

Competitors train their bodies and crafts.

Champions train their bodies, crafts, and minds.

out of shape —> in shape —> game shape —> Championship Shape