"Victory is having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won." - Bob Bowerman
Athletic and Social Development: Part 4 the Priming Time, 20’s to late 30’s.
Athletically this period is the “Prime Time.” Physically, the body is fully developed and at its peak in relation to muscle strength, reaction time, sensory abilities, and cardiac functioning.
If an athlete trained appropriately in their teens, not only should she/he be in top physical shape, she/he should have also developed mastery in the technical and tactical skills as well.
Socially this is a time to develop social connections. As stated earlier, the teen years are dedicated to developing self identity. If a young adult has confidence in her/his self identity, this stage is for developing close relationships that include friendships, intimate relationships, and building social connections and networks.
In terms of support, this relationship is now built on trust and mutual respect. Athletes need a trusted group of support (family, friends, loved ones), training staff, coaches, agent (for pro athletes), nutritionist, doctors, sport psych, physical therapist, teammates, ect... Trust and communication in this team are critical for an athlete to be successful.
In the end, this stage of development is about applying everything an athlete has learned and worked hard to develop. It’s about maximizing peak potential. If an athlete has worked hard to this point she/he will have experienced many successes and failures along the way. It’s those experiences coupled with their support system that allows them to react to successes and failures as stepping stones vs the be all, end all moments or as setbacks.
Athletes it’s on you, so maximize your potential by surrounding yourself with people who bring out the best in you and push you to bring out the best in others.