Law of Thirds
If you are like most athletes, you want to train and compete at your best ALL of the time. Playing at your best always feels fantastic and it’s why you show up. Those days that you are subpar in performance are no fun and often are insanely frustrating. To help you with managing your emotions related to those poor days, you need to understand the
Law of Thirds
The Law of Thirds is simple. It breaks down your time spent in sport, both training and competing, into thirds. Each third is vital and all are necessary to create a complete sporting career. You can think about it like a stop light: Green, Yellow, and Red.
A third of your training and competition will be fantastic! These are the days where you feel great, your sport feels effortless, and you get the results you are looking for (or maybe even better!). These are the PRs, the crazy wins, and the amazing outings. The days we LOVE what we are doing. This third is the GREEN.
A third of your training and competition will be average. These are the ordinary days that you have solid performance, but nothing fancy or extraordinary. You show up, you put in the work, and you get an “ok” result. This may be simply maintaining your performance in training, rather than having any improvements. While you may or may not get the result that you want in competition, your performance was acceptable (even if it wasn’t impressive). This third is the YELLOW.
The final third of your training and competition will be awful. These are the hard training days. The days where nothing seems to be going right, you feel awkward or clumsy, and your performance is well below your potential. In competition, this may mean season worst outings, making mistakes, or having things just not go your way. Emotionally, you are likely frustrated, exhausted, annoyed, confused, or disappointed. While this third is the least fun, it is necessary to keep the right balance for the other thirds. Sometimes this third is the result of a change in your training regimen or making an adjustment to reach the next level. Other times, there doesn’t seem to be a clear reason as to why your performance is subpar. This third is the RED.
Use the color system to track your training and competition over the next month. See if you have that balance of thirds between green, yellow, and red. If you have a ton of greens, it may mean that you are in a really great stretch OR you aren’t pushing yourself to get to the next level. If you have a ton of reds, it may suggest that you are in a hard season of making some changes OR that you need to take things down a notch so that you can experience a yellow or green. This color system and Law of Thirds can help you take a step back from the ups and downs of performance AND allow you to appreciate all of the thirds that make up your sport career.
Still struggling or want more customized help in keeping your balance?