Tom Brady lifting the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Tom Brady is widely recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game. His competitive fire during games is something every young player should choose to emulate. But what if you don’t get on the field? Even at practice?
Surprisingly, this is the dilemma Brady faced at the University of Michigan. So, what did he do about it?
In the GameChange podcast, GameChange Mindset, company co-founder Jack Baric tells the story of Brady’s rude introduction to football at a powerhouse program. As a freshman at the University of Michigan, Brady was the third-string quarterback and this meant he had very few reps on the practice field. Brady grew frustrated and went to one of the assistant coaches, lamenting the fact that he wasn’t getting better because he wasn’t getting the necessary reps to do that.
The coach gave Brady very simple advice that stayed with him for the rest of his career. Make every rep count. And from that point forward, Brady acted like every rep on the practice field was a big play in a Super Bowl game. He practiced with high intensity, and the seeds started getting planted for a career that eventually saw Brady become one of the GOATs of the NFL.
Ask yourself? How do you treat practice? Do you make every rep count, or are you cruising at three-quarter speed because it’s only practice? Look, we get it. Practice can get monotonous. It’s hard to stay focused and make every rep count.
So, how do you bust through the boredom of practicing every day during a long season and make every rep count? Here are four easy steps you can follow at every practice.
- Set micro goals and stay present: As you enter the practice day, set a small goal that you want to accomplish today. Make the practice all about today, not yesterday, or future practices or games, just today.
- Compete and celebrate! Turn practice reps into micro competitions for yourself and your teammates. Remember, Brady treated practice like a Super Bowl game, and you can too. Go crazy for yourself and/or your teammates when you win the micro competition you created. Don’t just make every rep count, make it fun!
- Make your teammates better: Take a leadership role by telling your teammates that you want to help them get better and ask them to do the same for you. Challenge each other to push hard and win every rep.
- What’s your competition doing? As you and your team step onto the practice field, remind yourself that the team you will be playing is doing the same thing. Are they making every rep count while your team is loafing? You can’t control what they are doing, but you can control what you do. It’s in your control to make every rep count.
