If You Want To Win A Championship, You First Have To Win The Offseason

The offseason is one of the most important times of year. While no games are being played and no one’s keeping score, there’s actually a way for your team to win the offseason.

What does that mean? How do you win something that doesn’t actually involve scoring? Simple: what you do during the offseason predicates what you do during the season; meaning a successful offseason is the first step towards winning a championship.

Yet, that doesn’t mean bringing in the most talented or highly publicized players or keeping a record-breaking team intact. Winning the offseason starts with three simple areas of focus for coaches, athletic trainers and players alike:

1. Rest

While athletes surely need their rest after a long season, they aren’t the only ones. It’s just as important for coaches and athletic trainers to take a much-needed break when the action subsides. You may not be physically playing the games, but your batteries still need recharging.

It is proven that taking a break from an activity helps to improve your performance, not just physically, but mentally as well. Allowing your body and mind to recover from the grueling grind of a long season helps you to properly prepare for the planning and training ahead during the off months.

And that mental rejuvenation is exactly what you need in order to approach next season with a fresh perspective and regained sense of focus.

2. Evaluate

Whether the past season was a roaring success that finished with a trophy or an abject failure that ended in tears, the offseason is a time to look back and reflect on what worked, what didn’t work and what needs to change.

Each offseason presents itself with opportunities to make tweaks and updates to your squad, your strategy and your style. Take the newly-crowned NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, for example: by almost any measure, 2013 was a very successful campaign for the team — winning a highly competitive Western Conference and coming within 28.2 seconds of winning a championship. Instead of resting on their laurels they made minor strategic tweaks over the offseason, putting a larger emphasis on small ball tactics and infusing their pick-and-roll offense with a run-and-gun component. That proved to be the difference between losing the championship in 2013 and hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2014.

When you know the strengths and weaknesses of your team and your players, you have the ability to make calculated improvements where they are needed. Put a plan in place for the offseason and commit to that plan.

3. Explore

Now that it’s the offseason and you’re taking a break to recharge and evaluate things, why don’t you try something new? Not just within your sport — but actually away from it.

Get into a new sport — hey, the World Cup is going on! — by either physically participating in it or simply becoming a fan by watching it on TV. While each sport is different, they mostly share similar philosophies and principles; you never know when a new sport may give you a different prospective or skill to apply to your first love.  

Defensive rotations and offensive game plans may actually appear more similar among differing sports than you might think. Even things like athletic equipment may spark an innovative idea or concept in your mind.

Taking the time to learn something new, refresh yourself and assess your team are the steps to a successful offseason and an even more triumphant regular season ahead.

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