How to get into professional sports - part 5

Do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it. That’s integrity. Accept that not everyone else will do the same.
 
If you’re like me, words matter. For me it’s because I define integrity as “doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it”. I still value that, but I no longer assume everyone has integrity.
 
In the early days of being recruited into professional sports, many things are said. Everything that is said at the recruitment stage is strategically chosen to encourage membership and applications to work. Those same words aren’t always followed through. When organisations are large, these words are followed through even less since they are often uttered by someone senior, delegated to someone subordinate, further delegated. Follow up can be missed until it’s too late. It can be a source of frustration early in your career. So you can choose to be one of those who CANNOT OR DO NOT follow up on what you said you would do, or you CAN DO AND WILL DO what you said you would do – that is called standing up. When you simply do that, stand up, you stand out.

In my experience, standing up is the new standing out.

Standing up to do the minimum, in this day, is enough to make you stand out. It’s not an accolade that’s popular but it takes the least amount of effort to simply do the minimum. The reason one stands out is that few people will do just that. Here are specific examples:

• Have a system of assessment, screening and testing that protects you against your own subjectivity. That should be a minimum. Have such a system, and use it, and you will stand out.

• Apply systematic process to intervention (treatment and training) and monitor your intervention, adjusting appropriately. That should be a minimum. Have such a systematic process and you will stand out.

• Have a referral network of other professionals who support athletic preparation and know how to screen when a referral to them is appropriate.

• Have a mentor to keep you on track - one way to do that right now is to find one of the worlds best Physiotherapy Mentors in a group setting, with others who want to rebel against mediocrity - you don't have to .take my word for it, you can do your own research, but I suggest you start here, at the BulletProof Career Rebellion.

Not having these will make it more difficult to do well in professional sports.