I'm thrilled to share this approach to athletic mastery that I've developed with Coach Popo Salami while working at the Oahu Academy. Through working with elite athletes, we've distilled success down to three essential elements that consistently produce extraordinary results.
Think of three elements: Awareness, Acceptance, and Making Good Decisions. Each builds upon the other to create a foundation for excellence.
Awareness is about developing an intimate understanding of your body's signals, from the slight tension in your shoulders before a big play to the mental clarity that comes with perfect focus. This awareness becomes your greatest competitive advantage.
Acceptance is about building mastery. When you truly understand what's expected, you develop the confidence that turns challenges into opportunities. This is about integrating your physical and mental training into a complete approach.
Making good decisions is where everything comes together - where your resilience allows for excellent performance under pressure. This is where you learn how hard you want to work and discover how much this experience means to you.
Together, these elements create something far more powerful than a traditional training program. They form a comprehensive system for athletic excellence that adapts and grows with you, regardless of your sport, activity, or skill level.
The Three Pillars of Athletic Excellence:
A Performance Framework
By Coach Brad Yates with Popo Salami from the Oahu Academy
This framework and content emerged from my work with Coach Popo Salami, his animated style of coaching and our shared passion for coaching young athletes to play the right way. It will also form the basis for basic team teaching and individual coaching sessions.
Coach Popo Salami is not only a distinguished former professional player and accomplished soccer coach with the Oahu Soccer Academy, but also an exceptional mentor whose energy and passion are contagious. His genuine acceptance of others and inspiring presence make him someone I'm grateful to know and hope to stay connected with.
AWARENESS:
Building the Performance Foundation
Athletes must develop acute self-awareness to achieve elite performance. This foundational pillar encompasses breath control for emotional regulation, clear performance expectations, and confidence built through systematic preparation. Mental clarity under pressure becomes not just a goal, but a practiced skill.
Required Behavior: Implement and maintain a comprehensive plan for physical fitness, health maintenance, and TeamReady Mindset development through daily practice and monitoring.
ACCEPTANCE:
Embracing the Path to Excellence
True athletic excellence demands more than acknowledging the work—it requires embracing it. Athletes demonstrate this acceptance through unwavering dedication and reliability in execution. Their consistent performance builds trust with teammates and coaches, creating a powerful presence that elevates the entire team.
Required Behavior: Develop a strong link between mental preparation and physical performance. Through dedicated practice, mastering the breathing techniques that enhance teamwork and maintain optimal pacing. Each team member should balance strategic thinking with emotional awareness and purposeful actions. This present-moment focus helps create team unity and prevents lingering disruptions.
DECISION-MAKING:
From Experience to Excellence
Superior decision-making emerges from deep self-knowledge and growth experiences. Athletes must constantly challenge their perceived limits, honestly assessing their commitment levels and understanding how their performance impacts both individual and team success. This process develops the mental fortitude and judgment essential for long-term achievement.
Required Behavior: Engage in structured reflection through written debriefs, develop personal mantras, practice mental reframing techniques, and participate in targeted mental performance training exercises.
That's HiLevel!