Why You Should Have Your High School Athletes Read Books

Athletes read books, or should be let to read books for various reasons; books are balanced diet for the mind and soul as physical activities are food for the body. But some athletes do not see a reason to read books. To them, they have no business with books because their activities are carried out on the field, and not on the couch, with a book in hand. 

As high school athletes, your trainees are young at heart, and still have a long way to go in building their overall intelligence.

Even top athletes read books, that’s one of the reason they are at the peak of their careers. Young athletes should model them.

While not reading a book can be physically harmless, or seemingly have no repercussions whatsoever, they can limit your athletes’ IQ, which ultimately affects their sports performance.

In this article, we will be highlighting the various reasons it’s important to have your high school athletes read books.

Why Should Athletes Read Books?

It sounds counterintuitive to say athletes should read books, because they almost don’t need it. They just need to know how to dribble past their opponent in a soccer match. Or rattle their competition in a basketball game. 

But that’s not true. Reading books help build your athlete’s intelligent quotient over time. It also help them think differently, intelligently. They can apply this new way of thinking to their talents and soar even higher. 

Let’s explore the reasons reading books is important for your athletes. 

Perspective

Having your high school athletes read books help them see things from a fresh angle they didn’t consider possible or haven’t thought about before. It makes them see the possibility in every situation, which can make them overcome their personal challenges in their career. 

When they get back to what they know to do best, they’ll begin to apply these little lessons in their sports life. Now they can imagine the possibility of something and attempt such a thing in real time. At that point, it’s safe to say there has been a mindset shift, which spells a good start for your athlete. 

Knowledge

Books, no matter the genre, take you on a knowledge spree. They show you what you thought you didn’t need to know, and how useful it can be for you.

Most athletes are familiar with mental health issues. This is almost normal for them because they encounter a lot of pressure in their sport. The pressure to impress you as their coach, pressure to deliver on their personal promise, pressure to blow fans’ minds, and so on.

This can cramp the creativity of your athlete, making them too scared to explore their creative side. But a book on mindset and mental toughness with a title How to Turn Fear and Pressure into Energy, for example, can turn things around for them.

Also, reading memoirs or autobiographies of top athletes, and learning about their challenges and how they overcame them can make them see themselves in such athletes. Knowing someone has encountered same difficulty as theirs gives them a ray hope of overcoming theirs too.

Leadership and teamwork

When you see top athletes, they usually have an air of leadership around them without even trying. Partly the reason for this quality is these athletes read books. Not every high school kid knows how to bond with others, sometimes, for reasons you can’t understand even as a coach. You’ll find them all by themselves in the court practicing their shooting style. Nothing is wrong with them, they’re completely fine. 

But you know, to win in sports, you need your athletes to come together as one and work in harmony. 

Introducing books about leadership and teamwork to such lone wolf might be the beginning of all the change you’ve ever wanted as a coach. It’ll make them begin to see the need to work hand in hand with other teammates for a common goal—win.

In sports, you need your athletes to come together as one and work in harmony.

Stress relief and relaxation 

Sport is such a rigorous activity. And going at it at a stretch without breaks can get your athlete burnt out, which can have a toll on their mental health. During this period, their minds can’t focus on anything, especially not something that demands utmost attention as sports.

Great athletes too encounter burnout during training or competition, but they usually have coping mechanisms they adopt to get them functioning back as soon as possible. 

A good way to help your athletes relax or heal from burnout is to give them books to read. Books that can boost their recovery time.

You can make it fun by giving each kid a copy with a deadline to finish up. When they’re done, organize a discussion session where they discuss amongst themselves what they’ve learnt. 

This can put each athlete on their toes to learn something knowing they’ll be accountable to other team members.

Ensuring they spend quality and fun time together, with books as the center of attraction, will lessen pressure and help them relax better.

Improved discipline

Discipline, especially self discipline, is a rare quality that many people lack. And as a coach, it’ll come in handy if your athletes are disciplined. 

Staying up to finish a book, or at least having the patience and coordination to allot specific time for reading is an act of self discipline. If your athletes are able to coordinate themselves in such fashion, it’ll increase their level of discipline on and off the field.

When your athletes read books, it helps them become more disciplined. This will reduce the workload on you. They know what measures to take to get to a target point they’re aiming for. You’ll be proud you gave them books to read, because they won’t be the same person they are without books.

How Many Books are Impressive to Read in a Year?

According to The Washington Post, you’re among the top 50% of Americans if you read at least more than two books per year. Reading five books puts you in the top 33%. While reading 10 books puts you in the top 21%. Reading 50 books puts you in the top 1%.

While there are no stipulated number of books you should read per year, we’d suggest you read at least 1 book per month. If you can read 2 or more, that’s great. 

Nobody takes a prize for reading the most books, and you should certainly not build a reading habit in your team to impress. Make read as natural and as enjoyable as possible. 

To Wrap It Up

Introducing books to your athletes is the best thing you can do for them as a high school sports coach. Against the prevalent public opinion that athletes have no business with books, except it’s big enough for them to use as dumbbells.

Top athletes read books, maybe not for immediate application in their field of endeavor, but to broaden their knowledge horizon. And it helps them make critical decisions in times they can’t rely on anyone. High school athletes should be allowed to emulate this good habit.

Are you a coach scouting young high school talents? Sportconn is the place to look. It’s a platform that harnesses talents, business owners, sports professionals like you, and fans for mutual benefits. 

Start connecting with young athletes now.