Cultivate a Challenge Network Before College
Why D3 athletes should build a group friends that disagree with them (sometimes) and push them to be the best versions of themselves
Build Your Challenge Network
Do you have people in your life you can rely on to give you the full, unvarnished truth?
Not just when it is convenient or easy, but when it is difficult and something you really need to hear.
Adam Grant, an Organizational psychologist at UPenn’s Wharton school of Management, promotes the benefits of having people like this around you. In sum, he calls this collection of individuals a challenge network, which he defines in this way:
“A group of people we trust to point out our blind spots and help us overcome our weaknesses.”
Much of Grant’s work is focused on the benefits for businesses when a leader or CEO brings in diverse (and sometimes disgruntled) perspectives.
We feel that similar benefits can arise for teams when athletes surround themselves with people who are willing to challenge beliefs and share hard truths.
Maybe you are a sports recruit about wrap up High School and enter college, or maybe you are already in college. Either way, we think all young athletes should develop a challenge network for the following reasons:
Test your assumptions about how the world works
Prepare for trials and challenging times in the first big step away from home
Remain humble and grounded
A Challenge Network Tests…
Odds are, if you are trying to be a D3 athlete – you are a hard worker. You’re likely one of the better players on your team, have some solid grades, and are accomplished relative to your peers. For all that you have going for you – allow us to remind you of something:
In high school at age 17 or 18 – you really don’t know much about the world.
Sure, you may have a good grasp of how things work in your home town, your city, or your state, but the world at large is a whole different ballgame.
If you’re lucky, what you will walk away with is a group of trusted friends. People you can rely on to tell you the truth, even when unpleasant.
Our advice as you move forward into your college career is two-fold:
Continue to cultivate these relationships from high school throughout college
In college, seek out new perspectives and test your assumptions about how the world works
While away from home, you’ll likely meet people from around the country or perhaps from all over the globe. Instead of judging others for their differences, choose curiosity and seek to learn from these new perspectives.
Test your understanding of how things work and we bet you’ll come away after your four years with a much richer view of how life should be lived.
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A Challenge Network Prepares…
No one looks back and thinks to themselves – “Wow, I really grew and learned so much about myself from that calm, happy period of my life.”
Trials are a teacher.
If you are worried about the transition to college, or already there and struggling, take time now to look around your network of friends, family, teammates, and coaches, and think about who you can really rely on - then call them.
Although they can teach you so much, life’s challenges do not have to be faced alone.
In an ideal world, you should think about this ahead of the transition to college, or in a period of calm, so you have the right people around you when things get hard. Sometimes they will be there to pick you up and other times they will point out other ways to approach a challenge.
These are the people you will call when you’re in a shooting slump. When your stats aren’t what you thought they’d be. When your season ends early due to injury. When you don’t get the playing time you thought you’d earned.
Keep them close!
A Challenge Network Humbles & Grounds…
People who have known you for a long time have context on who you are as a person.
While people grow and change over time, a lot of consistent themes and characteristics often remain present throughout life.
Building a challenge network as you go through high school and college ensures that you keep these people and their context around you. No matter what heights you accomplish or what lows you think you sink to - you will always have their informed support and suggestions to bring you back to reality.
People who keep you in check if your ego starts to swell, or who know exactly what to say to motivate you out of a lull.
In the midst of a crazy time in life full of change, your challenge network can help you maintain a sense of who you are and be at your best.
Thanks for Reading!
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