Practice makes perfect
It’s obvious that to play your sport better than anyone, you have to practice your skills with lots of repetition… for example for basketball you have to shoot 100 free throws every day, for hockey you have to shoot a slap shot until you break your parent’s washing machine and dryer, to make it to the Tour de France you have to ride your bike up the big hill everyday.
Quality Coaches
Have you ever noticed that a lot of kids with parents who are pro athletes will often become pro athletes in the same sport? These kids have a huge advantage over everyone else because they have access to a pro athlete’s tips and tricks 24/7. But don’t get discouraged if you don’t have parents who were pro athletes, the message here is that you should try to find coaches, schools, or pro-athletes that are willing to answer your questions.
Get Into Improv
The big secret to advancing your skills past everyone else is to improvise. Improvising your skills means to change things up a little bit every once in a while. For example, if you are a baseball pitcher and your fastball is stuck at about 60 mph… change it up! Try striding your first step a little bit longer, bring in your elbow a little bit tighter, or try to reach higher when you’re following through. These little improvisations are things that will help you learn how to always advance your skills.