Coach P teaching Life Lessons, training athletes
The easiest way to make a drill harder isn't to make an athlete run faster, jump higher or train longer - It’s to make them uncomfortable.
That's the approach Preston Smith takes every time a young athlete walks through the doors at Bernard Gym for Power House Training with Coach P. Just when a player begins feeling confident, Smith changes the drill - Maybe it's using a weaker hand, maybe it's making a quicker decision or maybe it's simply creating a situation where failure becomes more likely.
The goal isn't frustration - It’s preparation.
"We'll do some drills and they're comfortable. (Their) Confidence is up," Smith said while talking on the Simmons Says show Tuesday morning at Studio 605. "Once that happens, I'm gonna have to break you back down. It's not even in a bad way, but just situational. As an athlete, you always have to embrace being uncomfortable."
Smith believes confidence isn't developed by repeating what athletes already do well. More often, it’s built by repeatedly attacking what they don't.
"There's gonna be times where you're fourth-and-one and you need to get that first down. Or you're down by a point and you need to hit both free throws," Smith said. "Embrace that. Then you can embrace that moment at all times. That just builds confidence."
That philosophy has helped Power House Training become more than another offseason workout.
While Smith serves as Coffee County's running backs coach and was recently named head coach of the Lady Raiders flag football team, he continues spending evenings and weekends training athletes from all around the Midstate, with kids coming in regularly from Warren County, Coffee County and Murfreesboro.
Many of the athletes who train with him don't attend the school where he coaches, something Smith doesn't take for granted.
"This community has been so good to me," Smith said. "They still trust me to train their kids. That shows a lot of trust and I'm truly grateful for that."
The lessons begin earlier than many parents might expect. Some of Smith's athletes are only 6 years old. Rather than demanding perfection, he teaches them something much more valuable.
"It's okay to be uncomfortable because you're going to make mistakes more than you succeed," Smith said. "I don't call them mistakes. I call them lessons learned. What can I learn from that?"
That mindset carries over into every workout.
Basketball players are encouraged to attack with their off hand instead of relying on the one that feels natural. Athletes are challenged with new movements before they've completely mastered the old ones. If failure happens, Smith considers it progress.
"If you're gonna miss, miss," Smith said about workouts where kids want to make the easier shot than missing the difficult one. “I’ll say, ‘Keep trying with your left. Get better at it.’ It's okay to miss in here."
The objective is preparing athletes for moments that matter long before they ever arrive. Smith also pushes back against the idea that young athletes have to spend every day training to improve. Instead, he believes recovery is part of development.
"I embrace rest days," Smith said. "It's okay to rest. Physically you can't do something every single day. You have to be mentally sharp."
His advice to athletes is simple.
"When it's time to work, work. Grind. But on your off days, just rest. Be a kid. Once those four years are up in high school, they're gone."
Smith is equally passionate about athletes competing in more than one sport. He believes every season teaches different skills and opens doors that might not otherwise exist, especially for girls as flag football continues to grow across Tennessee.
"I'm all about multi-sports," Smith said. "Don't sell yourself short. Be versatile."
And no matter the sport, there will be come a time where one of these upcoming athletes defines the moment, or the moment defines them. It could be uncomfortable, but not if they’ve been working with Coach P.
It’ll feel like they’ve already been there before.
Follow Power House Training with Coach P or reach out to the Facebook page on more information on his training days.
