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Field Notes · Game Ready Labs
The archive.
The work.
Writing from inside the game. For athletes, coaches, and programs who are serious.
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Mindset
Recruiting
Development
Coaches
Programs
Nutrition
Recovery
Identity
Performance
Featured
Mindset · Featured
The mindset gap
The distance between the player you are and the player you are capable of becoming. It is not filled with talent. It is filled with every decision you make when no one is watching.
Read the essay →
No. 01
Mindset
The mindset gap
The distance between the player you are and the player capable of becoming. How it gets closed.
Mindset
7 min
No. 02
Nutrition
What your body needs before game day
Game day nutrition is not about the meal two hours before tip-off. It is about the 24-hour window.
Nutrition
6 min
No. 03
Tools
The tools D1 programs use that you can use right now
Film platforms, mental performance systems, recovery protocols. Most have a free version.
Tools
5 min
No. 04
Mindset
Pressure is a privilege
You only feel pressure when the stakes are real. The stakes are only real when you have built something worth protecting.
Mindset
5 min
No. 05
Routine
How to build a morning routine that actually performs
The morning is the only part of the day the athlete controls fully. Here is how to use it.
Routine
6 min
No. 06
Film
Film is not for coaches. It's for you.
Film study is the highest-leverage practice available. Most athletes treat it like homework.
Film
5 min
No. 07
Recovery
Sleep is your most underrated competitive advantage
LeBron sleeps ten hours a night. The research is unambiguous. This is the most neglected variable.
Recovery
5 min
No. 08
Identity
The identity shift that separates good from great
Behavior does not create identity. Identity creates behavior. The shift from doing to being.
Identity
6 min
No. 09
Recruiting
What college coaches actually want in a recruit
The unspoken evaluation criteria. What happens in the moments between plays that coaches discuss.
Recruiting
7 min
No. 10
Performance
How elite programs prepare athletes for the moments that decide seasons
Alabama runs two-minute drills every practice. Not occasionally. Every practice.
Performance
7 min
No. 11
Mindset
Start acting like a pro before anyone treats you like one
The players who made it were not waiting for a scholarship offer to start taking it seriously.
Mindset
5 min
No. 12
Development
Why starting young matters more than talent
Reps compound. The player who starts at 10 has four more years of foundation.
Development
4 min
No. 13
Recruiting
What a college coach sees in the first 30 seconds
Before they watch a single clip, they have already formed an impression.
Recruiting
3 min
No. 14
Coaches
The five minutes before practice starts
Culture is not built in the season-opening speech. It is built in the five minutes before practice.
Coaches
4 min
No. 15
Recruiting
The recruiting email that actually gets read
Most recruiting emails fail in the subject line. The formula is simpler than you think.
Recruiting
4 min
No. 16
Development
Film study is a skill. Most players never develop it.
Watching film of yourself is uncomfortable. That is exactly why most players avoid it.
Development
5 min
No. 17
Mindset
The gap between where you are and where you want to be is infrastructure
The distance is not talent. It is not opportunity. It is the scaffolding built around your game.
Mindset
4 min
No. 18
Programs
What makes an AAU program worth a parent's investment
Parents spend real money on AAU. Most are making those decisions on incomplete information.
Programs
5 min
No. 19
Coaches
Your players cannot be seen if you are not visible either
The recruiting chain has a new link. When a college coach finds your player, they find you too.
Coaches
4 min
No. 20
Recruiting
The one thing you can control in the recruiting process
Most of recruiting is out of your hands. Your infrastructure is not. Own that part completely.
Recruiting
4 min