My Advice to Young Athletes and New Beginners: Embracing Joy, Mistakes, and the Journey

A Chance Encounter That Sparked Reflection

During my recent travels, I had a meaningful conversation with a high school football coach whose son is about to make the leap to college ball next season. As we discussed the transition ahead, he asked me a straightforward but profound question: “If you had one piece of advice for my son, what would it be?”

The question made me pause. Typically, when I work with athletes one-on-one, I begin by exploring their unique goals, dreams, aspirations, and challenges. But this called for something more universal—wisdom that could benefit any young athlete stepping up to the next level, or indeed, anyone facing a significant transition in life.

After some thought, I shared three interconnected principles that I believe can transform not just an athlete’s performance, but anyone’s experience when starting something new—whether you’re an executive taking on a higher leadership role, a recent graduate entering the job market, or an athlete moving to a more competitive level:

1. Understanding Your Place in the Journey

When you excel at the high school level, you’ve essentially mastered that environment. You’ve become good enough to advance to college athletics—an achievement worth celebrating. But it’s crucial to recognize what comes next: you’re starting something brand new.

This principle applies universally. The executive who mastered middle management now faces the novel challenges of senior leadership. The star employee who gets promoted to manager enters unfamiliar territory. We all face these transitions where our previous mastery gives way to new learning.

College athletes face multiple transitions simultaneously. Beyond navigating a new school, town, and education level, you’re now a rookie in your sport. In the NFL, commentators regularly refer to players as “1st year” or “2nd year,” acknowledging they’re still learning at this level despite their talent.

Understanding where you are in your journey creates realistic expectations. As a freshman athlete, a new executive, or anyone in transition, you’re not supposed to know everything or perform flawlessly. You’re exactly where you should be—at the beginning of a new chapter.

2. Embracing Mistakes as Your Greatest Teachers

We all possess an inner critic—that voice highlighting our mistakes and shortcomings. This negative bias evolved for a reason: to alert us to dangers and help us survive. But when we allow that critical voice to dominate, it hinders rather than helps our development.

As a college rookie—or anyone learning something new—you’re going to make mistakes. A lot of them. The surprising truth? The more mistakes you make, the faster you’ll learn, provided you approach them with the right mindset.

I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly in my coaching practice. Whether working with C-suite executives or entry-level professionals, the ability to embrace mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures separates those who thrive from those who struggle.

Welcoming these learning opportunities rather than beating yourself up over them accelerates your growth dramatically. Working at the edge of discomfort is actually the optimal place for learning. Try spending time each day celebrating wins instead of dwelling on what didn’t go right. This approach transforms mistakes from sources of shame into stepping stones toward mastery.

Think of it as “failing forward”—each misstep is actually progress when you extract the lesson within it.

3. Finding Joy in the Process

Finally, and perhaps most importantly: joy. In high-pressure environments like college athletics or corporate leadership, it’s easy to place enormous expectations on yourself. Every game, every practice, every meeting, every decision can feel monumentally important.

But focusing on finding moments of joy, gratitude, and happiness throughout the journey not only makes the experience more fulfilling—it actually enhances your performance. Celebrating small wins and intentionally seeking joy changes the neurochemical balance in your brain and body. It reduces stress hormones like cortisol while increasing beneficial chemicals like oxytocin and dopamine.

Adding practices like meditation or mindfulness further optimizes your brain for learning and performance, creating what I call the “Just Right” space—where your neurochemistry is perfectly balanced for peak performance.

Conversely, excessive pressure and stress actively reduce performance. The weight of expectations can crush the very abilities that got you there in the first place.

Looking to Role Models

When I work with clients—whether athletes or executives—I often ask: “Who do you admire in your field? How did they get there?”

Consider someone like Tom Brady. While celebrated for his championships, what truly distinguished his career was his relentless work ethic, mental resilience, and ability to learn from setbacks. Every elite performer has a story filled with failures, adjustments, and persistence before breakthrough success.

The Universal Challenge of Transitions

What’s fascinating in my coaching practice is that whether I’m working with an executive at the highest level or someone just entering the job market, they all face the same moments of imposter syndrome and doubt in their abilities. The context may differ, but the psychological challenges remain remarkably similar.

I’ve witnessed corporate leaders who command boardrooms with confidence privately question if they belong at the table. Similarly, talented rookie athletes often wonder if they can truly compete at the higher level, despite all evidence that they can. These feelings are not just normal—they’re nearly universal during periods of transition.

The Path Forward

For anyone transitioning to a new level—in sports, career, or life—remember that this journey isn’t just about arriving at some destination—it’s about who you become along the way. The habits of mind you develop now—embracing your role as a learner, using mistakes as feedback rather than failure, and finding joy in the process—will serve you throughout your athletic career and life beyond.

The key is to remember what got you there in the first place and continue building your confidence through intentional practice and mindset work. By keeping these three principles in mind, you’ll not only perform better under pressure, you’ll experience greater fulfillment every step of the way. And ultimately, isn’t that what sports—and life—are supposed to be about?

Sheri Jay is an ICF-accredited Mindset and Performance Coach with three decades of involvement in the cycling community. She leverages neuroscience-based tools to help athletes, executives, and leaders navigate the complex interplay between mental performance and achievement. Through her transformative coaching methodology, she guides individuals from feeling overwhelmed to achieving breakthrough performances with clarity, confidence, and renewed purpose in their journeys.