Rep It, Riff It, and Rip It
Rep It
Skill development has been the focus of my attention for the past twenty-five years. Teaching and coaching is all about moving forward and making small gains. My driving force has been to inspire and guide students and athletes to their next step. Move forward. Consistently show up. Put in the daily reps. One thing I especially love is teaching brand new skills. I love to watch those initial repetitions whether in a classroom or on the court. There is nothing like watching the awkward first reps. The humble beginnings to any new skill travels a familiar path of mistake after mistake which is interrupted with intermittent successes. This is where the reps make their mark on the learner. Gifting the learner with glimmers of hope and moments of confidence. With more and more repetitions, we teachers and coaches begin to see something form. We begin to see the reps transform into something new. The riffs.
Riff It
Skill development follows a natural progression. Learners withstand those awkward first reps and begin to build confidence in themselves and in their new skills. Slowly, we see automaticity begin to take shape. These reps transform into building blocks, developing into more nuanced and specialized skills. The reps are building the riffs.
The term “riff” is typically used in music. It refers to a short phrase or passage that has become part of the musician’s repertoire of skills to draw from. Musicians develop a toolbox of patterns. With more and more reps, they build more and more riffs until the toolbox becomes a small arsenal. When learners build enough of these riffs into their repertoire, they are well equipped to do something special. The rips.
Rip It
To “rip it” is another way to say “go for it.” In tennis, “ripping it” means going for a big ball or shot. As a coach and fan, I see a LOT of players try to rip the ball. In my years of coaching and watching, one thing I’ve found is that the success rate of “the rip” is highly correlated with the player’s level of experience. If they have enough riffs in their arsenal and enough reps behind those riffs, the rips are more likely to be rewarded. However a lack of riffs and reps, lead to rips that rarely reap rewards.
This holds true in the music world as well. As a guitarist and fan of guitarists, I see a lot of musicians “rip it.” Although, they would probably prefer I say, “shred it.” Either way, experienced musicians have countless repetitions and a warehouse riffs to draw from as they play. Letting it rip is second nature to the expert guitarist, and that’s something special. And it all starts with something so simple. The reps.
Rep It, Riff It, and Rip It
Today, make some reps.
Start to build some riffs.
Then, enjoy the rips.
Enjoy the day.
