Hours, months, years? Driving, spending, rips, and sweat. Hard work ethic for an amazing challenge. One night to prove yourself under pressure most of us have never felt in sports. The athletes who qualify for the recent Olympic Trials are amazing. Special people to be revered for all of the right reasons we start in youth sports. The special few.
But some will come up short of their ultimate goal. To write down “Olympic Team” on your To Do List must have been an amazing day and feeling. And to come within a fraction of a second, an inch, or a wobble on beam of achieving your amazingly difficult goal must be almost devastating.
But they are all so incredibly special.
To reach high doesn’t always mean you are going to make it. But those who dared to reach for challenging goals are all winners because they will grow from working to challenge themselves. The losers are those who don’t try to reach.
This isn’t just about the Olympic Challenge. How about all of those Level 10 gymnasts who worked hard but missed out on qualifying for nationals? Or the 8-year-old diver who wanted so desperately to qualify for State, but missed. The freshman who tried out super hard for the JV wrestling team but was cut on the last day of tryouts. These are athletes who set high personal goals and gave it everything they had but fell just short of tears of joy.
If we have the right perspective in youth sports we can see a lot of “Champions” in our gyms and on our teams. The great coaches and parents recognize that the growth of an athlete and person does not depend on putting on the Olympic uniform of their country. It is wonderful to have a “special few” but thankfully there are so many more amazing accomplishments for each and every ability athlete out there. And the great coaches, parents, and teachers will bring achievable challenges into the lives of each and every 7-year-old we have the privilege of working with.
We all need to recognize the process and the learning along the way as our ultimate measure of success rather than a gold medal around a child’s neck. Reaching high is absolutely terrific for all of us but winning isn’t necessary to be happy with ourselves. Teach your athletes the important lessons in sports. Reach, work hard, give it your best, and enjoy the ride. The top of the awards podium is nice but to live life always with a “podium in sight” is what most of us will grow from. Personal challenges that take us a little out of the “easy” range makes us all better. Teach your young people about that.
Tom Burgdorf – Author
Email: Tom@gymnetsports.com Web Site: www.Gymnetsports.net Face Book: Tom Burgdorf