- Iron Sharpens Athletes
- Posts
- Quit at the Crossroad?
Quit at the Crossroad?
Coach E.
May 20, 2024
Quotes of the week
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Nelson Mandela
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." - Vince Lombardi
Story of The Week
Grace had trained relentlessly for years, her eyes fixed firmly on the prize: a spot on the Jr. Olympic team. Nobody worked harder than her. Early mornings at the track, late nights in the gym—she poured her heart and soul into every stride.
But on race day, the unthinkable happened. Grace crossed the finish line with a time slower than she'd run just a month earlier. Devastation washed over her like a tidal wave. All those years of sacrifice, all those hours of training, seemingly for nothing.
In the aftermath of defeat, Grace faced a crossroads. She could succumb to despair, throw in the towel, and walk away from the sport she loved. Or she could pick herself up, dust herself off, and resolve to come back stronger.
Thankfully, Grace chose the latter. With steely determination, she returned to the track, more focused and driven than ever before. She channeled her disappointment into fuel for her fire, vowing to leave no stone unturned in her quest for redemption.
And sure enough, opportunity knocked once again. At 21 years old, Grace earned a coveted spot on the national team, her resilience and unwavering dedication catching the eye of selectors. It was the chance she'd been waiting for—a chance to prove herself on the world stage.
And prove herself she did. With nerves of steel and a heart full of determination, Grace sprinted her way to a bronze medal at the Olympics, her triumphant journey from despair to glory serving as a testament to the power of perseverance and the resilience of the human spirit.
Athletes
Put yourself in a position to fail. There are always better players or athletes than you. Find them and compete with them regardless of winning. Learning how to deal with setbacks and lack of success only makes you better if you use it as a positive to grind harder for your goals. Go find an athletic challenge you know will be difficult this week and every week after. It will only make you better.
Parents
Don’t baby your athlete child. Put them in situations to fail or if they fail in situations don’t make excuses for them. They will thank you when they are older and at the peak of their sport knowing they went through tough times for success when it mattered most.
Coaches
Don’t take joy in the lopsided victory. Take away lessons and finding out who your teams really are by putting your team up against better competition than you. You learn through failure early in a season so then you can be victorious later. Too many coaches love the feel good, meaningless victories instead of the hard-fought losses that define your team and individual character.
Stat of the week
In 2008, Brady was coming off of an MVP year and a Super Bowl loss when he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. Brady tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee, ending his streak of 111 straight starts for the New England Patriots. He doubled down and got better not worse after the devastating injury and proved to be an iron man. Brady started 381 games in his career. The former NFL star only missed 19 games. He missed 15 due to his ACL injury in 2008 and then he missed four more in 2016 ..... for deflategate!
Brady retired holding regular season records for passing yards (89,214) and passing touchdowns (649). Including playoffs, Brady has a record 67 game-winning drives and 51 fourth-quarter comebacks, seven Super Bowl rings, and 277 wins. Love him or loathe him you must respect the greatness of a guy that has been in more post season games than 18 teams in the league!
Reply