It is inevitable in development and high performance sport that both athletes, coaches and support staff will go through challenging times. When it happens (and it will), what is most important are the following:
- Understanding that it is part of the sporting/career journey for all and nobody escapes it
- Having a strategy about how you handle and process it
- What steps you take to learn from these times of struggle and keep moving forward
I listened to a fantastic podcast recently see link here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/kenneth-egan-blood-sweat-and-silver/id1754630902?i=1000661998289 and it was with Irish Olympic silver medalist boxer Kenny Egan. Kenny spoke about his career trajectory, the highs & lows, the challenging times but what struck me most were the following themes:
- His willingness to learn. He understood he wasn’t the complete boxer and was willing to learn from those that had more experience. His thirst for knowledge and drive to become a better boxer ultimately led to his Olympic medal.
- His team were realistic with the level they were operating at in performance terms but also in terms of their daily professionalism and set up. They realized they needed to be better. They travelled to train with some other countries boxers and learned from the best and brought this professionalism back into a new HP system in Ireland.
- Going outside of his comfort zone regularly. From sleeping on floor in national stadium, from committing to a new HP system and giving trust to a coach who openly told him he was far from the finished article, to going to foreign training camps with boxers who were better than him and suffering beatings daily.
- He managed many lows and challenging times throughout his journey but he had a stubbornness and grit to keep showing up daily until he achieved his goals.
“How we do something, is how we do everything.” Whether you are an athlete, coach or support team member I think this quote serves as a timely reminder that to achieve excellence in anything you must bring your best to your craft daily even with the most simplest of tasks. Repetition, routine, consistency, action with intent over long periods of time.
We all go through challenges and tough times in the journey of life, it is how we react with and deal with those times, how we overcome them and how we move forward is what matters. Don’t expect an easy path in life if you are pursuing something that is worthwhile. Resilience is said to be the ability to see growth even when conditions don’t support it. Resilience and adaptability are required during difficult or challenging times!!!
