I was reading a thing the other day that struck me. It was a response to someone who had claimed their career was ruined by a few experts who told them they would never be any good. Those critics drove this person away from success. Their career was acting and the responses were swift.
Most went like this, “You are not that good if the opinion of others, even experts, matter to you. Have a backbone and believe in yourself!” (Which is exactly what I was thinking when I read this post)
What does this have to do with racquetball? Well often athletes come to me with a dream, a vision of how good they can be. Usually that vision is too low! I want them to achieve more than they dreamed of! Hard work and correct technique gets anyone toward their goal but the next step takes courage. In that case it is not the opinion of others beating this athlete down, it is their own opinion!
There is no way a coach can predict or measure the courage it will take to get those final two points in that 9-9 tiebreaker. Or predict the courage to beat a nemesis said athlete has never defeated. The courage to go the rare air at the top of your game, whatever the level you play!
I can think of two players back in the day I had to defeat. One for the city championship and one for the regional championship. Both of those “first time I ever beat them” matches came after several people told me I would never beat them. I was told that I just wasn’t that good. In fact, as a coach I am still told I am not that good by some people! Thank goodness I did not and do not believe those people!
Since those days I have taken many athletes to way beyond that place where I went. All of us have the same demons! Excellence means working on your craft and believing in yourself. It also means not listening to people who tell you that you can’t! While you are at it, don’t listen to those who tell you how great you are either. Just keep working on your craft!
Go get’em Tigers!!