Over 50 years ago I got out of the United States Air Force and decided to go to college. Those were weird days for me as I had been in Europe from 1966 to 1969. I used my leave time to visit Europe and experience life in other countries rather than coming home. It was about that time I set a goal to play college football. I was small and slow but I loved football and I did try so I had that going for me. Where am I going with this autobiography? The football experience I had at Brockport State in Western New York under head Coach Gerry D’Agostino set me up for my professional life after college. When I graduated, I began playing tournament racquetball for 35 years. The sports experience at the highest level mentally and physically your body and mind can produce, never leaves you. This not only applies to your Racquetball game, it applies to your life!
What is your goal? Decide; and then develop a plan. Write down the obstacles to your plan, and a strategy to overcome the obstacles. Let’s face it, for most of us that goal is not to be on the pro tour, but it may include, league, shootout, tournament, or the weekly match you play vs an opponent at your club.
What you will learn is if you work hard, often it seems like you are going nowhere. It is discouraging but I learned to hang in there and keep working. The breakthrough for me was least expected. It involved some luck but when the luck happened I was prepared. I went two years without winning a match(remember, I’m in the open, no a players no b players, just a big draw). Finally I beat the 8 seed and advanced on and defeated another player and the 2 seed developed pneumonia and could not answer the bell. That put me in the finals and I lost in a breaker but went from nobody to somebody in one tournament; or so it seemed. Actually it took two years of failure and more failure.
Moral of the story is to stick to the fight when hardest hit! It’s when things go bad you should never quit! (apologies to the poem, “Don’t Quit”)