As a child, I grew up in an environment that allowed for my exploration. I had boundaries, but they were never boundaries that disallowed creativity and freedom. Much of my exploration was fueled by my highly active personality. Everything from getting into trouble doing harmless destruction to going beyond what many would think a little kid and his group of friends would be capable of. My sense of creativity, on top of being an outgoing introvert, unfortunately gave me the label of the “Goofy” kid. So, I eventually found a way to fit in socially, and that was through athletics. However, early on I had no sense of what it meant to be great at athletics.
Sports influencing my life
I can’t tell you the exact moment that sports became a major influence in my life, but I can tell you that outside of my family, sports are the greatest influence in my life. I tried many sports, from karate to soccer. Eventually, I developed a passion for snowboarding, and I took my skills to a professional level in a short period. I was also an NCAA golfer for three out of four years of college.
Throughout my 33 (I had my first set of golf clubs at the age of 3) plus years of participating in all levels of athletics, it wasn’t until recently that I realized I was missing a major purpose to being an athlete. I was competing for the wrong reasons, and because of that, I was not fully committed to my success.
Motivation to be better
Like I said earlier, I was the goofy kid, and because of that, everyone doubted my ability to excel in sports. I was always told, “You can’t do that, you can’t make the team, you are not good enough to play baseball.” I had a drive inside of me to prove all those people wrong. Yes I remember not making some teams growing up and it pissed me off.
That eventually led to finding snowboarding because, like rock climbing, there are no rules. There are no teams. There is no right or wrong. Well, just like rock climbing, that is only partially true. If you want to be good, there are no rules. If you want to be great at athletics, you need to be committed to comparing yourself to yourself and taking direction from a mentor, someone who has experienced what you have not yet experienced.
Be great at athletics
I am telling you all of this because I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did. I didn’t have someone to mentor me through the sports I eventually came to love. You could be a good climber, or you can be a great climber.
I had the physical ability to become a great snowboarder or a great golfer or a Great climber. However, I lacked the commitment to get out of my comfort zone and fail. I was good at those sports because I wanted to prove everyone wrong and show off, and not take orders. However, after getting good out of love and spite, I didn’t have someone to keep pushing me. I was missing that one little piece to be great at athletics.
Check your Ego
If you want to be a great climber, or a great musician, or a great whatever, it is up to you to check your ego, stop comparing yourself to others, and be willing to be critiqued by a veteran of the craft. After realizing the mishaps in my athletic career growing up, I have since learned to apply that knowledge to becoming a great coach.
I am fully committed to your success in and out of the gym, and I am doing it because I am choosing to do it. I am not committed to your success because someone thinks that I cannot make you a great athlete.