- Dec 5, 2013
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This article was originally published on TumblingCoach.com
Read the original right HERE: An Important Letter To All Teenage Athletes
Author: Coach Sahil M.
Not this kind of letter – that would take forever
If you’re a teenage athlete, what I’m about to share with you today will make the next few years of your life the most memorable and successful if you let it (regardless of your sport.)
You see, as a coach I’m at this ideal place in my life where I remember exactly what it was like being a teenager who was massively involved in sports, but I’m also old enough to look back and gain some key insights and pass them on to you. I hope they serve you well.
Now before we start I’m going to assume one very important thing (besides your age falling anywhere between 13 and 19): And that is the fact that you take your sport very seriously.
As in, you’re either aiming to be, or are already at a competitive level and want to do well. This doesn’t necessarily mean at the National or World level, but you feel a desire to test your ability and skill against other human beings.
Insight #1: You Will Never Be An Athlete Forever
If I could go back in time, there are only two things I’d change: The first is I wish I started earlier, and second is that I wish I said “no” to things that didn’t matter and ”yes” to things that did. This means not skipping practices for parties and girlfriends. Not letting my friends sway me away from the gym just for a few hours at the mall I don’t even remember, and so on.
Look, I totally understand the lure of parties and hanging out, and I’m not saying you should get rid of it altogether and become this straight-arrow social outcast. But consider this, at 27 I can literally party every single night if I wanted to. I have all the party time in the world right now, and ZERO homework.
Jealous? Don’t be.
Because you know what I don’t have?
I don’t have my teenage super-human body where injuries would heal in a matter of days. I don’t have the ability to learn things at a rapid pace because I had less fear, and everything felt new and fresh. I also didn’t have any bills to pay, which was rather beneficial for stress management.
Now let’s be real, at 27 years old I’m not some old fart either. In fact I’m still considered rather young (I know, hard to believe if you’re 15 right now). But I can tell you training is way more challenging than it used to be.
So trust me when I tell you that you WILL make new friends, you will NOT be a loner, and you WILL have all the time in the world to party your face off if you choose to do so. But for now, use the time you have. Your window of opportunity of being an athlete will NEVER come back.
Time is a funny thing during the teenage years – it moves dreadfully slow. Almost at a snail’s pace. But when you turn 20, you’ll wake up the next day and you’ll be 25… wondering what the hell happened.
So you can either look back proud and say, “I’m glad I did…” or you can live in regret and say “I wish I did…”
Insight #2: Your Coaches Know More Than You Think
I still remember how being rebellious came rather easy to me. For some reason, as a teenager you have a natural urge to challenge pretty much everything for any reason, just because.
Coach tells you to do basic drills for an hour, and you wonder “why, what’s the point of this nonsense? I want be better at my sport, not at hopping around like a dork!”
I get it. But a coach’s job is to not only make you a better athlete and a better human being, but also bring out the best from you. Let them do their job, and you do yours. If after a while it’s clearly not working and you’re not seeing results, then you can go ahead and question them or just find a different team/program.
Insight #3: Selling Is More Important Than Education
First let me say that education is definitely important. I read about two books a week on everything from business, psychology, marketing etc. So I’m constantly educating myself. However, I’m saying that selling is more important.
Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at a few examples:
It’s all selling, but unfortunately not many understand it in this way because to most, selling involves some type of consumer product.
But I promise you one thing: If you have the ability to sell (yourself or a product) you will never, be out of a “job” or a source of stable income. Ever.
There is not a company in history that won’t scoop up a person that has the ability to sell, because that’s what drives our economy. So stop crying over the fact that 10 others have a higher report card score than you do, and instead figure out what unique skillset you bring the to table, and sell the crap out of it.
Again, let me clarify that this isn’t a “get out of jail” card or an excuse for you to not try in school. But in the back of your mind, always remember what ultimately matters.
Insight #4: It’s all about memories and experience
In the end, this is what competitive sports gives you – the experience of pushing yourself which can benefit other areas of your life such as work and school, along with memories that you’ll remember decades in the future with stories you can tell your friends and (I know this is far out) even your own kids one day.
When I look back, here are some of the most memorable things I can recall:
What I don’t remember is all the meaningless stupid stuff which I’m sure was fun at the time, but because it’s not in my memory, its as if it never happened.
And like I said, I have all the time in the world to build up those memories right now if I wanted to. All I have to do is call up my friends next Saturday night, head downtown, and I’ll have a story to tell for days.
I hope these insights have helped you realize that the time you have now is precious. Use it to build precious memories and to grow not only as an athlete but a person because once it’s gone, it’s not coming back.
Happy training!
P.S – If you have any other insights you’d like to share, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. I’d love to know what you think.
Liked this article? Visit TumblingCoach.com for even more great pieces just like this!
This article was originally published on TumblingCoach.com
Read the original right HERE: An Important Letter To All Teenage Athletes
Author: Coach Sahil M.
Not this kind of letter – that would take forever
If you’re a teenage athlete, what I’m about to share with you today will make the next few years of your life the most memorable and successful if you let it (regardless of your sport.)
You see, as a coach I’m at this ideal place in my life where I remember exactly what it was like being a teenager who was massively involved in sports, but I’m also old enough to look back and gain some key insights and pass them on to you. I hope they serve you well.
Now before we start I’m going to assume one very important thing (besides your age falling anywhere between 13 and 19): And that is the fact that you take your sport very seriously.
As in, you’re either aiming to be, or are already at a competitive level and want to do well. This doesn’t necessarily mean at the National or World level, but you feel a desire to test your ability and skill against other human beings.
Insight #1: You Will Never Be An Athlete Forever
If I could go back in time, there are only two things I’d change: The first is I wish I started earlier, and second is that I wish I said “no” to things that didn’t matter and ”yes” to things that did. This means not skipping practices for parties and girlfriends. Not letting my friends sway me away from the gym just for a few hours at the mall I don’t even remember, and so on.
Look, I totally understand the lure of parties and hanging out, and I’m not saying you should get rid of it altogether and become this straight-arrow social outcast. But consider this, at 27 I can literally party every single night if I wanted to. I have all the party time in the world right now, and ZERO homework.
Jealous? Don’t be.
Because you know what I don’t have?
I don’t have my teenage super-human body where injuries would heal in a matter of days. I don’t have the ability to learn things at a rapid pace because I had less fear, and everything felt new and fresh. I also didn’t have any bills to pay, which was rather beneficial for stress management.
Now let’s be real, at 27 years old I’m not some old fart either. In fact I’m still considered rather young (I know, hard to believe if you’re 15 right now). But I can tell you training is way more challenging than it used to be.
So trust me when I tell you that you WILL make new friends, you will NOT be a loner, and you WILL have all the time in the world to party your face off if you choose to do so. But for now, use the time you have. Your window of opportunity of being an athlete will NEVER come back.
Time is a funny thing during the teenage years – it moves dreadfully slow. Almost at a snail’s pace. But when you turn 20, you’ll wake up the next day and you’ll be 25… wondering what the hell happened.
So you can either look back proud and say, “I’m glad I did…” or you can live in regret and say “I wish I did…”
Insight #2: Your Coaches Know More Than You Think
I still remember how being rebellious came rather easy to me. For some reason, as a teenager you have a natural urge to challenge pretty much everything for any reason, just because.
Coach tells you to do basic drills for an hour, and you wonder “why, what’s the point of this nonsense? I want be better at my sport, not at hopping around like a dork!”
I get it. But a coach’s job is to not only make you a better athlete and a better human being, but also bring out the best from you. Let them do their job, and you do yours. If after a while it’s clearly not working and you’re not seeing results, then you can go ahead and question them or just find a different team/program.
Insight #3: Selling Is More Important Than Education
First let me say that education is definitely important. I read about two books a week on everything from business, psychology, marketing etc. So I’m constantly educating myself. However, I’m saying that selling is more important.
Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at a few examples:
- When you start talking to a girl in the hopes of getting her number then eventually going on a date, what exactly are you doing? You’re selling yourself enough so that she will “buy” in.
- Ladies, when you do your hair, make up, nails and clothes to the max the day you know you’ll be in the same class as that cute boy, what are you doing? You’re selling yourself by putting your best self forward in the hopes that he will notice, and buy in.
- When you show up to tryouts with skills to pay the bills, what are you doing? You’re selling the coaches that fact that you belong on their team.
- When you’re at a job interview and 100 others have the same qualifications as you, what are you really doing? You’re selling yourself over them.
- When you convince your coach to let you try a skill you’ve never tried before, what are you doing? You’re selling your ability.
- When you organize a party and 50 people show up to have a great time, what have you done? You’ve sold them on your party.
- What about ab selfies on Instagram? Selling
- The video clip of your awesome progress on Vine? Selling
- A witty Tweet that you hope will get RT’d and Favourited a billion times? Selling!
It’s all selling, but unfortunately not many understand it in this way because to most, selling involves some type of consumer product.
But I promise you one thing: If you have the ability to sell (yourself or a product) you will never, be out of a “job” or a source of stable income. Ever.
There is not a company in history that won’t scoop up a person that has the ability to sell, because that’s what drives our economy. So stop crying over the fact that 10 others have a higher report card score than you do, and instead figure out what unique skillset you bring the to table, and sell the crap out of it.
Again, let me clarify that this isn’t a “get out of jail” card or an excuse for you to not try in school. But in the back of your mind, always remember what ultimately matters.
Insight #4: It’s all about memories and experience
In the end, this is what competitive sports gives you – the experience of pushing yourself which can benefit other areas of your life such as work and school, along with memories that you’ll remember decades in the future with stories you can tell your friends and (I know this is far out) even your own kids one day.
When I look back, here are some of the most memorable things I can recall:
- When I accomplished skills and pushed myself at competitions
- The bloopers and hilarious times at training sessions
- The medals and trophies which symbolized all the weeks and months of work into one possession I can own forever
- Making friends with other athletes whom I now call my friends
- The important lessons I learnt such as how to rely on myself, my team, time management, discipline, and the importance of not giving up.
What I don’t remember is all the meaningless stupid stuff which I’m sure was fun at the time, but because it’s not in my memory, its as if it never happened.
And like I said, I have all the time in the world to build up those memories right now if I wanted to. All I have to do is call up my friends next Saturday night, head downtown, and I’ll have a story to tell for days.
I hope these insights have helped you realize that the time you have now is precious. Use it to build precious memories and to grow not only as an athlete but a person because once it’s gone, it’s not coming back.
Happy training!
P.S – If you have any other insights you’d like to share, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. I’d love to know what you think.
Liked this article? Visit TumblingCoach.com for even more great pieces just like this!
