filling voids with value
The saying “time-flies” is really resonating with me lately. It’s already been over a year since I stepped on an indoor volleyball court with my team. It’s been over a year since I studied film and watched my opponent and prepared myself for competition. It’s been over a year and man have I missed it.
Being an athlete and competing on a team with a simple common goal is such an incredible feeling and opportunity. The value in these experiences is priceless. You learn sacrifice and selflessness and resiliency and balance and hard work and leadership and how to follow and how to bring out the best in the people around you.
I miss the work. I miss running an offense. I miss celebrating my teammates successes. I miss the elation of winning a match and the full-body fatigue of a tough five setter. I miss feeling the growth and chipping away at my goals and writing in my journal to reflect on what the last day of training felt like.
I think about all of this and it fires me up in a profound way.
Since my pregnancy and the birth of my beautiful baby girl, I have gotten back onto the court but the court is lined in the sand and the purpose is quite a bit different than what I’ve trained for the past twenty years. It’s been fun to play and it’s helping my body get back into shape but it’s definitely not the same feeling as stepping on the court with my teammates and grinding day after day to achieve our goals. Something that’s helped fill my setter-hole and keep me connected to the sport while away from it physically, are the mentorship opportunities that have been popping up. When meeting these other athletes I quickly realized that all of my years of preparation have led me to this moment where I now have the tools to help other aspiring setters and athletes on their own journeys.
I think about one of these athletes playing and finding a better version of herself and it totally fires me up.
One of the biggest takeaways I had recently with an athlete I’ve been working with was to turn her lack of confidence and feeling of fear into something more useful. The truth is that every athlete faces a moment or moments of inner struggle; the difference in the good and the great are the tools these players use to get on the other side of it. The faster we can do this as an athlete the better we are going to be over longer periods of time.
One way of doing this is to turn the nerves of fear that we have into butterflies of excitement. Instead of allowing ourselves thoughts that make us feel small and doubtful of our abilities we can tell ourselves a story that motivates us and gets us fired up about our next playing opportunity. Whether it’s a 6on6 drill in practice or a playoff match against our biggest rival…we have a choice to build excitement and positive dialogue through each and every one of these moments. The version of ourselves that shows up at game-time is directly related to the thoughts we are thinking and the stories we are telling ourselves on the daily.
It’s not “oh no, what if I make a mistake?” “what if I’m not good enough?” “what if coach subs me out?” “what if my attackers prefer her sets over my sets?”
Instead it’s: “I am prepared for this!” “I know I can help my team today!” “I’m going to put all of my hard work into action and enjoy competing!” “I’m here to do the best I can for my team!” “I believe in me!!”
Being our own biggest support system is something each and every one of us can improve on. When we believe in our own abilities and are working towards the greater good for our team - that’s where the magic happens.
I’ve spent over twenty years working to master my craft. I’ve written hundreds of journal entries and spent countless hours watching film, working out and getting repetitions. The goal was always to improve my game as much as I possibly could. The work I was putting in was always centered around that clear vision of wanting to maximize my own potential.
I’ve LIVED by this quote:
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift” Steve Prefontaine
What gets you fired up?
See you next week
Carli