“The power of one is above all things the power to believe in yourself,
often well beyond any latent ability you may have previously demonstrated. The
mind is the athlete, the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or
longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit further,
or box better.”
often well beyond any latent ability you may have previously demonstrated. The
mind is the athlete, the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or
longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit further,
or box better.”
–Bryce Courtenay
I had a goalkeeper coach tell me back in January that the little things make the biggest difference (Vanilla Sky, anyone?). It was since then when I began assessing myself meticulously… as an athlete and a person. It was also then when I discovered that the little things are far more difficult to overcome than the big things. Big moments are, more often than not, driven by a single, concentrated ability to focus. Little ones are driven by continuous habit.
This year has been all about detail. It’s been about training myself to wake up at 5:30am to run, then lift, then practice, only to remind myself that I am here to get a degree and therefore I need to make my coffee a venti so I can work a little bit harder and get a little bit smarter. It’s also been about doing all of that while being at any given point on the map. Or while facing any of Mother Nature’s glorious elements.
Every year, we get to this point where we start to reflect on everything we’ve done in twelve short months. It’s pretty safe to say that 2011 has changed us all in one way or another… current events alone will tell you that much. But the little moments throughout the year, the ones disguised as tedious chores or sudden tragedies, have tested our endurance. The way we’ve adapted from them has defined us.
The way we’ve created ourselves is due in whole to the mind. I am less of an athlete now than I will be a year from now, and am most definitely a better athlete today than I was a year ago. You see, something magical happened in between then and now. A pure example of such magic dates back to January. That’s when I was told that I needed to cut two minutes off of my two-mile time (one of our fitness tests). That was confusing, to say the least. I wasn’t really sure how it was relevant because as you know, I’m a goalkeeper and we do just about everything but we don’t run two miles… um… ever. Anyways.
In February I sat on the bench during the first of our spring games because I was still about a minute too slow. So in March I ran. And ran. And ran. In April my coach started playing me again, but it wasn’t enough. So I ran some more. I went home in May, and kept running. I also trained with my goalkeeper trainer in Santa Monica because I’d be a pretty useless goalkeeper if all I did was run. I lifted. I ate a little better. I went back to Greenville in August and was still about thirty seconds off. But I was the best goalkeeper I’ve ever been. I was smarter off of my line, I communicated with my defenders more efficiently, and I was stronger… all of which are completely irrelevant to running. That's the irony of it all... while I thought I was training my body, I was training my mind. And those months of disciplining my mind and finding a peace despite knowing I was being held to a specific standard made all the difference. That is ultimately what defined me and what will define me as I move forward.
Moving forward is, as I’ve decided, the testament for knowing you’re successful in doing the little things. I still have a long way to go before I reach my full potential, but as I approach the beginning of winter conditioning, I’m reminded that it’s my mind, not my body, that will create all of my opportunities.
Finally, an update: last week I went to the Philippine consulate to apply for dual-citizenship so that I can take the next step in becoming a member of the Philippine Women’s National Team. I also sent them a few of my highlights from last season. The video is posted below. The first competitions are tentatively set for a March friendlies tournament in Qatar followed by another in Thailand sometime in April. And as I’m knocking on wood, believe me when I say that I’m really, really looking forward to bringing in the New Year if that’s what it has in store.
I had a goalkeeper coach tell me back in January that the little things make the biggest difference (Vanilla Sky, anyone?). It was since then when I began assessing myself meticulously… as an athlete and a person. It was also then when I discovered that the little things are far more difficult to overcome than the big things. Big moments are, more often than not, driven by a single, concentrated ability to focus. Little ones are driven by continuous habit.
This year has been all about detail. It’s been about training myself to wake up at 5:30am to run, then lift, then practice, only to remind myself that I am here to get a degree and therefore I need to make my coffee a venti so I can work a little bit harder and get a little bit smarter. It’s also been about doing all of that while being at any given point on the map. Or while facing any of Mother Nature’s glorious elements.
Every year, we get to this point where we start to reflect on everything we’ve done in twelve short months. It’s pretty safe to say that 2011 has changed us all in one way or another… current events alone will tell you that much. But the little moments throughout the year, the ones disguised as tedious chores or sudden tragedies, have tested our endurance. The way we’ve adapted from them has defined us.
The way we’ve created ourselves is due in whole to the mind. I am less of an athlete now than I will be a year from now, and am most definitely a better athlete today than I was a year ago. You see, something magical happened in between then and now. A pure example of such magic dates back to January. That’s when I was told that I needed to cut two minutes off of my two-mile time (one of our fitness tests). That was confusing, to say the least. I wasn’t really sure how it was relevant because as you know, I’m a goalkeeper and we do just about everything but we don’t run two miles… um… ever. Anyways.
In February I sat on the bench during the first of our spring games because I was still about a minute too slow. So in March I ran. And ran. And ran. In April my coach started playing me again, but it wasn’t enough. So I ran some more. I went home in May, and kept running. I also trained with my goalkeeper trainer in Santa Monica because I’d be a pretty useless goalkeeper if all I did was run. I lifted. I ate a little better. I went back to Greenville in August and was still about thirty seconds off. But I was the best goalkeeper I’ve ever been. I was smarter off of my line, I communicated with my defenders more efficiently, and I was stronger… all of which are completely irrelevant to running. That's the irony of it all... while I thought I was training my body, I was training my mind. And those months of disciplining my mind and finding a peace despite knowing I was being held to a specific standard made all the difference. That is ultimately what defined me and what will define me as I move forward.
Moving forward is, as I’ve decided, the testament for knowing you’re successful in doing the little things. I still have a long way to go before I reach my full potential, but as I approach the beginning of winter conditioning, I’m reminded that it’s my mind, not my body, that will create all of my opportunities.
Finally, an update: last week I went to the Philippine consulate to apply for dual-citizenship so that I can take the next step in becoming a member of the Philippine Women’s National Team. I also sent them a few of my highlights from last season. The video is posted below. The first competitions are tentatively set for a March friendlies tournament in Qatar followed by another in Thailand sometime in April. And as I’m knocking on wood, believe me when I say that I’m really, really looking forward to bringing in the New Year if that’s what it has in store.
What did 2011 teach you? Were those lessons ever disguised in the form of something else the way running the two-mile was for me?
