Strength or Weakness

Within each of us is our best player and our worst player. The big question is, how do we become our best player on command or when faced with adversity.

As an athlete, the answer is simple. We choose between our strength and our weakness. Said other ways, we choose between "I can" or "I can't" or between "I believe" or "I don't believe." For the purposes of this blog, I use the words "strength" and "weakness" because when we are in these states of mind, they are physically tangible and we literally feel strong or weak. We don't necessarily recognize it in the moment as a state of mind, but it is clear that we feel the effects of it.

The result/effect of choosing your strength is doing the work, playing the game, trusting yourself and/or teammates, and being creative and spontaneous. The result of choosing your weakness is over-thinking each touch, over-emotionalizing each error, dropping your head, feeling lethargic and experiencing mental locking.

So, how do you choose your strength? For starters, choosing is a fundamental part of life, and the choices we make are always based on what we want. For example, no one would chose to eat an apple if they really wanted an orange. At the same time, different conditions could change this easy choice into a more difficult one. For example, if you wanted an apple but you had to fight a tiger for it or climb a wall, or face your fear for it, you might just choose the orange you can have more easily.

In competition, both teams want to win. At the same time, they almost never want to win equally. One team wants it more. The team that wants it more will in some ways choose their strength... it could be a focused warm-up or hitting hard or communicating well. It could be when they had to fight a tiger for a point, they swung hard instead of tipped. In some way they will choose their strength and choose to go for it. They will not back off because the challenge or adversity goes up!

Choosing your strength is about holding your want. If you hold what you want in your mind, your strength (actions/interactions/reactions) will be there to support you. You will find a way to beat the tiger (don't try this at home).

If what you want slips away and your state of mind becomes consumed by what you don't want, you have chosen your weakness. You have chosen to believe you can no longer have what you want. It's not for you, it's for someone else. This state of mind is totally powerless.

I am not saying you always get what you want. What I am saying though, is that you don't have to lose your strength if you don't get it. You can be your best player, and still not be the best. What's wrong with that? All that is is motivation to improve your best player and this is what competition is really all about - bringing out the best in all players - not just the winners.

Your Best is Always Possible

As a player I was always seeking the best play or the best dig or the best set. I loved to be challenged and to have to do things that were hard for me. The good passes were fun because my job was to get my hitters one-on-one, but the passes to the back court were the real challenge because I had to create a swing out of nothing. All of those "bad" passes were just motivators to bring out my best. I never really knew if I could get to those balls, or if I could get my hitters a swing, but I was sure going to try. And when I was able to make a great set, that was the moment when I was at my best... and then I had to go cover!

One of the greatest things about volleyball is that the game always gives you another chance to be your best. If you miss a dig, another ball is coming. If you get blocked, another set is coming. It is chance after chance after chance to do something great on the volleyball court.

Another great thing about volleyball is how you can help others find their best. I remember my passers in college trying to set me up for that perfect dump or attack... and when it happened, it was magic - for both of us! And I remember trying to get my hitters that open-net swing that just made them light up with joy and strength. Volleyball is such a "connecting" sport and it really is the magic piece that makes volleyball players JUMP with joy.

Being on a whole team of play makers and connectors is truly inspirational. The possibilities for greatness are endless. On a simple volleyball court there are so many different plays and connections that can be made to create the "magic" play. What an opportunity!

A lot of former players say that coaching doesn't provide the same experience as playing, and their right, but there are a lot of things you experience as a coach that are like playing - and connecting is one of them. It is so fun as a coach to work on things in practice and then have them come together in a match or tournament. Sometimes it's just one thing, and sometimes it's everything!

I hope that everyone gets to experience that "magic" when it happens!

Out for a Run

1/2/2012

I haven't been on a run in a while... not because I don't like running, but because I am on the volleyball court 4-6 hours a day and that is a sprint! In any case, I went for a run today and it was fun and some interesting things came to light.

First of all, I start out on my run and within 3 minutes I realize how tight my body is. I am now 31 and my body just isn't as flexible as it used to be. So, I stop to stretch and give my body a chance to wake. Back on the path, it's like I'm feeling my body again for the first time - my lungs, my feet, my heart. It feels good.

8 minutes in I realize I am starting to get heavy, starting to feel the run and feel the work the run will require. I have a moment of doubt... maybe I shouldn't have gone on a run, after all... it's a big week and I don't want to... blah blah blah.

At this point, something really cool happens. I decide to work on my form. I pick up my posture, start to use my arms, I pick up my feet and lift my knees... and literally within 30 seconds I feel totally energized. It is so simple... running with better form is easier and it feels better. Onward!

18 minutes in, I start walking... not because I can't keep running, but because I feel fatigue and I want to give myself to it (which usually isn't the case). I walk for about 1 minute. I check in with my body again, I can feel it pulsing and working. I can feel it finding a shape again as a runner. I do some lunges and some squats and get back on my way.

The last part of the run is uphill and somewhere in that hill I find the old familiar zone. It isn't anything to write home about, or a blog about, but it feels good. It feels like running, and not like thinking or doing.

My form is working... I feel invigorated. I begin to sprint to the next telephone pole, and the next, pump my arms, burn my quads and then rest. I realize that focusing on form is fun! And energizing. And clarifying.

As a volleyball player, I love working on my form. I love holding my finish and my posture. It feels good. It's my player playing it's instrument and holding the note. It's music and it's beautiful.

I hope to inspire my players to find attention to form fun and hope to provide them with the means to experience that space that is so coveted by the adult athlete out on a run.