So there was this girl I used to know. She was fun and loved life. If there was a ball game of any kind she was in the middle of it having the time of her life. She was focused and worked hard and didn't let little mistakes get her down.
I've been missing that girl lately. This year has been hard and instead of getting determined and bouncing back like I used to do, I've let the hardness and my mistakes get me down. It's been a really weird time. It's hard to describe this particular feeling of helplessness. It's like being in a hole and realizing you're in a hole, but having no idea how to get out of it....so you just kinda sit there.
There has been months of frustration....and recently I've started trying to think back on how I used to handle hard times. Thankfully, I haven't had that many hard times in my life. Many people have it way worse...I get that. Some of my best times have been playing sports. What I learned in the those years really formed me, and those lessons still shape who I am and how I handle things. So in missing that girl, and being tired of sitting in the hole, I've started thinking about and trying to get her back....and here's what I got so far:
1. Fundamentals!! To this day, if I start shooting a basketball and the shots aren't going in....I do a quick shooting drill to help my form. I think about BEEF (balance, eyes, elbows, follow through) every time I practice a free throws. It's natural for me to work on the form of my set as soon as a volleyball touches my hand. Those things are natural because I did them millions of times growing up. I may have sighed or rolled my eyes when coach made me do yet another drill...but those things stuck with me...and I'm so thankful for that.
So remember the fundamentals. Go back to the little things that used to come naturally....even if they seem silly or repetitive. The more you do them, the more naturally they become and one day you are going back to them without even thinking.
2. Teammates!! Yall, there are very special relationships within a team....relationships that may have never happened without putting on that uniform. They support you, and encourage you, call you out when you need a change, mourn the losses, and celebrate the wins. I don't talk to my high school pitcher these days....but there's a special bond between a pitcher and a catcher that will always be there. Me and Emily stared each other down for hours...and those were special times that aren't easily forgotten.
Remember you need teammates. The teams look different and let's hope there's not uniforms involved, but you need people around you. My tendency is to try to figure it out on my own these days. In the past, it was easy for my team to figure out when I was having an off day and needed help. It's not that clear in real life. Sometimes you have to let people know when you need help. It's super scary....but the cool thing about life teammates is that they usually come through and yall are closer because of it.
3. Listen to the coach!! Here's is another area of my life where I was blessed beyond what I deserved. My coaches were awesome and encouraging and wise and pushed me to become a better athlete (and person). Sometimes I just want one more locker room talk....because I know I'd run out of there, hit the top of the door jam and be ready for a fight. I would do anything they said. I know people are saying, "yeah but what if they told you to jump off a cliff?" Well if they told me it was for the betterment of the team...I'd probably do it. I trusted them. I trusted that even when they made me mad and pointed out my mistakes....we had the same goal. It's scary to think about where I might have ended up without their lessons.
So listen to the coach. Now obviously He is way more than a coach....but just go with the metaphor before it breaks down. Listen to Him. Trust Him. He's probably gonna make you mad and tell you things you don't wanna hear, but remember who He is....remember what He has done.
4. Hustle!! Let me tell you one of the scariest things to see at the beginning of a volleyball practice....4 orange cones. That's right....they're super small and can be easily crushed....but they could also make a whole team of girls pray that they wouldn't show up. Those awesome coaches I just talked about would put those cones in the corners of the gym floor...and as I remember...they always had a sick twinkle in their eyes while they did it. Those cones meant we had to run 12 laps around the floor (on the outside of the cones....don't you dare cut corners) in 5 minutes. To complete this task, jogging is not an option. For a non-runner like me it feels like sprinting towards your death. It took me a couple attempts, but I eventually I could get 12 in 5 on a regular basis. That's just a small example of the suicides, sprints, wall sits, lunges, and mile runs that were part of practices. Honestly, hustling is the only thing that gets you anywhere and everyone knows that the team who wants it more and works harder for it....is usually the one that gets the win.
Everything in this life takes hustle and hard work. These hard times kinda make me wanna sit and do nothing. They make me feel helpless and like I don't know to how to navigate everyday life anymore, but here's the thing about hustling...eventually it's gonna get you where you need to be. It takes discipline to get after it every single day and keeping your eye on the ultimate goal. But seeing progress makes the hustling worth it. When I could last 5 sets in a volleyball game to make one last service point, 12 in 5 was worth it.
So going back to the basics, and remembering that high schooler I loved so much, has given me the plan to get some of her back. Here's to seeing her again. Here's to being so excited about the goal that you would do anything for it. Here's to the teammates and coaches that help you along the way. And here's to hustling towards whatever you want. Now get on that baseline and start running suicides.
