The Era of Instant Replay and Asterisks

This post is coming on the heels…or hooves…of recent events in this year’s Kentucky Derby, but bubbles up from months of frustration as a sports fan. The technological advances both surrounding and within athletic events are not only a thief of a the joy of sport, but also a sad reflection of the direction society has gone.

I watched the Kentucky Derby at a bar, thus, did not hear any of the commentary involved during the objection and overruling of the results of the race. I’m assuming that it’s not ok for a horse to cut-off other horses…(even though it seems like a completely instinctual move, not simply a product of the frontal cortex…though the blinders…anyway)…so I understand that if that was the penalty, so be it. (See: what used to be a Playoff foul in the NBA vs what’s now a week long investigation into criminal action). A few things concerned me, watching soundlessly as the decision unfolded. First was that War of Will (ironically the horse I had picked to win) was nowhere to be seen or heard from during the review. From a novice perspective, that was the horse that was cut-off, so, shouldn’t they be the ones most upset? Second was the coy look of the Plaintiff…just yuck. Third, after the overruling of the actual results of the contest, the new-”winning” jockey tore handfuls of roses off the rose-blanket (which I believe is the horse’s reward) and tossed them up in the air. Maybe this is a tradition I’m not familiar with, but if it isn't, again, yuck.

Shifting gears, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this year involved so…many…replays. The first two rounds were riddled with stoppages and non-floortime impacts. I understand protecting players, especially from tie-ups…elbows and such…but they began reviewing every time someone lifted their hands above their own shoulders to find out if someone may have been grazed. Then, in the penultimate game of all that competition and joy, it was brought up and replayed…over and over…that there should have been a double-dribble called, which could have directly affected the outcome of the game.

Why do we have human officials? If we are going to now teach them to hesitate, and go against professional instinct, to wait to allow the appropriate amount of time to pass so that we may then second-guess them on national tv “the right way”…then why not just get rid of them? We could have the players themselves call their own fouls and penalties, and use camera replay to either confirm or deny, then penalize them if they were lying. We could have the games played and recorded, and then just broadcast the final, edited, 100% accurate results. We could just play the game with a suggestion of rules, and let the game reveal the true character of the players in the spirit of competition as it unfolds in real-time, subject only to each of our allegiances and opinions.

What we are all being cheated out of is good, old-fashioned excitement; pure, unadulterated joy, pain, anxiety…the columns of sport spectating. Pick your most memorable sports-viewing experience. Now imagine watching a deliberation and lengthy video-review and then EITHER having it overturned, or having someone confirm that your excitement was warranted. How sour is that feeling? Whose right is it to take that away from us? I know something about reserved exhilaration while awaiting results. It isn’t fair.

We live in a society where everyone feels entitled to their side of the story. Children believe they have a say in all matters and adults believe it just takes time, pesterance, and/or money to get their own way. Being upset is close to being associated with someone caring. I’ve cheered for teams, I’ve played on teams, and I’ve coached teams that have lost with human officiating error being a factor, (notice I’m not even saying a major answer). You learn to deal with it. You learn to have perspective on the things you could control. You learn that it isn’t the end of the world, and that not everyone is perfect all the time. Rather valuable life lessons, would you agree? Sports are meant to be a microcosm of Life, and an advantage of learning to all of those who participate. If we allow sports to go the way of society, we are all doomed.

I’m ok being upset. I’m ok losing (only as a natural potential consequence of entering into competition). I’m not ok with replay. I’m not ok with entitlement. I’m not ok with asterisks. I’m ok with excitement, with sitting on the edge of my seat and either being knocked back or propelled upward with emotion. I’m ok with men and women making mistakes in their job, (especially if there is an in-house consequence after). I’m ok with humans. I’m ok with accountability. I’m ok with sport and everything it used to be. I’m ok with competition and everything it used to be. I’m ok with taking things back that direction.

Come with me. Grab a friend.

Own Your I

Competitive Wellness Series - The Mantra

Our daily routines define us. (Equally, not having daily routines defines us just the same, no implication that either is "right" or "better", but let's consider not having a routine, a routine, for the sake of simplicity of the first sentence of this blog post). 

Our daily routines range from our actions, to our words, to our thoughts. Each choice we make is establishing, within us, avenues. However, this is not like the continuous and endless construction to highways where you have some time to adjust either to warning signs, receive detour help, or know well in advance that work is going to be done on a specific path. No, this is a labyrinth. This is ever-changing, change-resulting, resulting-madness toward personal transcendence. Our improvement being the reward for the struggles and efforts.

Ok, deep breath. Example: It rains on a day you were planning on an outdoor activity. You become upset. You emotionally attach to the weather via your disappointment. The next time it rains, plans or not, you remember that disappointment. There's potential, after a few more, unchecked, rainy days, that you simply become disappointed when it rains. (Oversimplified, yes, but check the science on it). 

It doesn't take much for us to fall into emotional, mental, and physical responses to our environment. But simple, controlled thoughts and actions can help us regain control. 

Enter: the Mantra. Traditionally having a religious connotation, a mantra is simply a sound, word, or slogan repeated frequently to aid in concentration and focus. 

Something that is yours that you can inject into your life at the positive moments to enhance or at the negative moments to regain control and perspective is as accessible as a single, deliberate word. 

Think of the applications. Work becomes overwhelming before you even arrive at the office because of something that happened at home or on the road to work. Reset with your mantra. You need a boost of confidence before trying something new. Re-energize with your mantra. You're faced with a pressure situation. Relax with your mantra. 

Think of the implications. Comfort, confidence, dominance, a perspective that allows for minimized damage and maximized growth. 

The practice of reciting a mantra has no minimum age limit. I mean, personally it would be more relevant when we knew words and had an awareness of our selves. But does not a soothing sound repeated to a distressed infant have the same positive effect? 

Young athletes, now is the time to begin your practice of mantras. Pre-game, in-game, post-game, there is no bad time to reset your mind to the purpose at hand. Find something simple and begin applying it in safe situations. Get out of bed in the morning to a mantra of positivity and success for the coming day. As you gain confidence in your own ability to gain confidence, to feel control, begin to apply this to all aspects of life. In time you'll find that standing at the free-throw line in the final minute of a close game is nothing a few words can't knock down. (Or some other cliched sports ending). 

Suggested searches: mantra, neural pathways, mantras and muscle memory

______________________________

I've got my new one all primed for the new school year, focusing on being present and maximizing the moments. 

Become now.

I've also put it on a shirt, feel free to jump on board: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/MoralCompassTraining/become+now?q=I1017294747 

Competitive Wellness Series - Introduction

When we consider top-tier athletes, at any tier, there is always something that separates them from the rest of the field. To varying degrees at different levels of competition, there is some combination of physical prowess, skill and abilities, strategy, mental toughness, and competitive edge that create advantages. Some of these are naturally occurring, some are external gifts, and some are internal specialties. I’m sure at some point there will be developed an algorithm that calculates the potential achievement of an individual athlete within a variety of situations that may be used to help them decide where to “take their talents” in order to maximize them, or how to spend their time training. 

Though the science of sport is already being applied at greater detail and with increasing frequency to even younger athletes, the most obscure and evasive weapon to train will always remain the same: the mind. 

(Luckily for all of us, training the mind, and its connection to our bodies, will benefit us well beyond sport and our days of athletic competition, but we’ll just stick to that application of it in this post). 

There’s a lot of frustration in sport and competition, and learning to embrace that will create some of the best athletes. But one of the most frustrating entities in sport, both in the present and retrospectively, is the skilled athlete without the competitive mind. I would know, I was one of those cases. A plague then and a blessing now it has led to training, research, and application to help others avoid this feeling - not only in sport, but in life as well. 

This series of posts will discuss common mental obstacles, address physical manifestations, and suggest self-guided exercises to help develop the weapon of the mind for your competitive arsenal.