This semester I decided I would start taking soccer more seriously again and set a goal for myself. I set tape in goals making right triangles at each corner and proceeded to take free kicks from 20 yards out. I decided that by the end of the semester I would be able to score ten out of ten goals in one of the corners. I started going three days a week and in the first two weeks I would average around four goals out of each set of ten. It was a horrible start and very discouraging but after doing research and practicing more and more I started raising that number. By the fourth week I was scoring between five and six goals every ten. This small improvement definitely helped give me more confidence. It was two months later when I finally scored ten out of ten. This was very exciting for me, however, It still wasn't consistently ten out f ten every time. It took another two weeks til almost every shot was hitting a corner.
This experience taught me something that I had heard before but never actually practiced. This really demonstrated that practice really pays off and that failure is a part of the process of succeeding. Every time that I failed I was able to evaluate myself and and make improvements that led to my overall success.
I wouldn't say that I handle failure poorly, however, there are many times in which I feel very discouraged by my failures and that discouragement makes it much harder to see the big picture. In general I am able to understand that it is ok to fail every once and a while but that doesn't stop me from being discouraged. This class has allowed me to be much more comfortable with the idea of failing when I am trying to improve in something. It has opened me up to the idea of risks and allowed me to see that sometimes it is worth risking some things even if it can potentially lead to a failure.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter plays soccer and this is one of the ideas that I try to impress on her, that you will only become better in the game, if you practice hard when you are not in a game. When all the great athletes share their stories, the one thing that is always consistent, is that they all mentioned that the time they spend practicing sets them apart from the competition long before they meet them in a game. Take Steph Curry, for example, he made 77 three pointers in a row in practice the day before he made a three pointer with three large guys, a lot taller than him, jumped at him and the video shows him shooting and making the shot with his eyes shut. Practice and repetition leads to greatness. Keep working to becoming better!
Tony
Hey Rob,
ReplyDeleteI played soccer 5 (sometimes 6) out of 7 days a week growing up in a competitive manner until I injured my back. I hated yet loved practice all at the same time and back then I did not fully understand why but this made me re-think that. I believe the feeling you get when that ball hits the back of the net creates your love for the game and the hours of painful hard work creates the hate aspect of it. But in reality the hate never really exists because I was more than willing to spend hours on the field. The failures you have during practice will just teach you to love the game more.
Thanks,
Michelle