Week 3 - How can athletes use adversity to their advantage?
Not too long ago, one of our current alumni jumpers faced some of the toughest adversity. During the 2018 North Carolina Rope Skipping Workshop Spectacular, this jumper tweaked her knee in a freak incident. At first, everyone thought she had injured her ankle and would be out for a few weeks, but unfortunately it was much worse; she had torn her ACL. This injury is specifically tough to be diagnosed with because it requires a 9 month recovery time. This jumper was in one of the top female groups in the U.S. at her time, but that was the least of our worries when we found out about the severity of her injury. Our top priority immediately became her mental well-being and road to recovery. The reason I chose this story is because this jumper was an amazing team member, leader, and athlete who was, and is today, respected by everyone around her.
Circling back to the time of her injury, I wanted to see how she would respond, especially because of the length of her recovery. In my self-conscious mind, I knew she wouldn't let the team down. She continued coming to practice, she didn't whine about her circumstances, and she kept supporting her teammates and group. At the time, she was bringing more value to the program through her adversity than most people realized. To this day, I am grateful to this person because she taught the program how to face our challenges head-on by displaying grace and never giving up and becoming selfish.
Let this be a wake-up call for those of you who are going through difficult times. You will be introduced to yourself through your fights against adversity and you will get knocked down. What matters is how you respond to the pressures the world lays on. Will you thank the pressures for making you stronger, or will you allow them to dictate your life for you?
Not too long ago, one of our current alumni jumpers faced some of the toughest adversity. During the 2018 North Carolina Rope Skipping Workshop Spectacular, this jumper tweaked her knee in a freak incident. At first, everyone thought she had injured her ankle and would be out for a few weeks, but unfortunately it was much worse; she had torn her ACL. This injury is specifically tough to be diagnosed with because it requires a 9 month recovery time. This jumper was in one of the top female groups in the U.S. at her time, but that was the least of our worries when we found out about the severity of her injury. Our top priority immediately became her mental well-being and road to recovery. The reason I chose this story is because this jumper was an amazing team member, leader, and athlete who was, and is today, respected by everyone around her.
Circling back to the time of her injury, I wanted to see how she would respond, especially because of the length of her recovery. In my self-conscious mind, I knew she wouldn't let the team down. She continued coming to practice, she didn't whine about her circumstances, and she kept supporting her teammates and group. At the time, she was bringing more value to the program through her adversity than most people realized. To this day, I am grateful to this person because she taught the program how to face our challenges head-on by displaying grace and never giving up and becoming selfish.
Let this be a wake-up call for those of you who are going through difficult times. You will be introduced to yourself through your fights against adversity and you will get knocked down. What matters is how you respond to the pressures the world lays on. Will you thank the pressures for making you stronger, or will you allow them to dictate your life for you?
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