It Was Fun While It Lasted

Well, we almost made it through the fall semester.  The other day we received word from Alfred State that effective immediately we were no longer to conduct practice with our athletes.  Things went well on Monday and Tuesday, but some positive tests caught up from the previous weekend (Halloween shenanigans).

I feel for our athletes.  I feel for all athletes across the country that have had their winter seasons canceled.  I think for the most part there is really nothing much they (the athletes) could have done differently.  This is a campus decision based on how our numbers have seen an uptick over the course of the past couple of weeks.  For the most part our athletes have been great!  As I mentioned to them in an email Wednesday night, I’m very proud of them and how they have been able to navigate this unsettling time in all our lives.  With positive cases and percentages creeping up across the county and state, it came as no surprise that something like this was bound to happen.  I was just hoping that we could have made it to the last couple of practices.  Not only for the sake of practice, but for the valuable messages shared during practice.  The aside conversations in which the athletes get to better know each other.  The same can be said for the athletes getting to know me better as their coach.  

The next few weeks will be telling.  Although we are no longer able to practice on campus, once the athletes go home, some will have access to training equipment.  Most of my throwers already own their own shot-puts and discii.  Finding a place to throw may be difficult for some, but others have throwing facilities in their backyards.

Students will tentatively be returning back to campus to commence in-person classes again on February 1st.  That leaves a couple weeks of November, December, and January.  Plenty of training time.  Tonight we are having an all athlete team meeting via Zoom.  I’m going to share some thoughts with everyone about identifying a goal they have for themselves, why that goal is important to them, and some steps they can take in order to achieve those goals.  For now, a lot of the work will be independent.  Tim and I really can’t have contact with the kids, but we can provide them with workouts and things they can do at home until we are able to practice again in February.  

I’m not sure if we will have an indoor season, but I am sure that indoor outcomes will be determined by what happens from today until February 1st.  With an abbreviated season, many of the performances will be decided by the habits and actions the athletes begin to develop and establish today.  Waiting for December will be too late.  Beginning in January, well we would have a lot of sessions and reps to make up.  Coming back in February without having touched an implement or completed some type of training session--yikes!

This is a small sample of what I’m going to share with all the athletes today.  I have Liz Beaubrook to thank for sharing this image on Instagram a few months ago.

We all start with a goal in mind.  Each subsequent step either takes us closer or moves us farther away from what we want to achieve.  There are many paths and decisions to be made.  But most importantly is this, with whatever direction you go, you don’t get there overnight.  Let me repeat that, with whatever path you chose, you don’t get there overnight.  We all make thousands of decisions each day.  Most of which probably won’t determine the fate of accomplishing our short-term or long-term goals, however failing to make a determined effort to establish habits that would move us closer to our goal will have us move in the opposite direction.  It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen over the course of 13 weeks!