Going into this week after two great practices on Saturday and Sunday, I was so excited for Monday night practice. One of our meat moms had swapped the training schedule around so she could coach us and she took our requests for what we wanted to work on. I showed up expecting to leave that practice feeling 100 times better about my skills than I had when I arrived.
However, it just didn’t go that way at all. I’m not sure how it started. Maybe everyone was just nervous about the next assessment on Saturday (4 DAYS!) or maybe the slipperiness of the track made everyone feel out of control. Whatever it was, it seems like a few people were having off days and somehow it snowballed into one of the worst practice funks I’ve ever been a part of.
I’ve played team sports since I was eight, so I’ve been through my fair share of funky practices or games when people are down on themselves and others. What I’m ashamed of is that last night I played into the negativity. I allowed myself to become part of the problem.
The reason I’m so frustrated with myself is because I know better. I spent four years in high school being the overly-peppy volleyball player on my team because I knew that my silliness and my over-enthusiasm helped cheer my team up and get our heads back to a positive place. Maybe it’s because I’m still not completely comfortable with these girls or maybe it’s cause I’m not used to jumping around and acting a fool in skates yet, but I didn’t cheer anyone up last night. And by the time I started to try practice was pretty much over.
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: there will always be bad nights of practice. There will always be other skaters that get down on themselves. And you will always make mistakes. The key is to not allow yourself to get caught up in that negativity. When things aren’t going well at practice still try your best and don’t blame others for poor performance. When others are being hard on themselves help them see the positives. Cheer them on and do whatever ridiculous thing you have to to make them smile and get perspective. And when you make mistakes accept them as what they are: steps towards learning. Use your mistakes to understand what you need to do differently and as motivating to make the necessary changes. And if practice just keeps going down that negative path try anything you can to break it. Pull your friend aside and say “hey, this isn’t working out tonight, we need to do more. Let’s try …” If you can’t find enough positive energy in yourself then feel free to team up with someone else. Because just like negativity is contagious, so is positivity.
All right, there’s my rant. I’m looking forward to our bonus Wednesday practice and to Saturday’s assessment. I think it’s time to move up to the next level š
Eight Wheeled Adventure 