Tips for the “Final Four” by Jane Richards – Family First Coaching

The 2010 Olympic Games here in Vancouver, Canada are over. The Games were an
incredibly exciting and emotional experience for the athletes and their families, for
the citizens of Vancouver, for Canadians and for people all over the world!
When I watched those fresh-faced, ultra fit, passionate participants hurl
themselves down a mountain at 130 km/hr or race around an oval of ice performing
the backbreaking, thigh burning feat of speed skating or twist and turn at great
heights with snowboards strapped to their feet, I couldn’t help but wonder what
words of encouragement their parents and mentors offered them along the way.
What did they say to them to support them in becoming the athletes and the
people they are today? The world’s best athletes were here and each one of them
has reached a level of mental and physical fitness that has launched them to the
top of their chosen sport and it is clear they did not get here without one hundred
percent backing from significant people.

You might not be a parent of an Olympian right now, but if you are Canadian and
you have hockey players in your house, there is a good chance that you are smack
in the middle of hockey play-offs. All across Canada, there are minor hockey
players, their parents and their coaches striving for their own thrill of victory.
Minor hockey in Canada is intense. It is competitive and controversial. It is
absolutely emotionally charged.

We have a Peewee AAA hockey player in our house and he is playing games night
after night in our “Final Four” play-offs. Tonight if we win we’re in but if we lose,
we could be out. Hockey could be over for this winter season. Let’s face it … these
kids are under a great deal of pressure. I have been preparing for a night like
tonight – a night when my son might need some solid, carefully chosen, words of
encouragement. I’ve decided that this is what I am going to tell my athlete to
support him as best I can:
Honor Yourself – Self – rejection is not an option! There will be no negative
thoughts and no negative self-talk.
Commit Yourself – Commit to doing your very best, not for the reward and not to
please others, but because you love to play hockey!
Be Present – Focus on what is happening in the moment. Don’t worry about your
last shift or about a mistake you may have made or even what might be happening
next, just think about the here and the now.
Respect – Respect your teammates, your opponents and your coaches but reject
any negativity that might arise during the game.

When you watch Olympians, who have both won and lost, you can’t help but clearly
see that they are proud, they are confident and they exude intense positive energy.
These athletes seem so grateful for having been given the opportunity to give it
their all doing something they love to do.

At the end of our game tonight, with the right support, I trust that our athlete
will feel proud and satisfied for having done his very best, playing a game he loves
to play – Win or Lose!
(Copyright-Jane Richards-Family First Coaching, Feb. 2010)