Don’t waste a single day
Ihave been very reflective in the last couple of weeks. If I look back at the last 15-20 years, it seems as though the time has gone by extremely quickly.
It is very hard to think that 2002 (the year I graduated high school) is now 16 years ago. It does not seem like it was 16 years ago that I graced the doors of Medicine Hat High School as a student.
I am now in a new chapter of my life as I have two children. My daughter Lilah Jean is approaching two and a half years old, and my son Eli is eight months old tomorrow. When I sit and think about the moment that my daughter was born, I cannot help but feel like it was yesterday. On the other hand, if I think back to each sleepless night and the long travel days when she was screaming in the car seat, it seems like those times lasted for an eternity.
The reality is that years go by quickly, but the days and moments are not always as fast. If I look back at the moment that I graduated high school and went off to college, it seems as though the time from then till now has gone by quickly. Alternatively, when I think about each and every day that I have strived and grinded to get to where I am now, it seems like the days have gone by slowly.
This principle directly applies to an individual’s athletic career. I played football for the University of Calgary Dinos from 2003-2005. It seems like yesterday that I was putting on my football pads and getting ready for a game or practice. Still to this day though, I talk about the grind that each day was while playing with the Dinos. We had meetings each day from 4-5:30 p.m.; following this, we had practice from 6-8 p.m. In addition to the meetings and practices, we had to maintain a certain GPA in order to remain on the team. My days consisted of classes, studying, meeting, practice, eating, and sleeping. Each day felt like an eternity.
It is so important for an athlete to push hard each and every day that they are in their athletic prime. The moments when an athlete feels like they can’t push any more because the grind is too hard are the days that they need to realize that their opportunity will disappear quickly. It will not be long that those days will be 10, 20, or 30 years ago.
We have a fixed athletic time frame where we can push hard to reach our goals. Young emerging athletes do not look at life this way. They take days off and relax when they should be pushing. What’s the moral of the story? Push while you can, because before you know it your athletic career will be over!
Don’t waste even one day! Cory Coehoorn is the coordinator of the Alberta Sport Development Centre at Medicine Hat College. He would love to chat with you and answer any questions that you may have regarding their programs and services. He can be reached via email at ccoehoorn@mhc.ab.ca or via phone at 403-504-3547.