These are the 9 smiling faces which have taught me lessons about resilience ! Thanks to these amazing ladies I learned how to make the best of every situation. Here is how the story goes:
Neptunes synchro faced a very difficult 2010 season. Changing coaches, music, possibilities and everything in between (within a very short amount of time of only a few months)...these girls experienced it. They could have easily pick up their over-sized synchro bags and walk away from the club and the sport all together. Yet, these amazing and determined girls stuck it out and showed me that a little hick-up in management and politics of the club will not stop them from showing up to practice each week. Why? for the love of the sport.
Synchronized swimming is not a well accepted sport in Australia to begin with. These girls get an earful from their friends and family members who do not appreciate such artistic sport. In a land of male-dominated sports like rugby, cricket, and more rugby, girls-only sports are not funded let alone supported to excel in the mainstream media. So then, how does a sport like synchro swimming has any chance to exist at all ?
Remember the 9 smiling faces? It all starts with these lovely and enthusiastic ladies. They show up to practice, work hard, promote the sport amongst their non-believing friends and family, and so on. The coaches like myself and Miriam (one amazing lady all in one package), feel that because of the enthusiasm these girls show each practice makes it worth while for us to show up as well. I really had no desire to continue with the club once I realized how much politics and 'issues' they were facing. I was looking for a de-stress activity from my masters, and at this point it added to my headache. But then I took a moment and thought back to the past ...
This exact situation took me back to a time when I too had to face the politics of my synchro club. At the peak of my performance I decided to quit the sport because I thought politics will not have the best of me. Instead of ignoring the politics (and facing them at the same time) and worrying to keep the sport alive, I did end up taking the short end of the stick. I let the politics get the best of me. I turned my back on a sport not only I loved but I loved to practice and take on as a challenge.
Why do we let politics get the best of us (when nothing exist without the chaos it brings)?
Every group, community, and activity has a management system whether we like it or not. It is how life works and how anything social has the possibility to exist. However, as naive as this sounds, I thought by turning my back on difficult times, they will too go away and not exist. I felt that quitting synchro, they will lose something important, like... me (I thought without athletes to perform, the management system too will disappear). Oh how wrong I was. But in real, I lost the chance to master complex and difficult situations as well as the fun that came with swimming and competing. I missed out on the chance to face difficult times (head-on) and smoothing out road-bumps ahead: in sport and in life.
Thinking of my past, I decided to face the troubles Neptunes sycnhro were facing and not quit on these girls. They needed me the same way I needed to learn from them (not fully aware of what the lesson was going to be at the time). This was my second chance to face those issues which I would not have in the past.
These girls have taught me the significance of facing challenges (by putting in the effort in attempt to fix the issues as they arise) and accept whatever the outcome is (even if these problems do not get solved). They taught me how to work hard unconditionally. It's never black or white, and every reaction may not have an equal and opposite reaction we expect. The club may have issues to manage and deal with, but while these girls showed up to practice, in the water, the sport was the only thing that mattered. The show must go on! It's a statement all performers know about and commit to. Regardless of the cost.
This is the spirit of competition. I have lost this spirit somewhere between doing my best and the dreadful aura of politics of sport management. But we have to be better than that. The reason a sport is alive or not based on the participants' resilience. Resilience I feel, comes from taking the time to understand the politics within a club but also ignore it to a certain level in order to keep the spirit of the sport alive. Athletes have to both face the troubles and be able to manage it without letting it take a toll on their performance. (The same way a pro-athlete can tune out elements of the competition: audience, on-lookers, judges, other competitors, managers, etc).
I was not able to do that back then. I thought: If I cannot have peace in the background of the games, I cannot be involved in such activity. But really, I cut myself short by not learning to take on such multidimensional challenges. You cannot have one without the other. At Neptunes synchro the challenge was cut out for me: was I ready to face them?
Then I met these 9 girls. For their sake, and for my own, I decided to stick out the tough times at Neptunes. This was probably one of the best choices for me as a life experience. These girls have been a wonderful role model for me. They were resilient and I learned to be resilient with them. Everyday it was a struggle to get out of bed and continue typing my assignments. Each Saturday, however, was a different story. Filled with excitement and energy, I was waiting for my ride and ready to coach these lovely girls! I even wore sunscreen (something I do not enjoy wearing on a regular basis, sky-rocketing-skin-cancer-rates and all).
July to Dec 5th I had a wonderful time coaching at the club. I am also very happy to have met everyone at Neptunes synchro. I can only wish them all the best and hope that the club stays alive. Synchro is not an easy sport. It takes dedication and loads of quality time amongst the swimmers. To be synchronized is not just a skill, but it's a way of life amongst the girls. They have to be close friends, they have to work together and support each other every step of the way.
I hope that if nothing else, their friendship will live on even outside of the pool deck. And well, all that resilience will make them successful in everything they do in life.
Missing you ladies ! And Miriam, thank you for showing me how true coaches do it.
XO
R :-)
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