Gold medal or bust

We were reading some stories in class recently about iconic athletes from the past and the work they had to put in to become the very best in their sports. Many of the names are not familiar to most people: Babe Didrickson, Gertrude Ederle, and Gretel Bergmann among others. All three of these women were Olympic-level athletes during the first half of the 20th century and basically had to train themselves to reach the peak of their sports.

Athletes in the 21st century have it much different. There are numerous opportunities to have others help you get better at your particular sport. In addition, we know so much more about how the body operates, which helps athletes train better.

Looking back at those women, Didrickson and Ederle both won medals at the Olympics. Bergmann did not have the opportunity since she was German but also Jewish, and thus she was not allowed to compete for her country in 1936 when Hitler was in charge, even though she had just set the world record in the high jump earlier that year. She was disappointed, but shrugged and went on with her life.

I wonder how Olympic athletes take defeat these days. All of them undergo so much work to get to that stage, only to have failure stare most of them in the face. Jerry Seinfeld used to do a bit about the silver medal being the “first loser.” Of course, all of us sitting on the couch watching would be ecstatic to have any Olympic medal.

But I’m sure the disappointment when you’ve worked and trained for years is extreme. And if you lose by a tenth or even a hundredth of a second in an event, that silver medal doesn’t look as good. The mantra of, “At least you competed in the Olympics,” probably doesn’t sit well either.

I’ve always looked at sports as a great chance to be part of a team and to compete. Winning is fun, and I’m super competitive, but I’ve lost plenty in my life and learned to deal with that. Some losses are harder to take than others, but life goes on. Just play solitaire some time to get a dose of reality in wins and losses!

But with all the training and off-season teams and camps out there, the attitude about sports seems to be shifting. For some athletes, it becomes more about the “me” than the “we.” Non-school teams are selling the idea of playing sports at the college level, where we know there are lucrative chances to make money. Plus, you get to keep playing sports at a high level.

It becomes a “gold medal or bust” situation. Organizations like JO volleyball and AAU basketball and all the traveling baseball teams will keep telling kids how great they can be if they play for those teams. And those organizations will keep adding new teams as long as there are kids (and parents) willing to believe that. 

But the math doesn’t work. Let’s say there are ten girls in a grade who play off-season volleyball. And the grade ahead of them has the same number, as does the grade behind them. They all believe they will become very good players, and they very well might. However, there are only six players on a volleyball court at a time. I’ve rarely seen a varsity coach rotate more than nine or so players in a competitive game. 

So some kids don’t make that cut. Sure, they are on the varsity, but they’re not talented enough to break into that rotation. This brings out entitlement issues at times. Parents and kids become upset at their lack of playing time. “But I played/paid for all that extra volleyball! I should be playing!”

Not only that, but off-season teams have schedules that are demanding and sometimes conflict with school sports. Players want to leave practices early because they have to get to their non-school, off-season sports practice. 

Wait a second. 

I had a parent tell me that their child’s off-season sports team tells the kids that the priorities are 1. In-season sport 2. Family 3. Off-season sport. That’s the right way to look at things, but this is often not the case for all those teams. Kids (and parents) get the impression from the non-school team that they had better not miss anything for that group or risk being ousted or have playing time cut.

But then those kids will miss part of their school sport and expect no repercussions. Let’s find the priorities here. After all, it’s been said by many college coaches that they want well-rounded athletes that participate in more than one sport. But that means being committed to your in-season sport first and foremost.

Listen, play sports you love in the off-season. That’s how you get better. And we’re a long way from just shooting at your driveway hoop all summer. But play them with caution. You still should play other sports and make them the #1 item during their season. You should know that playing time is not guaranteed just because your parents forked over thousands of dollars to groups that are willing to make as much money as possible. And you should be cautious about playing a sport year-round because of a higher risk of injury.

Play sports for the right reasons. If you happen to become a great athlete, that’s wonderful and we’ll celebrate you. But we’ll also celebrate the teams that compete at a high level because all the players bought into the program and understood their roles. 

After all, even the bench players of the gold-medal winning Olympic teams still get the gold.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is whatness, which means the essence or inherent quality of a thing, as in, “The whatness of sports should be competing, getting better, and having fun.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!