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Written by JEFF MIELCAREK, Director of CYO Athletics
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Saturday, 27 February 2010 00:00 |
Have you ever stopped to think how many different excuses all of us seem to use in athletics? Coaches use excuses for their team not winning a game. Players use excuses for not performing the way that they would have liked. Parents use excuses for behaving the way they did at a sporting event. These are just a few examples and I’m sure that you can come up with many others.
Why do we all use excuses in athletics? That’s a question that I believe may have one easy answer: Excuses become “crutches” for our behavior and/or performance. Rather then look at a situation with an open mind and open eyes, it is easier to blame someone else for our behavior and/or poor performance.
 I often hear from coaches, players and parents about technical fouls in basketball games. Very seldom do they say, “I’m sorry for my poor behavior in the game. I lost my cool and I deserved the technical foul. It won’t happen again.” Rather, most of the time I hear something like, “The players on the other team were acting very unsportsmanlike and the referees were not doing anything to control the game, so I finally had enough and pushed a player after the whistle and then I was whistled for a technical foul.” This is the short version of what usually comes to me from the coach, player or parent in the CYO program.
We all stumble in life’s journey, and in the Catholic church we are given the great gift of the sacrament of reconciliation. My guess is that most people don’t make excuses when they enter the confessional and meet with the priest. Why, then, do so many people think that in the athletic arena things are different?
Athletics is a great way for all of us to exercise our bodies and take part in friendly competition using the gifts that God has blessed us with. We all want to win and perform at our highest level, but sometimes this doesn’t happen, and other times we face a superior opponent. Then what? Does that make it OK to use excuses? The answer is simple: No.
In the CYO program I see many examples of people who “get it” and try very hard to keep athletics in proper perspective and not make excuses for everything that goes wrong. Unfortunately, there are many others who walk into the gym looking for people to blame all the time.
Athletics can be a challenge to each and every one of us, but it can also be such a great experience if we allow it to be. How will you handle the athletic experience? Will you let it control you or will you remain in control of it? It’s a choice each of us has to make. Good luck with your decision.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 27 February 2010 00:00 |
