BERMUDA
SPORTS
RESILIENCE IN SPORTS Resilience is a very important skill in all sports. Athletes have to deal with the stress of competitions and the pressure of being the best in their respective fields. You must also add the worrying they experience about working with their very bodies which is something often hidden behind the medals. Elite sports punish the body, push it to the maximum, and are far from being healthy. In turn, this idea is related to another source of pressure – injuries. How does resilience work outside of sports? The truth is that athletes aren’t the only ones who have to overcome obstacles. We have all had to suffer solitude and touch rock bottom. Usually, this is accompanied by the feeling that it’ll be very difficult to pick yourself back up again. In fact, this is something we all go through with more or less intensity in our everyday routines. Following this parallelism, sports, for individuals who don’t practice them as amateurs or professionally, can become a training ground for certain psychological variables. Resilience, obviously, can be found among these variables. Plus, an accident or the death of a loved one are experiences that one is rarely prepared for. During these situations, having great resilience marks a big difference between overcoming them successfully or not. If there’s something that sets athletes apart from the rest of us it’s that most of their pressure is self-imposed. At the same time, many have no other choice but to self-manage themselves. However, this pressure grants them the maturity which allows in sports to develop and strengthen their resilience. Thus, they become people who are committed, have a great deal of determination and, above all, have the faith that comes from having experienced many storms and witnessed how, over time, the clouds retreated. Valuable Lessons for Life: 1.) Don’t give up when it gets hard. Life isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about giving your best effort and enjoying the ‘ride’. Some might say that Special needs athletes have been dealt with a “tough hand”, but they don’t see it that way and neither should we. We can learn from these athletes who have to work harder for everything that they have. But they persevere through it all and they EARN their success and we should, too. 2.) Be grateful for your gifts. It is truly awesome to watch athletes, both children and adults, try their hardest regardless of the outcome. They aren’t always concerned with the wins rather they enjoy the competition and still “hugged it out” afterwards. No poor sports at these competitions! It is so refreshing to see the positive attitudes and the larger-than-life smiles following each competition. They are truly grateful for their gifts. 3) Genuine Sportsmanship I usually witness genuine sportsmanship and mutual respect in the interaction of athletes in all sports events. Their rivalry is infectious as there is ‘no hard feelings’ when the results are in, and there is no evidence of discrimination of any form. We should all strive to imitate their love for others and share their positive light. Nathalee Simons
2021 | Bermuda Sports Journal
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