How World Cup Athletes WIN
Posted on Jun 30, 2014 12:00am PDT
How World Cup Athletes WIN
Musings from a Physician's Birds-Eye View of the Big Game
The 2014 FIFA World Cup is now underway in the beautiful country of Brazil,
and I have the incredible privilege of watching the tournament from what
I think is the best seat in the stadium – the sidelines. As a physician
for the U.S. Men's National Team and FIFA medical team, my colleagues
and I have the honor of caring for our country's team during one of
the world's most coveted sporting events. While I know my vantage
point is "rare air" compared to the television screens most
everyone else is watching from, there are things about this experience
that I have witnessed which I think can be useful life lessons to EVERYONE,
no matter where you're sitting. Here's one of them.
Injury ≠ Failure. If there is one tie that binds elite athletes together, no matter the
sport, it's their ability to rebound from adversity. In contact sports
like soccer, injury can often be inevitable. Quite frankly, it's why
I'm here. And after decades of treating athletes from numerous sports,
I've noticed that they have this inspired way of "bouncing back"
after they get hurt.
For some that's a quick check to make sure nothing's seriously
injured and then they're back out on the field again. For others it's
a tougher road – one that might involve surgery, painful rehabilitation
and re-conditioning before they return to play. But with nearly all of
the athletes I've treated over the years, they grab hold of this inner
strength and harness it to reemerge stronger, VICTORIOUS. If I could bottle
whatever "it" is and give it to everyone I meet, I would. No
matter what you call it, tenacity, stick-to-itiveness, or even swagger,
it's something we can all benefit from more of in our daily lives,
athletes or not.
So next time something's broken you and has you thinking you've
failed - grab hold, dig in and work. Hard! No one determines how well
you'll succeed in this life, but you.
Together, we will continue to learn that the WIN is within!
~ Bert