Observation of the communication experience with fans.
The older generation, even asking a question, already knows the answer and wants confirmation of their opinion. I think it’s called “validation”. A person is interested in skiing, travels 100 kilometers on weekends and sits at the office on weekdays. And he wants to hear it’s true. I have no idea! In general, I don’t see any intersection between “advanced amateurs” and professionals. We have different distances, different equipment and, above all, at least a dozen great specialists in their field are working for my success. It is clear that the coach plays a leading role. But deprive me of a doctor, massage therapist or analyst – and I’ll get up. If the best service specialist in the world doesn’t roll me a dozen pairs of skis before the race – and I will lose. In modern skiing, the level of the team decides everything. And the amateur does everything himself – it is simply incorrect to compare our situations. Thus, the answer to the questions “which skis/boots/poles should I choose” or “where to ride?” there can only be “those/where you will be happiest”.
Another thing is communication with young people. Here I feel a connection, it is easier for me to put myself in their shoes. Especially with the girls, of course, who are almost the same age as me.
Of all the questions that young skiers ask me, two are particularly common: how to find motivation and how to overcome the excitement and fear of competition.
I will be lying if I say that at the age of seven I seriously dreamed of the Olympics, and therefore I came (more precisely, they brought me) to the ski base of my native Yelizovo. They brought me because the base was nearby – it was close to walk after school. And the coaches were good people. Enough for initial motivation.
Then, the motivation is not the victories themselves, but what they give. The most important and memorable money is the first in life. I will never forget how after winning the “Nation Cross” I received an amazing cash prize. Up to 4000 rubles! Happiness knew no bounds, I had my own earned money! I remember how after that win I saved some of it to buy a phone and spent some of it on movies. A wonderful feeling: he earned himself – he spent it. And no need to ask your parents for pocket money. Already as an adult. Almost…
What about trips to competitions, the feeling of traveling in a big and shiny world? Even if it is limited to airports. You see more in a day there than at home in a month. Muscovites and Petersburgers probably won’t really understand, but I come from a city of 30,000 people. Like most of our team, by the way.
If your coaches are a bit more and motivating, then they’ll tell you straight up: this world will be yours if you run fast/jump high/score a lot.
Sport is one of the best social elevators and stops at several floors. And on which floor it will freeze, it depends on you.
How do you spend your evenings after training? Do you read a lot of books? Watch the news? Which environment did you choose to communicate with, in real life or online? All this is equally important. It’s all part of the process. Yes, I’m not going to hide it, sometimes it’s hard to force yourself to do something useful after a hard day of training. But if you find a way to say to yourself, “why do I need this”, then it is easier to force yourself, for example, to write long columns before going to bed.
And yet it is wrong to reduce everything to material incentives:
I love the “traveling circus” feeling when you part ways with friends from other teams and see them again in a month, two, three.
I love the feeling of victory when you cross the finish line, knowing that today you are the first, the best, you did everything right. For everyone: team, region, country!
I really love my sport, I miss the moment when I can discover my skis after the summer and launch myself on the fall ski slope in a pine forest. Ski tunnels and even the Dachstein highlands are not the same in this sense – there must be a real forest, like in childhood.
But even if you don’t become a cross country champion, you still win. Even the “second adult” needs a collected, strong and healthy body. And this is the main result for all skiers, up to the Olympic champion.
Do you have the motivation? Let’s move on to the pre-competition excitement.
Frankly, I’m not the best adviser here. I don’t remember being worried or having to adjust myself specially for the races. I still run as fast as I am ready today. The body must be able to listen.
Of course, you need to get enough sleep before the race. Yes, sometimes that’s easier said than done. Insomnia and I watch sometimes, each time for no apparent reason. You can defeat it only by taking the problem in advance – the difficult execution of the “hang up” command, which you give yourself. I took the phone off in advance, set something nice and slept. At the same time, for months. I know people who go to bed at, say, 10:30 p.m. for years and get up at 6 a.m. People who are very successful and, above all, who never worry without reason.
You don’t have to think of running as a final exam in school. Try to find joy in it that the hard and endless workouts are finally over and that today you only have to run once – but quickly.
Conversely, you must always remember that you will always have another chance. And here, no matter how old you are, just believe in yourself and your star.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
