Sports Lessons For Life

Try This At Home………………..

Have your child stack blocks on top of each other in a single column tower, until it tumbles over.  Help her make a mental note of how high the tower got before it fell down. Use small blocks so they tumble pretty easily.  Next, have her build a single column tower, but this time use some blocks to reinforce and support the tower on all sides.  Have her note how much taller she can build it before it tumbles.  Explain that she is like the single column tower. By herself she can accomplish a lot, but she can accomplish even more when she has a good support system in place to build her up and steady her.  Just like with the blocks, she will be able to go even higher and achieve more if she surrounds herself with people who give her honest, unconditional love, support and encouragement.

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Everyone, even introverts, needs a core group of people who they can rely on.   Having a support system is a key component to being successful.  We can all benefit from surrounding ourselves with people who help us to be our best, whether it is someone to bounce ideas off of, to give an encouraging word, or to be brutally honest with you about a situation.  While going it alone may bring some success, often times it limits our potential or can cause us to become stagnant, or worse, out of touch with reality.

Another important reason to surround yourself with a good group of friends and family is because they are the ones who pick you up and hold you when you fall.  When things are going well there are always plenty of people who want to rub shoulders with you and be your friend, but as soon as the tower comes tumbling down they disappear into thin air.  I always say that it takes a crisis to really figure out who your friends are.  It is your family and true friends that are there, win or lose.

In 2004 I placed fourth in the point’s race at the Olympics.  Several days later I was awarded the bronze medal after the third place finisher tested positive for a banned substance. Fourteen months later, I found out from a news article that the decision was being overturned.  The situation was awkward, confusing and due to the International Olympic Committee’s handling of the situation, it was one of the lowest points in my life.  It is at times like those when you find out who has your back.  Obviously my friends and family rallied around me, and many members of the United States Olympic Committee were there to support me, but noticeably absent was any support, help, condolences, or even a phone call from USA Cycling.  I’m the first to admit that I, and certain key officials at USA Cycling, were not on good terms, but I still expected that my National Governing Body would be there for me.  Nope, and there was no point in my career that more clearly defined my theory, that it takes a crisis to find out who’ll be there for you.  As a bronze medalist, USA Cycling at least feigned support for me, but as soon as my tower crumbled they were no where to be found.

Besides the friends and family who rallied around me in my time of need, I had one other huge thing in my life to rely on, my faith.  And, quite frankly, without my faith I know I couldn’t have handled the situation with nearly as much grace. 

Be there for your child unconditionally in what ever sport or activity she chooses.   Show her how to be a good family member and friend by setting a good example; be loving, supportive, and honest when you need to be.  Without being too pushy, help her see which of her friends are good friends and which are just acquaintances.   Encourage her to be there for her family and friends as well.

For more information about my cycling career, the Olympic medal situation, and my children’s books, please visit www.erinmirabella.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 2:33 pm and is filed under Support Systems, values and morals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.