An intern reflects on resilience.
This guest post is from CrewLAB intern Laura Poirier. Her sport is basketball, but she had this reflection based on her work with the team at CrewLAB.
Thank you, Laura . . .
The most experienced and illustrious athletes don’t always make the shot.
One of the greatest basketball players ever, Michael Jordan, missed a whopping 26 game-winning shots. And yet, he is regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time. For a very good reason. He did not let his missed shots define him. That game-ending shot was not the end of his game.
I know that missing a shot is the most frustrating feeling, especially when that shot can change the outcome of a game. Different pressures arise in different sports. The most important part is learning how to handle mistakes and improve from them.
Personally, I struggled with lay-ups. In practice, we would run up and down the court practicing layups constantly until, as a team, we completed a set number within a set time. With practice I gained confidence. I felt I was improving, but then games were a different story. Each time I missed a lay up, it felt like a set back.
Instead of giving up, I committed myself to more team practice and then practice with my dad and with my brother. My father would give me tips. He worked on my form and my footwork. My brother put defensive pressure on me. I tried to make my practices like a game situation.
Success did not happen right away, but I remember the game where I had a wide-open lane. I drove the ball straight to the hoop. I remember the look of shock that was on everyone’s face. It was one lay up, but I proved to myself that the effort was not a waste. The experience made me realize that improvement doesn’t always show up right away. I learned it is how we come back from a setback.
Even though Wayne Gretzky is a hockey player, he has taught me a lot about basketball: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
