The Go-To-Person gets a lot of playing time, but this athlete does not become one without some emotional maturity and physical preparation. If you want to be this type of athlete, you will have to take advantage of all the opportunities you’ll have to gain experience, and fight through those moments when you are afraid.
Why do you think you have to solve everything?
I can always count on her to make something happen.
She’ll know what to do.
Our play is not working. Somebody’s got to do something. I’ll dribble through here and . . .
When someone is speaking of or thinking about an athlete, as above, more than likely that athlete is the Go-To-Person (recall my article, Are You the Go-To-Person?). If you examine closely, you can imagine the pressures that may come with that role. However, some of those pressures can be reduced when you, as the athlete, expect and deal with one thing.
Expect fear. Expect to feel some type of fear.
One type is the fear of making a mistake or being wrong.
Are you going to make mistakes? Are you going to get it wrong sometimes?
Yes, you are.
But, the solution is experience.
You decrease your chances of making mistakes by gaining more experience. How do you gain experience?
Through your:
Team practice times,
Spending extra time trying to figure out your strengths and weaknesses,
Observing game situations,
Continually stepping up during games situations.
Through all of this, you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. Your knowledge about the game and your team will increase.
In addition, your confidence will improve and that feeling of fear of being wrong, or making a mistake, will decrease. As a matter of fact, you have the potential of getting to the point where you won’t have time to worry about this feeling. Your mind will become occupied more with thoughts of finding solutions.
Therefore, I encourage you to become the Go-To-Person. Begin by gaining experience to increase your knowledge and confidence.
Be ready to confront that feeling of fear of making a mistake, or being wrong, to be the athlete your team can rely on, the Go-To-Person.
Tune in for Part 3 to learn how to deal with the feeling of fear of embarrassment when you are the athlete who is the Go-to-Person.
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Browse my website geralinelhandsome.com (Athlete’s Voice to Integrity) for more information about how to become a super athlete.
About the Author: Geraline L. Handsome has developed a passion to help high school and college athletes of team sports discover their identity. She is a former Women’s Basketball Player for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). There she earned a B.S. degree in chemistry/mathematics. She has a MBA from the University of Phoenix. She is an Environmental Scientist and the mother of two. She is the author of the book Sins of One Woman’s Mind and was a Huffington Post Contributor.
Geraline L. Handsome has developed the Creating the Super Athlete Course (Audio/Video), a product designed to help parents and coaches help their athletes develop attitudes and character that will enable them to perform better in their sport, in the classroom, and in public.
