“When one door closes, another opens;
but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door
that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
- Alexander Graham Bell

Jenna playing soccer

Some of the greatest lessons that a person can learn about life and leadership comes from playing sports.

It’s on the playing field that we discover how important it is to have a positive attitude, be a team player, and give 100% effort.  There is also an inherent risk of injury, defeat, and disappointment when it comes to playing sports. How we handle those challenges and what we learn from them can help us not only grow as an athlete but more importantly as a person.

Jenna, a student-athlete at Essex High School in Essex, VT knows this first hand. Going into her senior year she was captain of her soccer team and the season ahead was full of promise. During a preseason game in one play Jenna tore her left ACL, cracked her kneecap and cracked her femur bone. Her season was over – and for someone who lived and breathed soccer – Jenna was devastated.

She now had to face one of the biggest challenges an athlete can be confronted with – dealing with a season-ending injury.

I asked Jenna how she handled this setback and what she did to turn such a painful experience into something positive. Her lessons and insights may not only make a difference for athletes but for anyone confronted with an unexpected turn of events.

It’s Okay to be disappointed, sad, frustrated and even angry.

It can be a shock to learn that you cannot finish your season or possibly ever play again. Give yourself the time to process the upset. It’s okay to be disappointed, sad, frustrated and even angry at first. The best thing for parents, friends, family and coaches to do is to bring as much understanding and compassion to the situation as possible.

When you’re dealing with a student athlete who has a passion and love for the game and has spent their whole life playing a sport and then has a season-ending injury, the last thing they want to hear initially is ‘you’ll bounce back from this’. Just listen and let a little time pass.

Set new goals

Redefine your role and focus

Once you have had time to process the disappointment, it’s important to re-frame this experience and focus on what you can control and contribute to your team. In this case, Jenna asked herself, “although I can’t be a leader on the field, what can I do from the sidelines as a captain/leader/teammate to help my team?”

Examples include: spending extra time after practice with a player who is struggling with their shot or helping a player with their dribbling. It could include taking the time to have 1-on-1 conversations with some of the players and letting them know what a great job they’re doing, encouraging them to do their best. By being engaged in the game and encouraging her teammates Jenna was able to “not get caught up in the past and what could have been.”

Create new opportunities

Student athletes can sometimes define themselves as just a “soccer player” or a “basketball player” and lose sight of the bigger picture. When you are faced with a season-ending injury it causes you to see that you are much more than just the sport that you play. You have other talents and have the choice to start setting new goals and create new opportunities.  For example, you may find that after going to physical therapy to recover from your injury that you now want to get into sports medicine.

Keeping the passion for the game

Just because you can no longer play your sport does not mean you cannot be a part of it. You could get into coaching, become a sports broadcaster, or even work for a professional team in public relations.

The point is the love and passion for the game does not have to go away, you just might have to walk through another door to find it.

What have you learned in dealing with a season-ending injury? Share in the comment box below or connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Life Lessons from a Season-Ending Injury is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog

I have been asking people a simple question for several years now and I think it’s an important, yet simple question. How do you start your day?

The questions and thoughts we start off every day with set the tone for a fulfilling day but also in creating an extraordinary life.

Many people have shared with me that they really don’t even ask themselves or think about an empowering question in the morning. Rather, they just do the same actions every day without really thinking about it. We’re unconscious to our actual thoughts. For example, many people think about things like: I wish I could sleep for 10 more minutes, I have to take the dog out, I need a cup of coffee, or I wish it was the weekend. There are several others that told me the first thing they do in the morning is check their e-mail.

How do you start the day? What questions do you ask yourself? What affirmations do you make as you go into a new day? One of my favorite quotes is by Thoreau who said, “To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.” I have found that when I consciously ask myself what I want the day to look like, I get more things done, have more fun, and I am present to how lucky I am to have this day.

Here are the four things that I ask myself and affirm every morning. I will often write them down before I begin my action items for the day.

1. What do I want the day to look like? (question)
2. W.I.N.? (What’s Important Now?) (question)
3. What am I grateful for? (question)
4. I’m responsible for how the day goes! (affirmation)

Rather than hit the snooze button one more time, what can you do to affect the quality of the day?

Don’t hit the snooze button…your life is waiting. is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog

http://snipurl.com/7s4fy

Our son Ryan is turning four years old next week. It’s amazing how
quickly the four years have gone by and how our baby is now our little
boy.

This got me thinking about just how powerful the number 4 is. It
takes four years to graduate from high school and look how much
changes from when you start out as a freshman to when you become a
senior and graduate. I went to college for four years and the
friendships, experiences, and lessons learned in those 4 years
impacted my life forever.

When I look at the personal and professional goals that I set for
myself the majority of them are set in the increments of 4. What are
my goals for the next 4 weeks? What are my goals for the next 4
months? And what are my goals for the next 4 years?

How much has your life changed in 4 years? How much has it changed
over the past four seasons?

Because four is a fantastic number and to celebrate our son turning
this special number I’m making my book, “Combinations: Opening the
Door to Student Leadership” available for $4. per copy *plus shipping.

So I invite you to celebrate with us! You can order as many books as
you like. You can order 1, 4 or even 400!

It’s a great gift to give someone for the holidays or a great way to
reward your students and inspire them to keep reaching for their goals
as we go into 2009.

I will gladly sign each copy as well.

Thanks for reading. This offer will end Friday December 19th. After
that it will be gone 4-ever.

Here is where you can order your copy:

http://snipurl.com/7s4fy

Celebrate 4 With Us is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog