Did You Compete Today?

Among the biggest frustrations of this pandemic are the simple unknowns. Plans start to develop but can change on a dime. And without a vaccine, a return to “normal” seems distant. 

College athletes, specifically those playing winter sports, will continue to train with the hope they’ll eventually have a season. Many coaches, such as Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley, believe there will in fact be a basketball season, but that the start date will likely be pushed back. So winter athletes are faced with several questions.

When will practices start?

When will the first game be?

How long will the preseason last?

They’re heavy and can make training and preparing for games much harder than in years past.

Kara Lawson, WNBA champion, All-Star and newly-named Duke women’s basketball head coach, reminds us of the importance of competition when faced with these unknowns.

Lawson recently addressed her team before a conditioning segment and discussed the difference between hard work and competition. She said that anyone can be forced to work hard, as so many of us do each day, but not everyone is wired to compete. 

Takeaways:

1. A competitive mindset doesn’t guarantee perfection, but it will put us in a better position to be successful

2. Working hard will not prepare us for the adversity that life will throw.

3. Competing during the unknown will separate us from those who only work hard and prepare for the known.

Coach Lawson encourages us to ask ourselves this, “Did I compete today?” And while the answer might not always be ‘yes,’ she says to never make that answer ‘no’ two days in a row.

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