A Positive Moment To Cherish

Today I want to share a positive moment that happened while I was coaching.

One of my developmental athletes did her routine on the floor exercise for the first time. We had been practicing it in pieces to help perfect the smaller parts of the routine. She was finally allowed to try the whole thing put together. She was ecstatic and could barely wait until it was her turn.

She walked onto the floor proud and confident. Her routine was very well done especially for doing it all together for the first time. She made a small mistake in one part but she owned it nonetheless. At the end of the routine she started to cry. I immediately assumed that she was upset with herself.

I jumped to conclusions and said “Hey don’t start crying, you did fine”. It was easy to assume that she was upset because she is such a determined athlete that does not like making mistakes. There was a moment of awkward silence. Suddenly, she ran over and gave me the biggest hug. I was shocked and confused. She said “I did it! I’m so proud of myself I can’t believe I did it!” She was in tears because she was so happy.

I laughed because she was so cute and it turned out to be such a positive moment. I told her how proud I was of her. It was a great reminder for myself as a coach to stay patient. It was also a beautiful moment that I had the opportunity to be part of. I am proud of her and even more happy that she is proud of herself! I hope that you can make these kinds of memories with your athletes and be proud of them for trying hard everyday and pushing themselves to be the best they can be.

I would love to hear about your heart warming experiences as a coach or even as an athlete. Feel free to comment below and share your experiences. Check out another example of a passionate hard working athlete.