Sports are more than just physical contests; they are mental games as well. So, if running down the field, catching a ball, or winning the race isn’t hard enough already, add in the mental factor and it can become too much for some athletes to handle.
Just like having their own individual style of play, athletes have their own way of dealing with adversity in sports. Some of these ways are good and help the athlete hurdle their obstacles, no pun intended, while others only dig the mental hole deeper.
Every athlete and team has probably dealt with this struggle at some point. Perhaps your team is injury prone and you can’t seem to catch a break or maybe your losing streak is longer than your winning one.
As an athlete myself, I’ve been there.
As I said in my first post, I had a serious injury my freshman year of college that lead to taking an NCAA medical hardship waiver, sitting out my season, and having surgery four months later. Did it suck? Yeah. Did I get through it? Eight months of rehab later, yes. Did I let it get to me at any point during the time from when it happened to when I could get back on the field?
Absolutely. And that’s because I’m more than just an athlete – I’m a human being.
There were times when I was angry, upset, depressed and had a negative outlook on the whole situation. In that moment, all I could think about was not being able to play my sport and it took a while to get to the point where I was able to think about being able to play again after surgery.
But I got there, and for athletes going through a tough time, wondering when that time will come, it will.
How does this relate to sports at North Central? Well, I probably won’t be popular for bringing this up but 1.) this is journalism and, just like politics, part of being in the profession means that sometimes people won’t like what you say.
2.) If you stick with me here, you’ll see what I’m getting at.
If we look at the last few weeks of Cardinal sports, there have been some tough losses and hard times. Women’s soccer, after commanding a five game winning streak, lost four starters to injury.
Men’s soccer has had two double overtime losses, which for any athlete is punishing enough when it happens one time. The team has not recorded a win since their home opener against Carleton College on Sept. 1.
And dare I even bring this up, but football suffered its second loss in a row to No. 5 ranked Wesley College last Saturday. In a game where the Cardinals had a dominating 21-point lead before the Wolverines began a run of their own and clinched the victory with a 2-point conversion off of a touchdown in the final seconds of the game. The week prior, the Cardinals lost to No. 22 ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville in overtime.
It’s games and situations like these that can make sports challenging for both athletes and fans. From the fans’ perspective, they don’t understand how the team couldn’t manage to make that final run or score the goal. For the athletes, the game itself, the fans and their personal performance are all factors in the mental game.
What I’m saying is: these situations suck. Whether it’s an injury or a tough loss, it is always hard. But it’s not the end of the world, even though, as an athlete, it doesn’t always seem like that.
Women’s soccer has had more players step up to take on big roles on the field to fill the void of their injured teammates.
Men’s soccer is still going to go out on the field and play their games, with even more fire as they begin conference play.
Football also begins conference play this weekend and with the emotions and memories from the last two weeks, you can’t try to tell me they won’t give it their all against CCIW, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, opponent Millikin University on Saturday.
The big part about the mental game in sports is moving on, knowing that there will be another play, another game and probably another mistake. It doesn’t mean there isn’t disappointment and maybe a slip of profanity here or there, but the game keeps going and so do you.
Yeah, Cards: we’re going through a rough patch right now. But there are a whole lot of games coming up that and a lot more competition coming our way. We have more fans ready to cheer us on, and more moments of greatness awaiting us all.
“Clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose.” – Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights
