sexta-feira, março 11, 2005
Virar Profissional - a grande decisão
Retirado do site do Chris McCormack, um dos melhores triatletas do mundo
Turning Professional - The Big Decision
Thursday, January 09, 2003
The decision for any athlete considering turning professional is a big one. It has been a constant discussion amongst some of the younger guys that I train. For a couple of them they experienced their first year in Europe this year on the professional circuit. Talking to them now, they are at the crossroads. They have had a taste of the sport at a professional level. They experienced the homesickness, the lifestyle change, the daily training grind, and the race disappointments. More importantly they have faced the biggest demon, self-doubt.
It is very strange, you never really face self-doubt until you are confronted with it head on. Suddenly when your bread and butter depends upon you performing in a certain race you begin to ask yourself the question "do you really have what it takes to make it." You never really ask yourself this question when you have the security blanket of a constant income or mum and dad there to help out. It is easier to blame a poor performance on the fact that you don't have the same amount of time to dedicate to the training that the other guys do because of work commitments. However, when that luxury is taken away, and suddenly you are training full time and you have a poor performance in a race, self-doubt suddenly creeps up on you very rapidly. For them, they are at the critical point that aspiring athletes will face. The realisations that the dream and the real life experience are two distinctively different things. For many this will be as close to professional triathlon racing that they will ever come. For the others this will be the beginning of a journey that will be full of highs and lows where the only person they can blame for their failings or successes is themselves.
Now by definition I consider being a professional athlete, one of those people who intend deriving their income solely from the sport, and in doing so make the decision to back their ability and chase there dreams. For everyone, and myself included, the first year or two is the breaking point. You often find many athletes make the decision to turn professional only to return from Europe or abroad early with the realisation that it is not at all glamorous. This is the side of professionalism that you wont see on the television or read about in the magazines. This is the real reality of full time triathlon. The racing is only a small part of the picture. For many going to Europe for the first time they are quickly confronted with the immediate lifestyle change, and the language barrier and the solitude. This is the killer, and for many athletes will be the straw that breaks the back. The lonely training in a foreign country for weeks on end will sift through many of the aspiring guys and girls and leave a core group of hardened professionals. I honestly believe this is the reason why the Australian professionals who have conquered Europe and abroad are the best in the world. They are a long way from home and the ones that survive have that little bit of mongrel that will take them a long way.
As I enter my 6-year as a professional athlete it is easier for me to reflect now on what I went through and to appreciate and highlight the points that almost saw me return to the workforce. I now have a training base in Europe and in the USA, and am well established. It wasn't always like that. In my first year in Europe I slept many nights on riverbanks and at train stations. I was racing to pay the bills for the next week of racing. It was the true essence of survival, and had it not been for other aspiring professionals like Chippy Slater, Simon Knowles and Jason Metters, I may not have made it. I probably rang the airlines 4 or 5 times to change my ticket to come back home, but seeing these guys suffer with me and going through the same things that I was going through gave me the drive to keep going. We lived in hostels and travelled on the weekends by train, around France chasing the races and the money. This was not what I expected. I had envisaged five star hotels and glamour racing with money to burn. It was tough, and I think surviving that helped mould me into the athlete I am today.
What you have to understand is that when the decision to turn professional is made, it becomes a lifestyle decision. You are not making a decision to change jobs but to up root and change your entire life. Everything changes in order to maximise your potential. I often have arguments with many of my training friends who work full time and often say to me that if only they had the free time then they could have done this or could have done that. Everyone faces that cross road. I once sat in a cosy office job, with great prospects. I finished my Commerce degree at the University of NSW and was like most graduates prepared for a life in Corporate Sydney. The bravest thing a person can do, is turn their back on comfort and chase their dreams. This is the answer I always give my friends who claim they could have done this or should have done that. They never did so they will never know. It's that simple. You make your own opportunities in life. When an athlete decides to turn professional and chase the dream, they walk away from this security. They suddenly place their future and their life path in their own hands, and for many this is a scary thing. In the initial years you face the constant barrage of questions from your friends and relatives asking you if you really think you have made the right decision. When you are truly confronted with the prospects of facing your dreams head on without the luxury of blame anymore it is a scary thing. When the decision is made to turn professional and to focus entirely on competing you no longer have the excuses you had before "if I only could train as much as this guy or that guy then I would have done better. " This is now gone and the realisation soon hits you like a freight train that without performances you cannot pay the bills.
To truly understand what it's all about you really need to live it. I can only say that I do not regret my decision to turn professional. For any of the younger guys who are at the crossroads right now, this is a tough time, but believe me it sounds like a cliché but if you truly chase your dream and believe you can achieve then the sky is the limit. Only you can make that decision and only you can commit to it. The road ahead will be tough and bumpy, but the ride is awesome. Opportunity knocks only once in a lifetime so grab it while you can.
Turning Professional - The Big Decision
Thursday, January 09, 2003
The decision for any athlete considering turning professional is a big one. It has been a constant discussion amongst some of the younger guys that I train. For a couple of them they experienced their first year in Europe this year on the professional circuit. Talking to them now, they are at the crossroads. They have had a taste of the sport at a professional level. They experienced the homesickness, the lifestyle change, the daily training grind, and the race disappointments. More importantly they have faced the biggest demon, self-doubt.
It is very strange, you never really face self-doubt until you are confronted with it head on. Suddenly when your bread and butter depends upon you performing in a certain race you begin to ask yourself the question "do you really have what it takes to make it." You never really ask yourself this question when you have the security blanket of a constant income or mum and dad there to help out. It is easier to blame a poor performance on the fact that you don't have the same amount of time to dedicate to the training that the other guys do because of work commitments. However, when that luxury is taken away, and suddenly you are training full time and you have a poor performance in a race, self-doubt suddenly creeps up on you very rapidly. For them, they are at the critical point that aspiring athletes will face. The realisations that the dream and the real life experience are two distinctively different things. For many this will be as close to professional triathlon racing that they will ever come. For the others this will be the beginning of a journey that will be full of highs and lows where the only person they can blame for their failings or successes is themselves.
Now by definition I consider being a professional athlete, one of those people who intend deriving their income solely from the sport, and in doing so make the decision to back their ability and chase there dreams. For everyone, and myself included, the first year or two is the breaking point. You often find many athletes make the decision to turn professional only to return from Europe or abroad early with the realisation that it is not at all glamorous. This is the side of professionalism that you wont see on the television or read about in the magazines. This is the real reality of full time triathlon. The racing is only a small part of the picture. For many going to Europe for the first time they are quickly confronted with the immediate lifestyle change, and the language barrier and the solitude. This is the killer, and for many athletes will be the straw that breaks the back. The lonely training in a foreign country for weeks on end will sift through many of the aspiring guys and girls and leave a core group of hardened professionals. I honestly believe this is the reason why the Australian professionals who have conquered Europe and abroad are the best in the world. They are a long way from home and the ones that survive have that little bit of mongrel that will take them a long way.
As I enter my 6-year as a professional athlete it is easier for me to reflect now on what I went through and to appreciate and highlight the points that almost saw me return to the workforce. I now have a training base in Europe and in the USA, and am well established. It wasn't always like that. In my first year in Europe I slept many nights on riverbanks and at train stations. I was racing to pay the bills for the next week of racing. It was the true essence of survival, and had it not been for other aspiring professionals like Chippy Slater, Simon Knowles and Jason Metters, I may not have made it. I probably rang the airlines 4 or 5 times to change my ticket to come back home, but seeing these guys suffer with me and going through the same things that I was going through gave me the drive to keep going. We lived in hostels and travelled on the weekends by train, around France chasing the races and the money. This was not what I expected. I had envisaged five star hotels and glamour racing with money to burn. It was tough, and I think surviving that helped mould me into the athlete I am today.
What you have to understand is that when the decision to turn professional is made, it becomes a lifestyle decision. You are not making a decision to change jobs but to up root and change your entire life. Everything changes in order to maximise your potential. I often have arguments with many of my training friends who work full time and often say to me that if only they had the free time then they could have done this or could have done that. Everyone faces that cross road. I once sat in a cosy office job, with great prospects. I finished my Commerce degree at the University of NSW and was like most graduates prepared for a life in Corporate Sydney. The bravest thing a person can do, is turn their back on comfort and chase their dreams. This is the answer I always give my friends who claim they could have done this or should have done that. They never did so they will never know. It's that simple. You make your own opportunities in life. When an athlete decides to turn professional and chase the dream, they walk away from this security. They suddenly place their future and their life path in their own hands, and for many this is a scary thing. In the initial years you face the constant barrage of questions from your friends and relatives asking you if you really think you have made the right decision. When you are truly confronted with the prospects of facing your dreams head on without the luxury of blame anymore it is a scary thing. When the decision is made to turn professional and to focus entirely on competing you no longer have the excuses you had before "if I only could train as much as this guy or that guy then I would have done better. " This is now gone and the realisation soon hits you like a freight train that without performances you cannot pay the bills.
To truly understand what it's all about you really need to live it. I can only say that I do not regret my decision to turn professional. For any of the younger guys who are at the crossroads right now, this is a tough time, but believe me it sounds like a cliché but if you truly chase your dream and believe you can achieve then the sky is the limit. Only you can make that decision and only you can commit to it. The road ahead will be tough and bumpy, but the ride is awesome. Opportunity knocks only once in a lifetime so grab it while you can.
# posted by Gustavo Slaib : 3:53 PM
