“The good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.” This statement was made by an NBA legend known as Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain. Wilt still holds the record for the most points scored by a single player in a game with 100 points. In his quote, the word that stands alone is sacrifice. Sacrifice, in a nutshell, is the act of giving up something important for the sake of other considerations. In sport, sacrifice is an important factor to a team’s success. Making a sacrifice for your team can consist of things like:
- Going from having a starting role to coming off the bench
- Going to the gym after school and working on skills instead of going home and playing video games
- Going from always getting to make the big play to assisting a teammate for a big play
- Putting your body on the line to dive for a pass or a loose ball
- Going to study hall for 3 hours a day to stay on top of your class work
- Spending less time with family over holiday breaks due to season games
Three forms of sacrifice are social sacrifice, outside sacrifice, and inside sacrifice.1
- Social Sacrifice: sacrifices made in an athlete’s social life (i.e. changing the people they associate with to stay out of trouble)
- Outside Sacrifice: sacrifices made in an athlete’s personal life (i.e. changing their eating habits)
- Inside Sacrifice: sacrifices made by the athlete during practice and competition (i.e. when an athlete goes from a starter to the 6th man coming off the bench)
In a nutshell, an athletes is a person that will consistently do what is necessary to be great.2 Most successful professional athletes are so good at their craft because they make the decision to go above and beyond and make necessary sacrifices that put them above their competition. If you don’t believe me check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUkA_NhDWRE
References:
1 Cronin, L. D., Arthur, C. A., Hardy, J., & Callow, N. (2015). Transformational Leadership and Task Cohesion in Sport: The Mediating Role of Inside Sacrifice. Journal Of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 37(1), 23-36. doi:10.1123/jsep.2014-0116
I worry that today's society is not as aware about the sacrifices necessary for success. They see the success of professionals and the finished product, but rarely is the hard work and sacrifices noticed. The media only glorifies what you can become and not the process of what it took to become that. Los Angeles Lakers guard and 5-time NBA champion, Kobe Bryant was recently asked about why people say he is a bad friend. His response was that friendships come and go, but banners hang forever. That was an insight to the fact that he decided long ago that he sacrificed winning over personal relationships. If spectators could have the privilege of going behind the scenes and understanding the sacrifices these talented individuals have made through the years, I believe we would have a more stable nation.
ReplyDeleteI love this blog. So great. Many years ago I was asked to work with the Junior Olympic Tennis Team in Columbus, Ohio. I was SO excited because I imagined the kids were finely tuned athletes, serious, focused, ferocious and I was so ready to take them to the next level. What I found was a group of privileged kids who wanted to work minimally and have everything else handed to them -- as it had always been. It was discouraging but also eye opening. Today, Marlin Cloudy is so right, our kids do not understand or appreciate sacrifice. They are not willing to work TOO hard for the gold. Great article.
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