The Tension of Talent:

You know the tension of a tight rope allows enough slack to balance some pressure of the person's body weight to walk across, but it's tight enough to hold strong. Now compare that to the tension of our muscles and tendons that hold us up and when forced upon and make us move without tearing apart.

There are healthy balances to tensions in our life. Take a relationship between a coach and an athlete. There is a tension of respect, expectation, leadership vs following. When that tension is at its best it's a balance between a close transparent family and the respect that the coach has the final say.  Hopefully, with the knowledge of the athlete fully understood and mindful of their best interests both short and long term. 

The only tension is that the coach might have to make a decision that the athlete does not agree with in the moment. Obviously, they should follow the coaches orders, even though they might be able to do otherwise and still be somewhat successful. 

How about this conundrum: 
The Tension of Talent.

Talented athletes bring a dynamic to the coach/athlete equation that presents a constant challenge. A talented athlete doesn't have to work as hard to get better results, that's basic math. But as a coach we want to fully prepare all our athletes to reach their full potential. 

So, here's some wisdom/insight for talented athletes: "train smarter than harder!"

There is an opportunity to train harder and actually take away future ability, although your character and confidence and training threshold increase, there is a good chance that your body's breakdown is beyond that of a lessor talented athlete. Just take the example of muscle tension - the right amount and you move the body and stabilize the body, too much and you tear the body apart.

Now, don't be mislead into thinking that you'll make all the gains possible without pressing into your very best at practice, but do this sparingly, light seasoning along the way and the taste buds continue to appreciate, to much and the lose their flavor. 

All in all respect the Tensions in life and the best gift we can give is being attentive to them. In other words, "Mindful in the Moment!"


Otugo Annanaba - Edmond Deer Creek HS - Class of 2013
Preparing for the 200m @ 2012 New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, NC