Coach Mark always tells me that we don’t win the meet in October (or whatever month it is that the meet is taking place), we win the meet in July when everyone else is on summer vacation. Basically what he’s saying is that we don’t win the meet on the day of the meet or even on the few weeks leading up to the meet, we win the meet because we put in the hard work and time all year.
Olympic lifting is not EXACTLY like riding a bike if you’re talking about the technique. It’s something that needs to be practiced. Like, a million times. And then maybe after a million times you’ll start to get the technique down. Maybe one day Coach Mark will even call you a Master Technician…this is the ULTIMATE compliment from someone who even with a shattered shoulder with a metal plate in it is still faster than me….
But my favorite times lifting are when I can get to Sayre Park. We have a great time laughing, telling each other to grow man legs and just really supporting each other. It doesn’t really matter what the weight is that you’re lifting, but you better make damn sure that all your reps are good and that they count. Because whether you know it or not Coach Mark is watching your every move, and from 100 feet away he can see every detail. And my teammates are always there with encouragement before heavy lifts.
I need a lot of support. I will support all of my teammates and I know what they’re capable of. But me on the other hand, I can be incredibly insecure ESPECIALLY with the snatch. When they’re good, they’re really good, but if I’m an inch too low when I start my second pull, or if i’m even looking down for just a second, I’ve likely lost the lift. And I’m TRYING to do better with fighting for my lifts. Sometimes though I don’t realize I’ve given up on a lift. But that is where the support of Sayre comes in. If I give up too fast on a lift they know I can make, you better believe I hear about it. I love that I can get the negatives with the positive because support doesn’t just come from you telling I did a good job when I really sucked it up.
We all have good days and bad days, but we can bounce back from those bad days, learn from them, and make it better next time. If we have good people around us – which I have EXCELLENT teammates then we don’t let the bad days get to us. So, we have to let our support essentially support us!