015. An Athlete's Biggest Mistake
I got this letter from one of my mentor’s. It’s a letter he received from one of his athlete’s years ago.
It goes like this:
Dear Coach,
You probably don’t remember me - and I’m glad. I ran cross country for you over 20 years ago. I was on the high school team my freshman, sophomore and junior year. I quit at the beginning of my senior year - that’s why I hope you don’t remember me. I’m the guy who walked out on you the day before the Springfield meet.
You deserved better. You coached me for over three years and even let me come to your summer clinics for free. You were one of the few teachers in school who ever took a personal interest in me. And I blew it.
My senior year, I quit because I thought I was sick and tired of going to practice, watching my diet and running early in the morning. All I really wanted was to get a job, buy a car, and hang out with my girlfriend.
Back then I thought that these were good reasons for quitting. Now I know that they were reasonable excuses.
When I was 17, what I wanted to get out of cross country were trophies, a letter jacket and my picture in the yearbook. I had no idea of the real gifts that the sport could give me.
I remember that you always said, “You learn english, math, and history in the classroom, but you develop character out on the track.” How right you were. What I wanted from running was a thrill of victory; what I needed to learn was to deal with the agony of defeat. You see, I was one of those guys who took the easy way out - when the going got tough, I bailed.
Quitting cross country was one in a long series of things that I started but did not finish. It became a predictable pattern in my life. After getting fired three times and divorced twice, I began to realize that what you get out of something is directly related to what you put into it.
Did you ever hear the computer term “GIGO”? It means, “garbage in, garbage out.”If you program the computer wrong, you will get bad output. “GIGO” can also mean “good input, good output.” It is that simple.
Coach, you are probably wondering why I am writing to you. First of all, I sincerely want to thank you for all you did for me.
Second, I want you to know that I realize that I made a big mistake over 20 years ago. I cannot change that. But someday, if one of your runners walks into your office and says that he/she is going to quit - maybe you can show that person this letter. because it is not too late for the runner, who can have a change of mind right now.
Oh yes, how did my senior year work out after I quit? It went from bad to worse. I quit my job after three months… then I totaled my car… and then with no car and no money, I had no date to the Senior Prom.
I should have followed the quote on your wall, “Winner’s Never Quit and Quitters Never Win.”
