Three days each week, my daughter and I trek to her physical therapy appointments to rehab her knee after recent surgery. One of the therapists is a former gymnast and still closely follows the sport. The day after Jordyn Wieber missed the qualifications for All-Around (because of the two-per-country rule) there was a great deal of chatter and opinion getting tossed around.
We all agreed the rule was a bummer, but we also agreed it wasn’t as though the new rule was sprung at the last minute. We all agreed Jordyn missing the opportunity everyone expected her to capitalize on had to be devastating. (And we all agreed that NBC should have looked for a different camera angle and let the poor girl have a moment to cry without the world watching… but that’s a different issue.)
What surprised me was the therapist’s doubt that Gabby or Aly could pull out a win for the USA. She didn’t think those two athletes have shown enough consistency to be reliable during the all-around finals.
Huh? I was shocked, but I’ve only been following this team from trials to present. In that short span, the five have looked pretty consistent to me.
As a casual observer of the sport (I took gymnastics lessons as a kid and I catch it on TV once in a while) I was thrilled by the USA women’s team during qualifications. There were errors and room for improvement, but they put themselves in a winning position.
And on team finals night, they proved it. The years of consistent practice was the foundation. Add in the tremendous courage and team effort and it carried them right up to the gold medal from Maroney’s perfect vault (should’ve been scored accordingly) to Aly’s amazing floor routine.
The therapist has been watching these girls hit and miss their routines since they first entered the national view, which gives her a different perspective. I’ve only been watching for the past few months – and they’ve been hitting more than they’ve been missing.
As a former athlete and a big sports fan, I know that consistent practice is the only way to a stunning performance.
As a paranormal romance and urban fantasy author, it’s much the same. If I want to deliver books that carry readers off on a daring escape, then I have to put in the consistent practice of getting words on the page.
Consistency is a secret weapon in all facets of life. It builds confidence and quality and elevates the game – whatever that game is.
Live the adventure!
