4 minute read

President's Message: How Do We Know When We Have Success?

How Do We Know When We Have Success?

By Alex Chang, MFS, RM

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What an amazing season we have had with our U.S. Championships and U.S. Development Team Camps in Nashville, the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, and the 2022 World Championships soon to take place in Montpellier, France. I think we have all been able to pull inspiration and fandom after watching skating at its finest, in spite of the setbacks, the pandemic, and the twists and turns of competition. In light of of all this success, I want to take a moment to pull back the lens on our definition of success, our attachment to it, and the price of it.

Many of us have worked with many different kinds of skaters, at many different levels, with many different goals, challenges, and definitions. Whether it is improving a specific skill, mastering a new element, conquering your personal fear, or winning an Olympic gold medal (Go Nathan!), success is built one day at a time through intention, hard work, reflection, collaboration, and a steady stream of execution. But the funny thing about success is that it never seems to be enough and it never ends… a constant dangling carrot. One step leads to another and one day’s success feels like a set up for tomorrow’s inevitable failure and disappointment. So, how do we ever know if/when we finally have success, when it requires endless maintenance and seems to get harder and harder with each generation?

Borrowing from the words of Winston Churchill: “Success is not Final. Failure is not Final. It is the courage to continue that counts…”. Very true sir, but how is that going to help me with my clients’ unreasonable expectations? To this, I think we must each take a moment to reflect, get real, and declare our own opinions and truths. That’s right, we must take the microphone, shape/control those conversations, and define success on our terms for our clients and for ourselves: from bite-sized morsels for our skaters to annual strategic plans for our parents to self-affirming benchmarks in our own coaching. We must declare and set real yet inspiring mastery goals that lead to large-scale accomplishments.

“...success is built one day at a time through intention, hard work, reflection, collaboration, and a steady stream of execution. But the funny thing about success is that it never seems to be enough and it never ends… a constant dangling carrot.”

When we feel pushed to do more, achieve more, be more, remember that we can only work within the four corners of our own workability, whatever you define that to be. I am simply reminding you that you have much to offer as coaches, as human beings, as mentors, and as leaders. When pushed to do more, don’t abandon your hard-earned teachings, don’t diminish your contributions, don’t barter away your integrity. We see you, we believe in you, and we honor the mentor and teacher in each of you. We have to define what are we willing to do to achieve success, but that should never require compromising our core integrity. To this, I honor each of you for holding the integrity of our athlete’s well-being and development as the key benchmark of success. Let them achieve all they are meant to, through hard work, planning, dedication, and execution — and celebrate in that. Our skaters will continue to do great things in the world, on and off the ice. The lessons, patterns and systems for success we set in them today will last them a lifetime, and I do hope that includes integrity in sports as the true value of competition, not just the medals.

I have always been a big proponent of education, whether it’s formal, informal, on the job, or on the street. PSA is here to help you find your pathway to your selfdefined success. We will continue to deliver cost-effective, relevant, and effective educational opportunities to all members. Everyone has their own journey and we are here to support you on yours.

Be well, be YOU, and stay the course.

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