Gratefulness and Defining Our Contribution to the Sport

BY ALEX CHANG

For many of you, this issue will be arriving as you complete your competition season with the close of your Regional/Sectional ‘Challenge.’ As with all ventures, this competition season will be a mixed bag, but ideally we can look for the ‘lesson’ in every moment. The highest of the highs and unexpected lows hopefully provided you with enough fodder and material to teach your skaters life lessons such as the importance of planning, dedication and follow-through, accountability, courage, and fun!

In my last article, I talked about intersectionality versus labels and allowing yourself a judgement-free space to redefine your role and interests. This got me thinking: how do we define our role? What are we good at? Does it even make a difference? And in the end, do we deserve a place at the table of skating and coaching?

Wow, that was a mouthful! Think of it this way—generally, there’s a little voice that says, “Who are you to think you are making a difference and anyone actually cares what you think or say?” It’s a voice that we never truly get rid of, but we can turn down the volume of this negative voice and turn up the volume of our affirmative voice of commitment, decision-making, intention, and gratitude.

When I started thinking about how we define our contribution and therefore our personal value, I think we as skating folk tend to be harsh on ourselves, or more accurately, draconian. We apply not just the gold standard, but the Olympic Gold standard when we evaluate our role, our accomplishments, and ultimately our failures and short-comings. We pre-judge and self-defeat and discount our contributions to the point that we convince ourselves our work has minimal value and people like us don’t really make significant contributions.

To this I say any contribution, whether it’s big or small, is by definition a contribution and should be respected. We can act in small ways, train and perfect small details, support with a subtle nod, and build confidence day-after-day within our students. It is the daily repetition of small contributions that create big results. We must also remember it is after all their world, their skating, and their journey, and we are fortunate to be a part of this journey for them. That, for me, is a key realization of gratitude as a coach.

In the end, their work is their work, and we must let our work speak for itself. We should be grateful we have the ability to help, influence, teach, and connect young skaters to the brilliance of skating and the joy of performance.

I hope this reminder to self-acknowledge your abilities will encourage you to continue your own path of professional development and self-fulfillment. The PSA is here to help you reach your growth potential, whether it’s through PSA TV, PS Magazine’s technical tips, seminars, webinars, or Ratings Prep. We are here for you and want to know how best to serve you. Some of you will be starting a new season with renewed plans and goals, and others will be honing a laser focus into the remaining competitions this season. Either way, the learning never ends and we hope you are able to glean some tips and new ideas from our offerings.

Cheers.