While being a part of this team, I've noticed a trend with some coaches in wanting to preserve an athlete's confidence.
While that's all good and well, I've realized how damaging this could be. The only reason I was able to perform at the level I ran at in high school is because I was exposed to it despite whether or not losing would hurt my confidence.
I've been walked down at the line, lost by fractions of a second, placed last, ran on teams with dropped batons, lost races I was projected to win, ran terribly at championship meets and other athletic atrocities.
But guess what?
I still became an amazing athlete.
My confidence can't have a perfect track record (no pun intended), it has its dents and cracks. But that's all apart of the game. Part of a bigger race.
Eliminate the negative self-talk, put yourself out there with the greatest, run your race, win/lose, and come back the next time ready to be better.
Stop punking out and playing small. We're here to compete. If we don't hold ourselves worthy to compete with the best, then we're wasting our time.
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