Sitting in the spectator zone with my coach, we talked a lot about the match and the tremendous recovery from my injury. During the halftime break of the match, the team made their way briskly towards us. As I watched the six familiar figures, thoughts drifted back to what happened in the past month.
I love netball–not just the game, but the passion that the game brings out of each and every netball player. Before the major tournament, my days had alternated between netball practices and school, with barely anything else in between. I was a strong believer of “practice makes perfect”, and I believed that my team would make it to the final tournament with sufficient practice. However, things do not always go as planned–I got into a bike accident
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I realized that all my efforts were futile as I had no chance to play in the tournament. All the anticipation I once had was reduced to nothingness. I felt like a failure and that my identity was suddenly taken away from me, as I could no longer be a part of the netball team for the upcoming tournament.
While I was still wallowing in misery, my coach visited me with a book–Mitch Albom’s “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. That book deeply inspired me, especially the following quote: “No life is a waste… the only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we’re alone”. Knowing that I have my teammates and my family supporting me the entire time of my injury, I was determined to pull myself together and get back on my feet. I was someone who saw the glass half full, so I refused to pity myself, and instead chose to move forward in my life.
During trainings, I sat by the sidelines to observe my teammates and a feeling of admiration surged through me as I witnessed their relentless perseverance. I would give my teammates practical feedback based on my observations and continually encouraged them. Instead of staying for the entire netball practice, I would head home earlier than usual. I started to spend more time with my family- there were more meaningful conversations, more laughter and joy in the house. The hiatus from netball allowed me to take a step back and evaluate how I managed my time. I started to ponder over questions–was I