SPORTS are not all play -- or only playing a game. Sports involve much more. To some, sports become a lifetime of commitment beyond comfort zones. And that is a no-nonsense activity. That activity claims so much from the person who is directly engaged in playing, and also from the person or persons acting in support, that everything else has to take a back-seat. Unfortunately, the larger society does not see that behind-the-scene activity. But if we take a close look at that activity, we will realise how tough things are when the goal is to produce sports champions out of young boys and girls.

 

In the past some time, the loud-thinker was fortunate to have met the families of a couple of world champion sportspersons -- to know how they shaped their youngsters into elite performers rising above global competition and demonstrating not just their skills but also their culture of excellence. He also has had his own experience of turning two kids in the family to national championship levels. So, he knows, it takes a heaven and hell out of you if you harbour any such dream. In his very engaging book titled “Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness”, legendary performance coach Tim S. Grover (co-author Shari Wenk -- published by Simon and Schuster) highlights the fantastically focused sporting icons such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and how they gave everything they had and could to achieving highest levels in their chosen sports. Tim S. Grover is a second generation American Indian who has been coaching not just top sportspersons but also CEOs and business leaders helping them achieve excellence. That journey is unforgiving, he insists.

 

There is no escape from hard work, from focused work, from relentless work, from a commitment that is above everything else. Of course, the details may vary from case to case or person to person, but the larger society is at least vaguely aware of what kind of efforts and commitment are needed to achieve a superstar status -- in any field. What goes into making of a sports champion, for example, is well beyond the common imagination. Everybody knows that the whole effort is very tough and takes everything the person has. We also see a few movies in which such personae are pictured. Yet, movies only offer a frail hint of what must have gone into making of a Mahendra Singh Dhoni or a Milkha Singh or an MC Mary Kom. Actually, as those iconic personalities are glamourised in movies or in novels, the actual story often remains away from public knowledge. That story is often hard and drab and dull because of its repetitiveness of action for years on end. Yet, the sportsperson -- or a high-achieving CEO or a musician or an artist -- keeps at it for months and for years and for decades and for life. No excuses. No escapes. No hiding behind anything. For, when such a hiding is sought, the person is hiding himself or herself from his or her own self. That is a very tough zone -- which ordinary mortals may never understand. But one thing is beyond doubt -- that most high-performing persons are actually ordinary persons to begin with. Their stories, thus, are the stories of how ordinary people can achieve extra-ordinary success when they are fired by a burning ambition and unforgiving commitment.