I'll admit it. There are times I've searched near and far, high and low, throughout the deepest, darkest, dankest recesses of the Internet, just to find something motivational to send to an athlete. Alas, I don't always come up with my own material. I've found that telling an athlete to "suck it up" isn't always the best advice, and scarcely does it inspire.
Me: "Suck it up."
Athlete: "Do you know of another coach you'd recommend?"
So, in my quest to help enthuse, I turned to the 'net. Nothing but 'net.
I fear, however, my 'net gains are scanty at best.
We've all read about the mind-boggling exploits of Chuck Norris (for example: Chuck Norris doesn't read books; he stares them down until he gets the information he wants) and there's no shortage of motivational quotes surrounding His greatness. But I was sick of all that and all the motivational one-liners out there…"Make my day, punk", "Just do it", "I'll be back", "Live strong", "You had me at 'hello'" and all that sort of crap. So too was the athlete I was trying to help. I needed more. I needed something with meaning.
Then, just about the time I was about to give up and order him to suck it up, I stumbled upon the above picture. It made my day (punk), and it would make all the difference, because we all know that if Tony Little can't motivate you, it's only because you're dead. My athlete (Disclaimer: I hate the saying "my athlete", but you get the drift) immediately unearthed his inner desire to kick some ass and take some names.
If you ever find that you could do with some external motivation, don't turn to the bible or to a lame one-liner or to some rockin' heavy-metal song written by a generically-named band of misfits. Just ask yourself, "What would Tony Little do?" My guess is he'd stare at a picture of himself and find plenty of motivation, just as you assuredly will too. Now get out there and suck it up! Live strong. Just do it.
I'll be back.
Editor's Note: This fine example of motivational triathlon coaching was brought to you by the letter "V" as in Veylupek.
Please visit Chuckie V's most excellent Blog HERE.
BTW: We also stole the rest of the verbage below from Chuckie's blog. BTW (again) is verbage even a word?
The V is for Veylupek, an odd name of Czech origin and one I can barely pronounce. Born on my birthday, I've been steadily growing older ever since, still failing, however, to reach full maturity. I'm a has-been pro triathlete - Olympian - Ironman Champ - musician and now deal in some shady afterthoughts: coaching, hosting camps and taking part in overly elongated outdoor adventures.
On the coaching front I've had more success than I ever had as an athlete; I spent twenty years making mistakes and can now help others avoid them! If you're seeking a HAND'S ON COACH who's "been there" and who utilizes the latest (PRACTICAL knowledge) in exercise science, I might(!) be interested in working with you!
