The Cavalry Isn’t Coming

By Jonathan Massey – 

The other day, I was watching the newest Star Wars movie. 

*SPOILER ALERT*

In the film’s climactic ending – when Poe thinks all is lost and the Order has won – Lando shows up with the cavalry and turns the tide of the battle! (Eventually, they defeat the Order.)

Now, this theme is as old as time – just when the hero thinks all is lost and they’re defeated, in marches the cavalry to save the day. The problem with this theme is… That only ever really happens in movies. 

(Apologies if this hits a little too close to home.) When you get to high school, you believe that since you’re now in high school, the coaching you’ll receive will be better than what you had in travel. You are later crushed when you find out it’s not. Next, you are fortunate to move on past high school, and again, you believe that since he’s a college coach, the coaching will be better. And yet again, the coaching is about the same. 

One of the biggest fallacies out there is that as you move up in levels, the coaching you’ll receive will be better. That simply isn’t true. I’m not saying there aren’t great coaches out there! There are great coaches at every single level. However, don’t fall into the trap of believing you’ll get better coaching just because you are moving up in levels. 

So, then what? Well, like Coach Wolforth told me so many years ago, “Boys, the cavalry isn’t coming. You alone will be held accountable for your performance.” This is both scary and freeing at the same time. It’s scary because gone are the excuses. No longer can you blame your coaches for not developing you. It’s freeing because once you realize you’re in charge, you can take charge. You can seek out better coaching from outside coaches, you can read books on development, and you can do your own studying/research. You are not at the mercy or limitations of your current coaching staff.

In a perfect world, every coach could help every athlete they come across… But this world is far from perfect. So, control what you can control and take ownership of your career. If you aren’t getting the coaching you need to develop, go out and find it!

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