The One Thing I Miss the Most About Being A Full Time Athlete

The athletic lifestyle can be, as is long time said, a selfish one. Even amongst fellow team mates there is the competitive edge to be the best; to win the most medals, do the best on the mat day to day, lift the heaviest, come first in the racing. Competitiveness is not often something that can be turned off for certain scenarios, largely I’ve found, a person is mostly competitive, or mostly not. It’s why a lot of high performing people, over their fuller lifetimes, can operate at high levels across a number of different fields.

In terms of going up against team mates daily, something I only began to consider in the last couple of years of my competitive career was, “what will it be like when I’m not surrounded by these people?” Around that time I read the book Willpower Doesn’t Work by Benjamin Hardy, a very easily digestible (it would need to be for me) intro into organisational psychology, or to simplify, one’s ‘environment.’ And how vital the correct people are to a happy and successful life.

On retiring I began some subcontracting work for a youth work company, the head of which I really did not like. He was in most cases the polar opposite of everything I was shown about leadership by my coaches and prominent players as an athlete. I found quite a number of the staff I worked with complaining and unmotivated. We (voluntarily)  didn’t earn much as full time Judo players so I wasn’t really in a position to quit but, after 18 months, and on my good friend Pete asking me if I wanted to come on board with his dream project, Turnstyle, I couldn’t wait to get out of there. 

In terms of personal learning, and for as difficult and frustrating as I found a large portion of that time subcontracting, it made me realise how fortunate I was to have been surrounded with the sorts of people I had throughout my sporting career. Around highly motivated individuals all day, everyday. That, I think, was the biggest hole I felt on retiring and what I took for granted the most as an active international athlete. Awareness is always step number one though, you don’t know what you don’t know right? Through that first couple of years of being retired I became aware of what I was missing and decided to consciously act on it. 

I appreciate that I am more fortunate than most in that I was already coaching at Camberley Judo Club before retiring, and still am. I get to work with driven youngsters, I am currently writing this article on a flight to Macedonia to watch two of our -18 athletes compete at the Cadet European Championships. I’m also afforded the opportunity to support where I can with senior full time players at Camberley, all of whom are highly motivated. I’ve learned that I need to be around that. I’ve also learned that it is always my responsibility to ensure that I surround myself with kind, interesting and motivated people. And, on the other way around, to make sure that I am the sort of person that such people would want to spend time with. 

I have brilliant connections in Judo and have, over the last few years, met more and more great people at the local Jiu-Jitsu gyms I go to train at. I think the ever growing  accessibility of Jiu-Jitsu is attracting more and more highly interesting people, which I think is great and something I draw from.

Then there is Kosmos, which has expanded our friendship network even further. And, for me at least, is what the brand signifies; a community of interesting and driven people bouncing off and supporting each other on whatever way they are going.

Thanks to you all.

Danny