Talk Positive, Forgive Mistakes, Stay Calm
Those are the three things that 30 years of beach volleyball has taught me.
It also goes well with life too as sports are a good teacher of life lessons.
When my partner and I are saying positive things only when we play we both do better and usually win. It’s when we start criticizing each other’s mistakes that we usually lose the games. It’s also a good idea to let go of mistakes quickly and move on, or they can have an impact on your future play. Staying calm is always a good thing in the middle of a heated match. Portable air conditioners help a lot in tournaments by keeping us cool between matches so that we calm down and reset for the next game. I’ve played so many tournaments over the years and met so many people along the way. I work in the HVAC industry now doing sales and service and teach some volleyball on the side when I can. I still play games now but instead of focusing on winning I am more focused on creating magical plays in the games. The local business near the courts has an audience always there to cheer us on and I am so grateful for that. The people charge us up with their screams and clapping and we try to put on the best show possible for them. They even have air conditioning in the beach bar next to where we play so we usually hit it after the games to hang out and relax with the players.