Keeping the fire burning

Hey folks!

Yesterday, I wrote an entry about the diverse professional and educational backgrounds the Young Ambassadors have. What I didn't elaborate on too much was the immense pressure this puts on every single one of us. Just take this blog as an example: Sometimes, I have this great idea, a topic dealing with Olympism I'd love to write about (In case you haven't noted: 99% of all stories in this blog actually deal with the Olympic spirit). And then this: My dear colleague Erin Kennedy, marathon hero, inspiration for millions, whose masters degree makes me jealous everytime anew, just sits down and posts another amazing article on her blog! Just like that! Sometimes, life is just not fair (At this point, you can imagine the big irony sign accompanying these lines slowly fading out)

So in her blog entry, Erin was talking about falling in love every time anew with her amazing job working for an American sports governing body. At the end, she sets the stage for us to pick up her inspiring thoughts:

"As I have done before in my posts, I'd like to pose a challenge to everyone. Look at your own life - your job, your sport, your family, your life - why do you do it? What makes it all worth it? What makes you fall in love all over again, day after day?"

Even before reading her latest entry, I wanted to write a very similar experience. Last weekend, I accompanied one of our youth teams (Under 13 years) to the National Championships in Carinthia. It was the first time in years that I went to such a tournament. When I was still active, I competed at many of those competitions as a player and once I also went there as a referee, however, this was the first time I went there as a coach.

When coming back from the United States last September, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to get involved with handball again. I didn't have anything to do with the sport in two years and didn't have the feeling something was missing. Anyhow, I still got in touch with my old team and started helping them out with some stuff, e.g. as an assistant coach.

In Carinthia, our team played really well and you could see how excited they were to play against the best teams in the country. Unfortunately, two of our players got injured - nothing serious, but still, they couldn't play at their highest level. Still, they were fighting and hanging in as if they were playing for their lives. And while I was standing at the sideline, shouting words of encouragement and support or taking care of injured players, I felt it. I felt that from one moment to the next, the fire I believed to be extinguished was burning, as hot and all-consuming as ever. This might sound cheesy, but I don't really care. If you are involved in sports, you know what I mean and if you are not, you wouldn't understand anyway ;)

And this made me realize something: I might not be involved with handball constantly. I might not be working with my current club for all my life. I might not be playing the game anymore. I might won't have the time for handball once I got a full-time job. However, what I know for sure is that every time I go somewhere near a court, my pulse will accelerate and passion will get the best of me. Because all that matters is that special fire inside and that you just keep it burning...