As human beings, it is always amazing to discover that when you think your tank is empty and you have nothing left to give, there is ALWAYS some little spark that can keep you going. Each of us is motivated in different situations by different things. When competing in sport, we can look to Michael Jordan for perfect examples of pushing the body beyond pain, illness, etc. to perform at amazing levels when it would appear impossible.
Today Owen discovered for the first time how to push beyond where he thought was possible for himself in a given situation. This will come in handy for him big time as he progresses in his martial arts, but today, he experienced this on the soccer field.
Owen took a huge shot to the mid-section when a defender on the other team tried to clear a ball from his zone right into his chest. He stopped and started to bend over and I yelled to him 'RUN THROUGH IT--YOU CAN DO IT--ATTACK!' as any crazed father would :)
The great thing was that he believed and responded. He chased down the ball, but lost possession of it and quickly reset his position. His team did re-gain control of the ball and he took a pass from one of his team-mates and outran the four defenders near him to drive the ball into scoring position. He shot and it was wide... however, he realized that he caught his breath and ran through his percieved pain.
I spoke to him after the game and told him that he should attack the game like that for every minute he is on the field. He said he felt like he wanted to hurt somebody... meaning he was angry, and I reminded him that one of his martial arts principles is 'control the power' and that is what he did -- he harnessed and controlled the power to run through his pain and be highly effective in his attack on the goal.
It will be interesting to watch Owen's progression through his athletic endeavors.
