Professional teams are not made for ASD
I recently got selected to be part of the US team in a particular sport, to participate in a set of international competitions between August of this year and October of 2020. I don't want to say which, to protect my privacy. I've been playing this sport for some 19 years. Back in 2014 I got into the selection pool for the US team but then didn't make the cut. This is my first time actually making it. I feel like I have to grab this chance and run with it, since it may be the only one I get. I'm getting older, and my knees aren't what they used to be, but I like to think my experience makes up for it.
Anyway, it's only been three weeks of real US team training so far. As far as I can tell, the most striking differences from my normal routine seem to be 1. that I am constantly being yelled at, when I do things right, when I am messing up, when I am getting water. Doesn't matter. Everything is yelling. 2. I am left with very little free time to myself during which I can rest physically or decompress mentally in the way I am used to between spending time with people.
Both of these things seem a bit unsustainable for me, if I'm being honest. I'm worried I can't make it a whole year like this.
I feel like I am holding my breath right now. It's fine for a minute, but I don't think I can hold it forever. I also can't focus on actually improving my technique because I'm only looking forward to find each next chance to breathe. I feel like I would be out of line to bring this up with the coaches. They will think I'm just being lazy or something. I just keep thinking that even though I am physically capable (I seem to do that part just fine), the mental part is crippling. I am so tired at my day job that I am not making great progress, because I am spending all of my evenings and weekends training for August.
I am getting no joy out of spending my days like this.
Anyway, I shouldn't complain. I realize there are so many people who would love to be in my place right now. I just have to wonder if maybe one of them shouldn't be.
Congratulations on the major accomplishment, Fern! You must be really excited despite the exhaustion which accompanies this new routine. I hope you're able to talk to your coaches and settle on a compromise that will keep you at peak performance both mentally and physically. Please let us know how this story unfolds. I'm really proud of you!
((Hugs and best wishes))
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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
Archmage Arcane
Velociraptor
Joined: 13 Jun 2019
Age: 64
Gender: Male
Posts: 448
Location: Connecticut, USA
nick007
Veteran
Joined: 4 May 2010
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,125
Location: was Louisiana but now Vermont in the police state called USA
I worked retail for over two years while the store was open & I worked alot of overtime when I was allowed to. Working was sorta an attempt at escaping depression & bad life circumstances. I quit cuz management set me up to get in trouble(long story). Working there was difficult in the begging but I started doing extra after I was there a while & got kinda used to the environment & routine. Perhaps things will get easier for you Fern if you were to stick it out a bit longer.
If the only requirements for professional teams was that we get yelled at constantly, be around others, & we have to be physically active for a long period of time, I could probably handle that & I think more than a tiny amount of us probably could but I imagine there's aLOT more to team sports than this. If you can handle the other aspects OK, your doing pretty good cuz I highly doubt I could & I don't think many of us on the spectrum could handle that other stuff to well either. Lots of us including me are not good at sports in general so it sounds like your doing really well for someone on the spectrum & you should be proud of yourself for making it this for. I wish you the best of luck at this.
_________________
"I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem!"
"Hear all, trust nothing"
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ru ... cquisition
Professional teams are not subject to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Reasonable accommodation
American Disability Act
You are outnumbered and overpowered
Short of winning a civil lawsuit, there is nothing you can do about it
Lawsuits take two years
Lawyers cost $600 hour
The outcome is not guaranteed
If you have a lot of time money and energy, to sue, that's one thing
Otherwise, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen
Some of you guys are so nice (thank you) LOL! And some of you are so mean that it just made me laugh out loud reading these this morning. I will not be quitting. That is simply not an option. I've never even so much as missed a practice. That is just how I roll.
Anyway, as you might have guessed, I'm feeling a lot better about all of this today. I've been getting used to the new normal routine of things, and it's been slowly dawning on me that my teammates are just as nervous and tired and bruised up as I am. Perhaps because the USA has never done great in this sport on an international stage we all feel the pressure. We'll see if we can change that this year. I'll do my best anyway. The tickets for the first big cup are purchased. It'll be my first time in this foreign country we'll be visiting, luckily I speak at least a little bit of the language.
Well, I went to the games with the US team. We had a lot of really good success on our team. I didn't get a medal, but I made it a few rounds of single eliminations before getting knocked out of the running before the finals. I am overall satisfied with my showing. I even made some friends from other countries. We traded jackets!
nick007
Veteran
Joined: 4 May 2010
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,125
Location: was Louisiana but now Vermont in the police state called USA
_________________
"I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem!"
"Hear all, trust nothing"
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ru ... cquisition
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