How to Bounce Back From Disappointment

Kickology.com recently did a post where it asked kicking, punting and snapping experts for their advice on how to "Forget and Move On" after a missed kick or bad snap.  There were a lot of great tidbits of advice.  I also was able to share a "Painful" memory from a high school experience.  I'd like to share it with you:  One, to let you know that this experience can happen to many people, and Two, because even us Kicking Instructors are Human, and most of us have experienced the highs and lows of many game experiences.  We have valuable experience to teach you to prepare you to hopefully not go through what we did, or to at least be able to bounce back quicker.  Here is my "Excerpt" from the Kickology Article with a little more detail.

Question: How do you bounce back and forget after disappointment?

"I feel that it takes some time to learn how to block out or move on from a bad play. Sometimes it may take a few game experiences to learn what it takes to move on quickly. My first biggest learning experience came my senior year of high school. In our semi-finals playoff game, I missed a field goal by a foot to the left going into half time. It was a tough break, but what hurt most was that we ended up losing the game by two points. For a while I felt terrible and felt responsible for ending our season. But some great teammates, coaches and family of mine made me realize that there were so many other factors that happened in the football game that directly effected the out come of the game, that the fault of the loss wasn't mine. A few less holding penalties and dropped balls would have given us a few more opportunities to score to change the outcome of the game.

By the time I was in college, it was easier to move on past a bad kick or punt. I had played in more games and experienced more game scenarios. In our position it can be tough because we only get a few opportunities and all the eyes are on you. But just remember that there are 40+ plays in every game that can also effect the outcome of the game and it's not all one person's fault, it's a team effort."

Read more expert advice from the "Remembering To Forget" columns.

Part 1

Part 2 

Expanded:

Looking back at my football career, this is probably the most painful memory, but it was a "Great Experience" in the fact that it helped me grow mentally when it came to college football or even pursued the NFL, in terms of handling disappointment.  At the time, when the phrase "Football is Life, and The Rest is Just Details" was popular, made famous by clothing line in the late 90s, it seemed like it was the end of the world for me.  But in the end when you look at the big picture, Football is JUST a game, but a great experience at the same time.  A lot of great character building traits come from playing team sports.  It's a privilege to play the game, and even to play the game at a high level.  In the paraphrased words of Coach Brad Anderson of Wayzata "It's ok for it to hurt or strike some emotion.  It means that it meant something to you."  I think it's a perfect thing to remember.  Athletes give it their heart and soul to do their best and leave it all on the field.  For every winner, there is a loser.  Someone learns a great life lesson, and someone learns the hard way.  But it's all a great lesson for life or sports to learn how to handle the highs and lows of life, or how to the same or similar situation again in the future.  I wish you all good luck in all your future activities and upcoming seasons.  Feel free to share some of your experiences below.

Thank you for your time in reading this article.

Chris Husby
Professional Kicking Coach and Owner
Special Teams Football Academy
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