I sat with my client and listened as we ate the dinner prepared by my wife. I had trained this athlete for more than a decade continously during his career, which involved national representation and World Cup appearances.
As his career wound down I had counselled him on the challenges he faced post-retirement from sport, and provided guidance on how to manage these challenges.
Not all the suggestions sunk in.
Now, another decade post retirement, the athlete was learning it again - really learning it now. What I had forecast had come to be, and the need for a disciplined, consistant and smart approach to maintaining quality of life was now painfully (and I mean painfully!) clear to the athlete. Pain can be such a great teacher!
Quality of life, I again stressed, is now more important than being big or strong or fast. And that qualitiy of life hinges more now on the quality and consistancy of stretching and control drills.
It was very rewarding to see the lesson possibily being learnt this time around!
