Driven Athlete

Hi Roy

I am very frustrated looking for the right teammate; I can’t find anyone like myself. I am a competitive and driven athlete and I need to be with people who share my ambitions. Time and time again I have tried out for teams but always find myself disappointed with their attitude. Last year I spent over 10,000 euros on team training and I simply didn’t get out of it what I wanted or needed. I flew last week in the tunnel with a potential player-coach team but they paired me with a tall skinny guy (I am 180 cm and weigh 90 lbs) who didn’t know all the dive pool. I wasn’t too impressed with his lack of preparation, apparent unfitness and him talking about ‘fun’. I could feel in the tunnel that he was impeding my block moves, it was very frustrating, they were getting worse every time, even though I was trying ever harder. I bit my lip for a while but at the end I had to say something. I could never do a team with someone like him. How do I find people like me? I have 400 jumps, mostly 4-way.

Thank you
Matthew

Hello Matthew,

Give and Take

I understand your frustration, but believe me, you will never find the ‘perfect’ team. What you can find, are people with the same goals like you, and that are willing to work equally as hard for it. We have to learn to accept that we find nobody like ourselves and this can even be a good thing. We have to give and take, make compromises, otherwise we never find ‘our’ team.

Get Out and About

What I suggest is that you travel around and meet new jumpers. Let people know about your ambitions and plans, but always stay humble. Go visit competitions; it is the ideal place to find your new teammates! Use the Internet to introduce yourself and search for open slots in teams.

Relax!

When you find a team, don’t aim too high in the beginning. Start with a relaxed attitude, and when things are going better and better you can raise your standards. Too many times I see new teams having major plans, buy new team equipment, buy 100 tickets and after two months they don’t want to stay together any more. Many problems can be avoided, by making clear agreements about what everyone wants, and what you don’t want.

Don’t Worry

We all need some luck to get the right people together at the right moment. You are fairly new in our sport and for sure you will get your chances. Just keep searching and training, and if you don’t find them, they will find you!