A recent interview I did for a local newspaper got me thinking why I've continued training and competing in boccia, despite facing many challenges.
Sports may appear to be a very simple concept: it is an activity you partake in to reach a certain level of competence and may choose then to pit your skills against others. In boccia, a lot of assistance and support is required to realise this basic concept of sports.
I rely greatly on a sports assistant and the use of assistive devices during boccia matches. A large portion of my training is spent on building a good relationship with the assistant - knowing how to give effective instructions and understanding how my assistant executes my instructions. Familiarising myself with my ramp is also very important because a lot of time is saved during matches when I know exactly how I need to position the ramp and balls to achieve a particular shot. So if either the sports assistant or the assistive device has to be replaced, it's very difficult for me to adjust. Despite these difficulties, I believe if I want to do well, I must work with the people around me to achieve success.
Hence, the quote from Paolo Coelho's "The Alchemist": "And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." I'm not much of a reader, in fact, I don't really like to read. "The Alchemist" was one of those rare occasions I decided to finish a whole book and although I can barely recall what the book was about, this line from the book stuck. I think this quote has held true for me a couple of times.
You may recall my blog entry last year on the Boccia World Championships. My regular sports assistant who had trained with me for almost a year was unable to accompany me to the championships due to travel visa complications. Recalling the frustrating experience liaising with the various embassies to approve her visa application, I wondered how I kept sane through it all. The consequence was simple: no sports assistant meant that I cannot compete in the Championships. Perhaps the universe empathised with my situation (that I really wanted to compete in the Championships) - my ever-busy globe-trotting sister somehow managed to squeeze some time to assist me in the Championships. And as fate would have it, she'll be doing the same this year for the Boccia World Cup in August.
Another instance I can think of would be my fortune to have met my current 'technician' who's been continuously working on improving my assistive devices - the ramp and headpointer. Since I started training in boccia 2004, we've had great difficulty finding the right person to design and fabricate customised devices for me. Hence, we've relied on purchasing ramps of varying designs from other boccia teams overseas and perhaps didn't try hard enough to make our own ramps. However, I decided 2 years back that to improve my game play, I needed to use devices that met my specific needs. After asking around, I finally found someone who fit the bill. It's funny that I didn't manage to find him sooner when he happened to be a close acquaintance of my friend.
So, I'm really taken in by the idea that if you really want something, the people around you and circumstances will somehow converge to help you achieve it. Of course it doesn't mean that you just sit around all day chanting "I want ______" a million times hoping it will materialise. You need to put in effort too to help the universe conspire in helping you.
I also think that my experience with element14 is no coincidence. Meeting individuals who believe in high performance and are keen to share my sporting dreams - it must be part of some universal conspiracy. 