By: Adriana Skaljin
Being in athletics, especially at a university level, can add pressure to the lives of athletes. Whether it comes from personal expectations, or those of coaches and fans, pressure can affect both their physical and mental states.
Matt Quiring, who has been a forward for the McMaster men’s basketball team for four years, began playing due to his family’s love for the sport.
“I started playing when I was in the third grade, but started playing competitively in Grade five,” said Quiring. “I’m glad that my parents forced me to play, considering that I was shy. It got me to where I am today.”
Through basketball, Quiring met many important coaches and players who provided him with opportunities he would not have experienced otherwise.
“Basketball also taught me hard work ethic, [which] I wouldn’t have learned anywhere else,” explained Quiring. “This skill can be translated later on in life.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsgmAYBBlS6/
Sefa Otchere, first-year starting guard, also acknowledged the ways in which basketball has positively impacted his life.
“[The sport] is still impacting my life,” Otchere said. “Playing sports made me get out of my house, and [ultimately] showed me different places [while] making new friends.”
Both players also commented on the pressures that playing at a university level places on them.
“There is a lot of pressure that comes with the sport, both academically and athletically,” said Quiring. “It can get to you a lot of times. The mental and physical struggles can become taxing.”
Quiring and Otchere have implemented motivational strategies to work through their doubts and create a positive mindset when going into their games.
“[The pressure] is something I’ve struggled with,” said Quiring. “Recently, I have increased my confidence and have used pregame techniques given to me by a sports psychologist. There is a whole mental side to preparing.”
Otchere has a similar approach to handling pressure, starting with not putting expectations on himself.
“Basketball should be used to relieve stress and pressure, rather than provide that. I try and remind myself that before games,” said Otchere. “I make sure to remember that I need to go out and have fun.”
A healthy mindset is also important when coming back from a loss or a tough game. Recently, the Marauders suffered back-to-back tough losses against Brock University and Western University on Jan. 30 and Feb. 2.
“It’s always hard coming back from a loss because you have to watch the film and look at your mistakes. Then you have to fix them before the next game,” said Otchere.
That’s what we’re talking about 😤💪 @sefa_otchere https://t.co/R7DfdZpImM
— McMaster Basketball (@mcmastermbb) January 19, 2019
“You need time to mourn the loss, in a sense,” added Quiring. “After that, you need to put it behind you and realize where you messed up, and then learn and move on.”
Otchere also had to prepare for his comeback after his injury earlier in the season.
“I felt like I had to get my [groove], and confidence back,” said Ochere. “I also had to do extra practices to physically get back into the game as well.
Going into the end of the regular season, the players have applied these techniques as a means for achieving their goals.
“Besides winning, we want to make it to the final four and get to nationals,” said Quiring. “[Coach] Patrick Tatham preaches consistency [and] sets up team and individual workouts to develop skills needed to achieve our goals.”
“We need to make it known that we are one of the best teams,” said Ochere. “[All of] my focus is towards playing right and making playoffs.”
It is evident that both mental and physical health are important towards the well-being of athletes. The McMaster men’s basketball team’s perseverance and passion for the game will definitely be reflected in the upcoming games and in their journey towards nationals.
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I find myself constantly worrying about the future. Where am I going? What will happen after I graduate? Will I ever be able to figure it all out?
What are my passions? How am I going to make money? Will I be a sellout? Will I be okay with that? Who am I going to be in five years? How many regrets will I have?
Will I make the right decisions? What are the right decisions? What are even my options? Will I ever shake this feeling that I need something more? Will I ever truly be content with my life? Will I ever live up to my potential? What even is my potential? Will I ever forgive myself for my past mistakes? How much will those mistakes affect my future?
What’s my GPA? Why does my life revolve around my GPA? What if I had spent more time on that one stupid essay? Would I have more opportunities now? Have I already fucked everything up?
Will I be mediocre? Is there anything wrong with being mediocre? Does mediocre even mean anything? Should I be going out more? Should I be going out less? Am I a disappointment? To myself? To my family?
Should I worry about wrinkles and wear more sunscreen? Why does everyone seem to have all their shit figured out? What’s wrong with me? Am I just slower than everyone else? Do I just take longer to realize what’s important?
Does it even matter? Does any of it even matter? Aren’t we all just tiny, insignificant specks in a gigantic and relentlessly futile universe where none of our lives will ever truly amount to anything and in only a matter of decades I will be erased from the earth, totally forgotten? So why do I take myself so seriously?
I feel like there’s something chasing me all the time. I feel like it’s always been chasing me, but it’s been too far behind for me to worry except for some random, unperiodic panic attacks. But recently, I’ve slowed my pace, or maybe this thing that’s chasing me has started moving faster. Either way, I know that it’s gaining on me and that very soon it’s going to consume me whole. When I’m reading or writing or drinking or in the middle of a yoga pose, my heart beats unusually fast and I succumb to a kind of anxiety that erupts from the very pits of my gut and spreads to my shoulders and knees and fingertips and even slow, deep breaths don’t do any good. I ask myself, is this an emotional breakdown? And then I only want to scream, “ENOUGH WITH THE QUESTIONS!!!”
Everyone tells us that we’re overreacting, that we have time to figure it out, that we should enjoy these years. And everyone mocks the twenty-somethings and finds us vain, arrogant, self-indulgent, dramatic, immature, ignorant, ungrateful and exploitative of technology.
But school, is hard. Figuring out your life, is hard. In my brain, I understand that I have time to make mistakes and learn from them. But in my stomach, in my heart, in that place where fears, insecurities, mental health issues, paranoia, and anxiety (damn that anxiety) are all produced – I feel like time is running out, and that my life is a ticking bomb, and that if I don’t find the perfect solution to all these so-called imaginary problems immediately, I will be a failure.
And then I sometimes wonder if ambition is overrated. I spent long stretches of time this past summer being gloriously lazy and carefree. I went for long runs and long picnics. I learned how to paint and then I spent many nights awake painting and slept in like it was Saturday and the day after my last exam. I only read when I felt like it. I wasted a lot of money on brunch. I spent hours in the kitchen cooking Indian dinners. But everyone around me was moving, doing, studying, accomplishing. I felt guilty.
Did all their movements and accomplishments mean that their summers were inherently more meaningful? And mine was silly and frivolous?
What if there was a freak accident and the world was wiped and tomorrow we were all lying in our deathbeds? Would I regret my indolence?
When I am in my most meditative state, when I feel old and wise and can see clearly – I decide no.
I decide that in the minutes leading up to my death, I would probably wish for just one more morning where I could wake up after 10 and make a giant cup of coffee and sip it until lunch while rereading Harry Potter.
@baharoh
Ronald Leung / Silhouette Staff
Getting together a successful study group is like preparing for the apocalypse. Ensure you have all the necessary teammates to make it through.
The Brain
Human encyclopedia, smarty pants, and know-it-all: this member of your storm survival crew has many names but they are universally characterised by their intelligence, studious manner, and attention to detail (sometimes to the ire of the group). You can count on them to fact-check constantly and answer any wandering questions your crew may have. They’ll probably have a penchant for excessively correcting your grammar.
The Pilot
While they may not necessarily be the most respected, all members of the crew listen to the pilot. They are storm veterans and have the sole focus of getting the entire crew to safety. Keeping the group on track and directing them from YouTube videos, side-conversations, or texting are all just part of the job description.
The Paranoid One
Don’t laugh at their mad rants and apocalyptic warnings now – they brings a healthy amount of snacks perfect for tired minds after grappling with the storm. Chips, chocolate, and power bars are staple foods of their repertoire. They have been preparing for years and finally their worst fears have come true. They’ll keep the crew fed and healthy as they continue to fight the storm. Just don’t make fun of their paranoid gibbering: things could get ugly, fast.
The Sleeper
Somehow dozing through a storm, the sleeper seems to not realize just how dire the situation is. Completely out of it, they will sleep through all necessary storm preparations and wake up minutes before the storm hits. They can be spotted walking out of the wreckage later, somehow unharmed and apparently unaware of the destruction around them, no matter how devastating it is.
The Worrier
Hyperventilation, excessive hand gestures, or even outright unconsciousness are not uncommon for The Worrier. The complete opposite of The Sleeper, they will panic at every conceivable moment and freak out at every little detail. While often annoying, their frantic outbursts can yield important details. They can be seen to be white-lipped and shaking, huddling in the corner and rocking back and forth, even after the storm has passed.
The Prodigy
Appearing supremely unconcerned, they will simply show up to storm preparations for the sake of it. Constantly appearing to do anything but preparing themselves, The Prodigy will stare down the storm with the coolness of a cucumber, too nonchalant to even blink. Hours later, when the storm’s victims stagger out, weakened and dazed, The Prodigy will calmly stroll by, hair stylishly tousled as opposed to everyone else’s hurricane-do.
