This world has a way of teaching us valuable lessons, if we can piece common threads together. The timing of these two stories
(second picture on our instagram page), is not lost on me. NBA draft pick vs OHL hockey player – what’s the big connection? Sadly in this case – there is a big one.
The first story is about Tyrell Terry. He was the Mavs first pick in the second round (31 overall) in 2020 from Stanford. He was Stanford’s only ever “one and done” player.
We gotta thank Yahoo…as every other outlet listed this as anxiety, specifically – and they titled it mental health. What most articles cited was Terry’s long Instagram post, where he talks about what he FELT, not just a label:
“While I’ve achieved amazing accomplishments, created unforgettable memories…I’ve also experienced the darkest times of my life. To the point where instead of building me up, it began to destroy me. Where I began to despise and question the value of myself, much more than those surrounding me could ever see or know”.
“Intrusive thoughts, waking up nauseous, and finding myself struggling to take normal breaths because of the rock that would sit on my chest that seemed to weigh more than I could carry. This is just a brief description of the anxiety this sport has caused me. I can’t continue this fight any longer for something I’ve fallen out of love with”.
“To most, .I’ll be forever known as a bust, a failure, or a waste of talent. IT’s the biggest failures in life that lead to the greatest success. There’s more for me out in this vast world. And for the first time,. to be able to find my identity outside of being a basketball player”.
Reminds me of our friend @rwalk56 who made it to the NFL, thinking it would make him “happy”…but it didn’t. He needed to be happy with and find himself.
The related story a day apart, we lost an 18 year old hockey player from OHL, Abakar Kazbekov (only a few years apart from Tyrell), ONE day after he had just played a game.
The connections not lost on me I love sports. Would’ve loved to play “at the next level”. However, we have to start applauding those like Tyrell who are learning to take “the pause” and even hit the stop button. Life is more valuable than sport alone.