When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Step up to the plate.

Don’t ever let a glass ceiling keep you down.

Break on through. 

Dig deep. 

Keep it up.

What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.

Anyone who has ever been on a sports team has heard one of these sayings, or something similar at least once.

Heck, I’ve been known to shout them at kids myself as I watched a game or a practice.

What do they mean? What’s the point? Why do people continue to share them as motivators?

I don’t know. Maybe it’s easier to keep regurgitating something that everyone recognizes.

Maybe people think that their fellow man has forgotten them and so re-create the memories.

Maybe it’s all a coach or motivator has to offer. If that is the case, it might be time to find a new coach.

Back when I was a kid – around a 100 years ago – I can remember hearing the “going gets tough” saying and thinking that I simply wasn’t tough, because I wasn’t going to get going.

It was easier to just give up, and I didn’t really know what the saying meant. 

Now that I’m an adult ... well, I still don’t have any idea what it means.

I really think we might think about rewording it to say, “When the going gets tough, there are going to be people who still keep going and if you’re not willing to move along with the others you might get knocked down, stepped on and have sand kicked in your face. So either keep moving, or shut up and eat sand.”

Maybe I do understand it after all.

I’ve been observing the young athletes of this community through my lens for the past five years or so, and I’ve seen all types. 

I’ve seen the kids who excel when they hear the tired old cliches. I’ve seen the kids who respond to being yelled at by a coach. And, I’ve seen the kids who respond to intellectual stimulus and being allowed to get themselves going.

I’m not sure what works best. Based on my observations, it seems that it depends on the athlete.

What it takes is a coach who can see that one style isn’t getting through to an athlete and change the method. The outcome should always end up the same, but the delivery method should change.

I think that a good coach will have the ability to change his delivery method or have surrounded himself with assistant coaches who are skilled in the various motivators.

A great coach will do both. They’ll not only have a virtual cornucopia of delivery methods at their disposal, but they’ll surround themselves with assistants who can deliver in a variety of styles.

Me, I don’t do so well with people yelling at me. I’m an intellectual type who wants to know the “why” and “how” of something, so I can figure out my own strategy that fits in the overall design.

My personal favorite – If you shoot for the stars and only hit the tops of the mountains at least you’re still at the top of the mountain.