OLYMPIC THOUGHTS - Part 2

By Scott Ford

The Olympic Creed states: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

What does it say about Olympians if they choose not to triumph or struggle, but choose instead to speak out for mental health? It depends on your perspective on the Olympics, right? Are we in the Olympics to win, or what? Go home complaining of too much stress?

That’s one perspective. There’s another, and it’s the perspective of the new Olympic Motto: FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER – TOGETHER? And, just to be clear, the old Olympic Motto was “faster, higher, stronger.” That’s it. No “Together.”

The new Olympic Motto added the word “TOGETHER,” and with that one word, the collective consciousness of the Olympics was added to its motto.

FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER – TOGETHER.

It’s not just me going faster than you, or you jumping higher than me, or my country being stronger than yours. It’s about us, as a human collective moving faster, higher, stronger – together, as a collective, toward a future that will need the power of collective consciousness to solve its collective problems.

Keywords: collective, consciousness, inclusion, expansion…all things Olympic. Plus integration. The Olympics Games are the most integrated and inclusive games in the world, always have been. Notable additions to the Tokyo Games this year were five new sports: baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sports climbing, and surfing, and, if you looked closely, a new style of coaching was seen on display, especially in skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing.

The new style of coaching? No coaching. Skaters don’t have coaches. They coach themselves. Go to your local skate park and what you won’t find are a bunch of coaches standing on the sidelines, coaching. What you will find is a bunch of skaters flying all over the place, coaching each other and cheering each other on – and getting better at their game – which is now in the Olympics.

These kids get it. Collective coaching works, even though it looks like “no coaching.” When you think about it, collective coaching is a sensible way to develop an athlete’s skills in a competitive environment. The EVO Sports Collective is one of these collective coaching organizations, and we are growing higher, faster, and stronger – TOGETHER.

These are a few of my thoughts on the Olympics. But the highlight for me was not watching athletes run faster, jump higher, or be stronger than ever before. Instead, it was watching skaters collectively coaching each other, cheering each other on, and genuinely loving each other as fellow Olympians.

What was your highlight and/or take-away from the 32nd Olympics?

We would love to hear from you.