Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 at 5:15 pm  |  9 responses

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When They Say I Can’t, I Will

Alana Beard on her motivation after ankle surgery.

By Alana Beard/@Alanabeard20

When they say I can’t…I will.

This was something I said to myself after having a conversation with someone recently. The conversation was normal to start, but somewhere along the way they brought up the dreaded topic – “can Alana come back from her ankle injury?”

As a competitive athlete and of course, me being me, I had a normal reaction of what I refer to as “fire”. A fire started burning inside of me. A passionate feeling of determination, motivation, and the desire to persevere and prove the doubters completely wrong encompasses what I describe as my fire.

Considering I’ve never physically been in a fight in my entire life, ya’ll…I had that bull-faced look that I get on the court and I was ready to attack! I didn’t know who I was going to attack, but I was ready, chute.

Anyway, I came out of whatever zone I was in and realized proving this would have to wait about 8 more months. For some reason, I forget I have a Transformer-looking boot on my foot and my only means of getting around is via crutches in my house and riding my scooter when I’m out. Vroom-Vroom!

I remember watching the ESPN special on Reggie Miller and the Pacers vs. Knicks playoff series. At one point during the special, Reggie spoke about what made his “fire” burn in that particular series. He mentioned that Mark Jackson was his “eyes and ears” during that time. Mark would read the papers and report back to Reggie what was being said. Comments like “John Starks is better than Reggie Miller” were all it took. Reggie was like a “bull” ready to attack.

So, my point is, athletes are always looking for that extra motivation. Basketball is more mental than physical. Don’t get me wrong, of course it takes physical ability, but when you get to a certain level, it becomes mental. The one thing or comment you may think is insignificant, is that one thing that creates that “FIRE!”

When they say I CAN’T…I WILL!

Until next time…Whoop Whoop!

- Alana