Seasons

We appear to be having a bit of a real Florida winter for a bit. There usually are a couple days in a row of chilly weather but then it is abruptly back into the 70’s and life in Florida is back to normal. This time, winter has decided to stick around for a whole week. People are miserable, water is freezing in places that it normally doesn’t, and for God sakes there was even snow in northern Florida. Seasons are something we skip most of the time in our sunshine state and as warm weather lovers we are excited about the seasonal skip. Why? We love seasons. The new season of our favorite show, the football season, racing season, school, and on and on. Seasons are important. They give us something to look forward to each year.

Tonight, is the start of the supercross season. The opener occurs in Anaheim and is a who’s who of stars and includes the world’s best riders. It is also the Roar before the 24 in Daytona. That means that the 24 Hours of Daytona is right around the corner and the IMSA racing series is just about to get under way. Golf starts their new season in the fall, but the true new season kicks off with the tournament of champions in Hawaii. Football is in the playoffs and there is one more game in the college season. Seasons give us hope. All the people involved are full of hope. They all think they are the best and have a great shot of winning. The work has been done, the prep completed, and the talking is over. Everyone thought they had a shot but now we find out who the real deal is.

For twelve years of my life I lived by seasons. As a tennis coach we had our fall season and our spring season. Fall was a chance for the players to work on aspects of their game, play tournaments for themselves, and to prove the work they did in the off season was for real. The spring season was the one that paid the bills. We started with pre-season training in January and the first match began in February. From there it was non-stop until the end of April or the middle of May. That depended on how strong the season went.

Seasons are important for athletes, businesses, and us during our normal life. Athletes use periodization to reach the peak performance at the right time. They have pre-season, in-season, post-season, and even a rest season. Businesses go through the same process. They have marketing, sales, follow up, and then the analysis of the process. Farmers go through it with each planting. We have our seasons. Each of us has our own goals, dreams, and then we make our plans to get to the end of the goal. Once it is achieved or failure occurs we adjust and prepare to tackle it again or adjust our plan to a different goal. A season can last years, months, or even just a few weeks.

This is the first year in a long time that I get to determine my seasons. I don’t have to worry about the weather, the condition of the athletes, or the level of the competition we would be playing against. It is a change that I have embraced but will definitely miss. These days my seasons look a little different but in the end, I still want to win.

Next week the weather here in Florida moderates and our winter season takes a break. I hope you enjoy your seasons and embrace the importance of each of them on your journey. The funny thing is, seasons come and then they go. You have the opportunity to make it better the next time or accept what the seasons give you. Good luck during your season and make the best of each moment.

Photo by David Preston on Unsplash
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
Photo by Brady Cook on Unsplash