On Competing - The Hope / Expectation Spectrum - Adam Van Koeverden (Wed 19 Feb 2014)

Pacific Dragons Premier Opens Crew - CNY / Darling Harbour (Sat 08 Feb 2014)
Adam Van Koeverden (*) writes On Competing (*):

As an athlete, I’ve sometimes struggled with where on that hope (*)-expectation (*) spectrum I should gauge my confidence (*).

Of course, I believe in myself (*), and I know I can win. Without getting too philosophical, I’ve wondered how close I can get to I should win, without crossing that threshold.

I have never believed in destiny (*). I don’t believe that anyone is “supposed” to win. That’s why we compete. That’s the beauty of sport, there is no supposition.

Athletes need to be comfortable with the reality that it is their actions that will determine the outcome.

Hope isn’t enough for me either. It implies that I should simply have faith in some predestined result.

via Hope, Pressure and Expectation: Finding a Winning Combination (*) by Adam Van Koverden (*).

Just brilliant writing. Have thought about hope (*), expectation (*) and destiny (*) a lot here. Adam has captured this better than one I have read before. One last extract from Adam's pivotal post (*) to follow ..

Welcoming Jai, Pacific Dragons Youngest Member - CNY / Darling Harbour (Sat 08 Feb 2014)

Jai and Lisa (*), and the Pacific Dragons Women's DB Crew - CNY / Darling Harbour (Sat 08 Feb 2014)
A really special moment for our Club. Jai, Lisa (*) and Lisa's Mum came along to CNY to provide their support for the team. Lisa has been a member of the Club since 2007 and she has given so much of herself to the Club. Now she has provided us with a new team member and we welcome him with open arms. He is just beautiful Lisa and we are all so happy for you. We look forward to seeing you both grow and I know you know that we are all there for you as this photo shows so clearly. It shows us what is so great about our club and what it gives us in paddling, and more importantly Life.

On Leadership - David Foster Wallace / BrianPickings (Mon 17 Feb 2014)

Pacific Dragons Premier Women's Crew - CNY Pre-Final Huddle / Darling Harbour (Sat 08 Feb 2014)
David Foster Wallace (*) writes On Leadership (*) and Inspiration (*):

A real leader (*) is somebody who, because of his own particular power and charisma and example, is able to inspire (*) people, with “inspire” being used here in a serious and non-cliché way. A real leader can somehow get us to do certain things that deep down we think are good and want to be able to do but usually can’t get ourselves to do on our own. It’s a mysterious quality, hard to define, but we always know it when we see it, even as kids.

via by David Foster Wallace on Leadership, Illustrated and Read by Debbie Millman (*) by Maria Popova (*).