Determination and Perseverance

Determination and perseverance are two characteristics necessary of any professional athlete or team. To make it to the top and be the best at what you do, it takes both of these qualities working together to get you there. Determination is about how much you want something and the lengths you are willing to go to in order to make it happen. Perseverance on the other hand, is your ability to continue to strive for your best despite difficulty and delay in achieving success.

During my career I have seen these attributes fail to work together on the football pitch time and time again. Regardless of how determined a player is to succeed or how determined a team is to win, without perseverance it is never going to happen. It is easy for a team who is winning within the first half of the game to think that they have it in the bag. Their play begins to get lazy, their egos grow and they become over-confident. However determined that team is to win, if they do not persevere, if they do not work hard, that lead can very easily be taken away. A game is never over “until the fat lady sings”, (final whistle). Each and every member of that team must work together to ensure that a win remains a win throughout the whole 90 minutes of play.

Success is earned. In order to succeed you must not only be determined to succeed, but also work hard to earn that success and maintain success.