Real Salt Lake U-16 forward Alex Knox joined the Grande Sports Academy as an 8th grader. On his two year anniversary of joining the GSA, Knox reflects on his journey and its many ups and downs.
More or less scribbles on a page. Or more or less an appreciation. More or less a reflection. More or less my verse of contribution. More or less an attempt to share my experiences for those to come, because they do say, “The best way to get information about something is to ask someone who has done it.”
It’s a continuum; whether you’re with it or you’re not, the time in the desert never stops for anybody. Everything is possible; that’s the crazy part. You have problems within the lines, or outside of the lines; they will stay obstacles unless you do something about it & your faith, don’t forget is a big house with many rooms for doubt; don’t let your character quit. Always value options and availability of time to express your passions through open opportunities. But wait, before this you must work. Sure, you’re thinking “my next training sessions”, or “next ‘few’ training sessions”. But, that won’t help you; consistency over weeks, months, and years is vital. Don’t allow yourself to get down! It’s a journey – no wait, it’s a pursuit of happiness. It’s a continuum! Be open, but not to open. Be confident, but not to confident, for too much or too little of anything can be a bad thing. Be a student of life.
ENJOY YOUR MOMENTS, for they may never happen again the same. Don’t get complacent! Live in every moment like it will never come again. I took one moment and did not do anything with it! As a result, it then took me 7,536 hours, 314 days, and 35 games in which I played less than 25 minutes, just to learn what I needed to learn. After that, I started and played three full games, and from then on I never allow myself to become complacent.
Give yourself a chance. Allow yourself to put everything in perspective. Allow contacts to be made, relationships to grow, and yourself to be found. Be you, not somebody else. Be self-expressed, full of life! Make goals, shoot for the stars, and don’t let anybody ever tell you those stars are unreasonable. Remember it’s all a journey!
Give yourself time to relax sometimes; you cannot run that car all day, every day. Remember everything up to this present moment of now, helps to shape what you now think seconds later. Keep your sub-conscious health. What? Sub-conscious? Yes, this is where the root and bases of your goals are created. Be positive in your thinking to allow your sub-conscious to help you instead of hurt you.
If you have yet to understand what I’m explaining, this will help you: Your beliefs become your thoughts; your thoughts become your words; yours words become your actions; your actions become your habits; your habits become your values; and your values become your destiny. As I make my run around the golf course on Monday the 20th of January 2014, I play back all the memories and experiences fused within my memory. I round the last hole, and then conquer the hotel stairs all the way to the roof. As sweat drips off my face, I can’t help to remember these were the stairs in which I would aggressively tackle in frustration, based upon bad experiences and reoccurring obstacles that at the time seem to almost make me quit.
Now being a different time, I understand what it feels like when things aren’t going your way, and it hurts… BAD. That being said, those negative times of what I “thought” to be the worst times of my life, actually turned out to be the best thing that ever happen to me; it forced me to find a solution, and it was not easy.
I stand tall, and strong upon the roof, in celebration of my 2 years here in the desert. I can now stand in one place and know what it feels like to have both success and failures hit me right in the face. I can now value the great lessons learned. I have gratitude and solely appreciation for everything and everybody, who have helped to be a little piece in my massive puzzle of a journey throughout life.
Thank you,
Alex Knox