More than entertainment.

Sport. What an interesting thing, it is. One way or another, we all have some sort of relationship with sport. To some, it’s simply entertainment, something to tune into on Sunday afternoon. To others, it is so much more. An escape, an adventure, an intention, a passion, an obsession. For us, sport is difficult to define. Perhaps “sport” isn’t even the right word for it, maybe competition is closer. Whatever it is, this thing has infected every part of my life. 

I came across a man years ago whom, in the depths of conversation, I asked, “But, how do you know what your calling is? Know what you’re called to do?” See, I’m someone who believes in things like that, “a calling”. You know, something that you’re meant to do - designed to do, maybe. Surely, I expected some sort of long-winded answer that explained a journey through the depths of introspection, culminating upon a mountaintop of revelation. But, his reply was much more simple, “What keeps you up at night?” It’s an interesting standard, when you think about it. Some nights I’m kept awake by the anxiety of the unfinished project in the garage, and other nights by wide-awake dreams of competition. There’s something both so temperate and so permanent about the things that seep into our lucid minds. Time and time again, though, the cause of my insomnia is competition.

Your view of competition might be different than mine. Yours could be a fierce, fiery, angry, and harsh skirmish between many, where most lose and few win. Mine feels that way sometimes, but no one ever wins or loses, and it’s usually just me out on the battlefield. The competition is always within me, battling the previous versions of myself, growing into what I could be. Again: visions of both today and forever. All the training, all the effort, the culmination of action into moments of testing and proving. That’s the thing with competition: someone wins, and someone loses. There’s a finality that marks its stamp of proof on your performance. Win or lose, though, I find my mind ringing, “what if?”, like a heartbeat, dreaming of what could be. The beauty of competition is found here, I believe - in the wondering of what’s possible. 

For many athletes, myself included, their “what’s possible” is their calling, and all they want is the chance to find it. Even if they never do find it, the pursuit is where the passion lies - in the effort. Herein lies the mission of Pro Project, affording to try. Offering the chance to afford to try to become the best version of yourself.