There was an HBO special on the other day that followed dancers on their quest to make it on Broadway. The special showed hundreds on dancers getting their dreams shot down on camera for the whole world to see. Some were angry, some were sad, and then there were a few that handled the disappointment surprisingly well. They were the ones that said things like “I ll be back again” and “I ll do better next time“. You could tell that some of the dancers were so crushed by the audition that they would either take time off or stop trying to “make it” altogether.
The auditions were like a big meat market. The directors would herd in twenty or so dancers at a time show them the routine, watch them perform it, say thanks, and move on to the next twenty. Out of each group one or two would make it onto the next round, there they did the routine over and over again against the best of the best. Imagine sitting in a room with people that have performed just as long as you or longer, waiting to get your number called so you can move on. Thinking to yourself, have I done everything possible up to this point to prepare myself for this? Am I ready? Can I compete? Should I just walk out and give it up?
Life is a series of auditions. Sometimes the competition is tough, and sometimes you are the best person for whatever you’re competing for. Think about it, how many job interviews have you been on where the boss or owner of the company says, “Hey you know what, we were putting all our eggs in one basket and you’re the only one we’ve decided to interview for the job, congrats!” Most likely you will be one of hundreds of applicants vying for the same position. These days the competition is to the point where college graduates with their masters degrees cant get an entry level job . The question is can you compete? Do you have what it takes? Will you fold under pressure?
My senior year in college I went to my first pro-camp. A pro basketball camp consists of hundreds of players trying to play professionally either in the NBA, overseas, or some of the semi pro leagues in the U.S. I went to college in North Dakota and the tryout was in Atlanta Georgia. I will never forget the last month leading up to tryouts. I would be on the track running with a weighted vest, I was in the gym shooting jump shots until I couldn’t lift my arms, and I was in the weight room everyday trying to prepare myself. The plane ride over consisted of me thinking about all the things I needed to do and wondering what the tryout would be like. My aunt picked my up from the airport and I stayed with her family that first night, to this day I couldn’t tell you what we talked about, what I ate, or anything else that went on that night. My only thoughts were about the next day and what I had to do.
The tryout started at nine o clock and I was there at eight. It was me and about one hundred guys from all over the place in this hot gym. The directors I noticed from the start were unorganized and I think overwhelmed with the amount of guys that showed up. I didn’t notice any scouts right away and I could tell from the other guys looking around they were thinking the same thing. For you that don’t know basketball a tryout usually consist of going through drills, game situations, and scrimmaging. Our first half hour consisted of us just running. Basketballs down, everyone on the line, and all we did was sprints. The first five minutes I’d say all of the guys were fine and probably assumed that this might be a warm up to something else. After the next five minutes you started to hear guys complaining, the next five you had guys sitting out and questioning out loud what in the world was going on, by the time we finished running half the guys either quit or were running at such a slow pace the old people that power walk around the mall could of beat them.
I was dying physically but mentally I just kept telling myself that this is my dream and I have to get through it. After the sprints the directors thought it would be a great idea to scrimmage. My fault I wasn’t clear on that last sentence, we scrimmaged for the next hour, full court 5 on 5. So my first pro tryout goes as follows thirty minutes of sprints, (check) one hour of scrimmaging, (check) one hundred half dead basketball players, (check). There wasn’t a person in the gym that wasn’t making excuses for the ragged play during the games. No one had legs to do much of anything. Personally I just thought that I wasn’t playing well. It didn’t matter that we ran for a half hour straight, I should of been better prepared for the tryout. After the tryout the directors (who we later found out had no connections whatsoever) handed out an evaluation of our performances. The last sentence would say if they thought you should pursue professional basketball or not. Looking back at it now I can’t believe that someone with no real qualifications would write an evaluation telling players what their future should be. When I read my evaluation the bottom said the following, “You did not stand out at tryouts so we feel it would be in your best interest not to pursue playing professionally”.
I read this paper and just like ninety other players at the tryout I was upset. Everyone else was trashing the tryout saying how these guys had no idea what they were talking about etc I walked to the sideline, picked my gym bag up, and walked out to meet my aunt and nephew. I made sure to shake the director’s hand before I left. (I was one of maybe 2 people that did that) When I got back to college I took a pair of scissors and cut out the last sentence. I’ve kept that piece of paper in my wallet ever since. Years later when I did get a contract to play professionally overseas I took that same piece of paper out my wallet and stared at it for about five minutes. Part of me wanted to email the director of the camp and say “thanks for the motivation.” I decided against it though, and put the paper back in my wallet as a reminder.
There are always going to be people that think you’re not good enough. Coaches, teachers, parents, girlfriends, boyfriends, bosses, family members, and the list goes on and on. It’s how you handle that negativity that’s important. Will you give up because they don’t believe in you? Will you stop pursuing your dreams? Or will you shake yourself off and go to the next audition? Only you can answer that, just remember life is about making the most out of the opportunities that you’re given, just don’t get stage fright.
