A true athlete is someone who doesn't just stop training when they stop competing. It's a way of life, and they keep in shape just to keep up that standard.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
There are a lot of great athletes who stop working out, and they get out of shape like everybody else in their 30s and 40s.
Athletes are sort of part of the community at large. They have to be dedicated to what they do, and go through lots of peaks and valleys. And there's a lot of training that goes into their careers. It's a struggle. Very dramatic.
An athlete who tells you the training is always easy and always fun simply hasn't been there. Goals can be elusive which makes the difficult journey all the more rewarding.
Every athlete, I think, would like to play forever. They never want to acknowledge that they've lost a step or they can't quite do what they did before.
As an athlete, you figure you work your whole life to have what you have, and to be able to show the world what you have and how proud you are of it, that's always fun.
I would say that one of the really special gifts about playing an athlete is that it's the best motivation you'll ever have to get in top shape and stay in top shape because you know that you're going to be expected to deliver.
But I like to think an athlete is an athlete.
Being an athlete, you know how to train and prepare your body for a performance and you're able to do it under pressure.
I mean, as an athlete, as a competitor, you have to have that belief in yourself.
I think one has to understand that there are stages in life, and that the life of an athlete has its limits. It's short, and then it stops, and sooner or later you have to accept that.