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Stephen Curry, Simone Biles, Lionel Messi – these Hall of Famers make winning look so effortless.
Manila, Philippines – In sports, athletes don’t just break records or perform outstanding physical feats. They also overcome obstacles, work with their team, and defy the odds to achieve success.
Behind the stats and gold medals, the best athletes also cope with exhausting training schedules, lost matches, injuries, and personal adversity.
It’s not easy, but we wouldn’t be able to tell that from how smooth their gameplay is. What’s their secret?
He’s neither the highest jumper nor the biggest or strongest player in basketball. But Stephen Curry’s smooth shooting skills earned him NBA’s Most Valuable Player award twice in a row, including one unanimous win – a first in NBA history.
Being a precision shooter runs in Stephen’s family: he’s the first son of Dell Curry, one of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history. Stephen holds the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a regular season, a record he himself broke twice, too.
His playmaking ability is a performance mastered through strict training from an early age. On the court, he beats defenses and rattles his opponents through quick thinking and intimidating moves.
Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is one of the most popular figures in the world of combat sports. He’s the first athlete in history to hold two world championship belts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
In the octagon ring, he effortlessly delivered spot-on left handed strikes that quickly demolished top fighters such as Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez.
UFC President Dana White described Conor as a fighter never to be underestimated. His strongest asset isn’t his power to pound his opponents – it’s his tremendous belief in his abilities which smoothly transcends sports disciplines, be it mixed martial arts or professional boxing.
His recent loss against pound-per-pound boxer Floyd Mayweather did not sway his fans. In a lengthy instagram post, he graciously thanked his fans for supporting him in his professional boxing debut.
Lionel Messi
In soccer, extraordinary vision and combination play are as important as speed and agility.
This is why Lionel Messi shines in the game. He is a prolific goal scorer and creative playmaker who can move smoothly in the field and make fast, powerful strikes even from long ranges. He leads the Spanish team with pride and sets high standards for the league.
His 5 FIFA Ballon d’Or awards, the most prestigious award in soccer, cemented him as one of the biggest players in soccer history.
His goalscoring skills were also evident during the 2016-2017 La Liga where Messi received his third Pichichi Trophy by scoring 37 goals in total.
Simone Biles
Gymnastics is an activity that requires creativity and playful imagination. To succeed in this sport, one has to push the body by doing things no one has done before.
Simone Biles’ petite figure gives her an advantage in the competitive field of gymnastics. But the real recipe for her greatness is the combination of skill, hard work, and pure heart.
During last year’s Summer Olympics, she was in the global spotlight for smoothly winning 5 Olympic Gold medals – no small feat for someone who’s just 20 years old.
J.J. Watt
As a three-time National Football League (NFL) Defensive Player of the year, J.J. Watt possesses a rare ability to smoothly shift from defensive tackles to offensive snaps with ease. In 2012, he delivered 56 “defeats” (a defensive combination move of turnovers and tackles to ruin an opponent’s play) in a single season, making him one of the best players in NFL history.
The Houston Texan defensive end became the first player to record two 20.5 sacks (when an offensive player such as the quarterback acts as a passer) in a single season. He’s known to be obsessed with studying his opponents’ every move and making intelligent plays for his team.
But what truly makes Watt a smooth player is that he acknowledges his flaws and uses criticism as a personal motivation, as he stated in an NFL interview.
Hidilyn Diaz
Weightlifting is a sport that requires unusual strength, but in Philippine Olympic history, it was a woman who brought pride to the country through this sport.
Hidilyn Diaz won a silver Olympic medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. It was the first from a female Olympian and the first since boxers Anthony Villanueva’s and Onyok Velasco’s respective wins in 1964 and 1996, and made Hidilyn also became the first Filipino to win a medal in weightlifting and first to win a medal in a non-boxing sport for the country since 1936.
Hidilyn’s Olympic run at Rio was her third and last time. It proved that one shouldn’t give up on their dreams so easily, and that women, too, can excel in men-dominated fields.
What do these world-class athletes have in common? They will all stop at nothing to ace their game. Behind each of their signature smooth moves is a combination of raw talent, discipline, confidence, and humility. Just like how San Miguel Super Dry gives off the perfect mixture of a clean and crisp hoppy flavor that gives it a tasteful smooth finish.
You, too, can excel in your chosen sport or career by focusing on your strengths. See challenges as opportunities to step up your game. If you stumble, redeem yourself by working harder. Don’t let hesitation or fear limit you.
That’s how smooth winners get the gold. – Rappler.com
Illustrations by Shellette Gipa
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