Paralympian blog

Bouncing back
24/01/2012

Bouncing back

Wheelchair basketball player Lee Manning gives an update on his training:

It seems like ages ago now, but Christmas and New Year saw me having a well-earned break and couldn't have come at a better time. Being a big guy and the position I play (centre) you tend to get hit about a bit - I don't think I can actually remember a time when I wasn't covered in small cuts and bruises up and down my arms. Don't get me wrong, I haven't got a problem with that aspect of the game - in fact, the physicality of the sport is something I enjoy. But after the last 6 months of constant training, it was starting to get to me, and all the small knocks were mounting up. In the final training camp (the week before Christmas) I must admit I found myself counting the seconds until the final session finished. I couldn't wait to take a little break to recover and spend some time with my family.

The funny thing is, though, with London only being a few months away, a break can never truly be a break - some level of training still needs to be done. Soon enough it was time to get right back into it, and back to the usual 2 sessions a day trying to work harder than everyone else in the world - teammates included!

Something was different, though. Coming back off the Christmas break, I found myself struggling to get out of bed in the mornings, looking for excuses to stay at home and not do that extra session. My motivation, which had been at an all-time high before Christmas, just wasn't there. Of course I still wanted it, and was still training hard as ever, but everything just seemed that little bit harder and I couldn't get back into the swing of things.

That was until our January GB camp, where to my own admission I had a "so-so" camp, not bad just not great. I found myself looking at some of my teammates around me - just before Christmas I was really challenging everyone and pushing them to their best, and now they seemed to have changed gear, leaving me lagging behind. It just goes to show that the rest of the world and even my own teammates aren't standing still, and I need to be at my best at all times.

Now I can guarantee you that my motivation and fire is back and isn't going anywhere! Every day since the camp I've got up early. I've been the first person to get to training and last to leave, just to get that extra time in. No one is going to work harder than me, I'm going to be the best I can be and bring the best out of everyone around me. Come London 2012, I hope that'll be enough to reach my dream!

by Lee Manning