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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 21, 2001

Try and tri-again
Injured athlete finds goal still within reach despite obstacles

Editor's Note: Writers Vicki Viotti, a novice runner, and Katherine Nichols, an experienced competitor, are training together for the Niketown Na Wahine Sprint Triathlon in September. In this weekly column, the two share insights from experts, other athletes and their own training regimen, aimed at helping readers push their own boundaries — physically and mentally.

By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer

Trisha Kawamoto, a former Punahou student who now attends the University of Puget Sound, is determined to become the 25-1 volleyball team's setter this fall. There's only one problem: She's still in a walking cast after having foot surgery. But the fact that this is the 21-year-old's last year in college has made the goal more important than ever.

"It's always been hard to motivate myself to go all out and train really hard," admitted Kawamoto. "It makes it easier if it doesn't end up happening. It's harder to take that risk; it's kind of scary and makes me feel uncomfortable."

This is why she started working with Honolulu performance coach Brad Yates, a retired Punahou School teacher and coach. "Trisha's biggest challenge was admitting to herself that she really wanted to do it," he said. "Motivation is really an energy that comes from within."

The first task in setting a goal is to establish clarity. You want to lose weight? Or apply for a dream job? Yates said that you must identify feelings (usually in writing) that go with wanting to do this. But if something is stopping you from trying, you must also name the negative emotions. Fear? Boredom? Frustration? Once you label these emotions, they are easier to reframe — that is, to place in a new context, to change your thinking about them, allowing you to focus on the positive elements.

With Yates' help, Kawamoto, who first injured her foot last November, said she realized that "when I get hurt, I get really selfish, and I would not have a very good attitude at practice. It was something that I needed to change." So she learned to ask herself, "What are the positive aspects of this issue?"

Yates said, "If you learn to reframe, it's going to have a huge carry-over into the rest of your life."

Start by naming everything you are grateful for that is associated with the goal. Write down your answers. Even tape-record them and play them back to yourself, suggested Yates.

"I'm grateful I made the decision to go (to Puget Sound), because this has been a really good experience for me," Kawamoto said. "I'm grateful that I made a lot of new friendships and relationships and got to live away from Hawai'i and got to play." And though her parents encourage her, she said this goal — that now involves rehabilitation and extra training — of becoming the team setter is her idea.

To accomplish anything, Yates said, "it's got to be driven by internal desire. If it's internal, you can take credit for the rewards. If you're working on someone else's value system (especially true with weight loss), you're going to feel like you're coming up short."

Now, what do you really want to do?