The Empowered Beginner's Mind: A Key Component to Reaching Your Greatest Potential Both On and Off the Field

I’ve been involved in athletics since I was able to walk.  I’ve played field hockey since the sixth grade and have had the opportunity to play at the Division One level as well as participate in the NCAA field hockey Final Four in 2001.  Also, I’ve been coaching since 2006 at the middle school and high school level.  I guess you could say I’ve been involved in athletics throughout my life.  It’s in my blood.  Now in my thirties, I can look back and recognize how athletics (especially field hockey) have helped shaped my personal approach to and way of being with life.  One key component I notice is what I would like to call “the Empowered Beginner’s Mind.”

So, let’s break down this idea of the Empowered Beginner’s Mind:

What is the Beginner’s Mind?  A term coined by Zen Master Suzuki Roshi, Beginner’s Mind is an esoteric concept that refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and a lack of preconceptions, even when the student is advanced, just as a beginner in the subject would.  How does this relate to field hockey?  We cannot continue to grow and excel as players on the field (and in life) when we are so solid in our preconceptions.  Certainty builds walls, creates hardness.  Beginner’s Mind is fluid and open.  I have seen how I have done this throughout my life (on and off the field) and understand how only we have the power to create walls or dismantle them for further growth and evolution.  I have also witnessed this in teammates, coaches, and players I’ve coached.  Olympic field hockey players practice the basics of the sport every time they step on the field.  This demonstrates how there are necessary foundations to be valued, but we must remain open to the unknown as well as our own personal evolution.  There is always room to grow from our foundations, but one obstacle that prevents us from this growth is our own unwillingness to let go of the idea that we have all the answers and that we have mastered the field. 

The idea of the Beginner’s Mind does not indicate lack of confidence.  This is where the empowered Beginner’s Mind comes to play.  What is empowerment?  Empowerment doesn’t mean that you are the greatest player in the world.  Empowerment means that you are giving all of yourself.  Empowerment means decide what to be and go be it!  Even that alone is empowering.  It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake on the field.  Be open to learn from it and, with all of yourself, adjust and do something about it.  Empowerment is knowing you can do something about it.

Strictly from a coach’s standpoint, there is nothing more beautiful than working with players who are open and receptive to information AND who are grounded within their own power to apply what they’ve learned in a myriad of different ways.  I’ve had players who mastered the skills and knew the fundamentals but were not completely open to applying them on the field.  I have had players who had so much potential but lacked the confidence to apply themselves on the field.  Then, there are the players who just think they know it all, no matter what.  All of these scenarios are ways in which we can limit ourselves.  By bringing a texture of an Empowered Beginner’s Mind, we create space for our knowing to grow (our skills and understanding of the game) and for ourselves to step into our own power (believe that we are boundless and capable). 

I hope that, in some way, this was beneficial to you on (and off) the field. 

Cory Terry, M.A.

Ocean City Field Hockey Coach

Transformational Life Coach