"To look through" or "to see clearly."
The Latin word perspicere is translated above and has become the English word perspective.
Nowadays, it's perceived more as how one sees things through their own eyes, but clarity isn't always a factor.
While you are making your bologna and banana sandwich today, you accidentally cut your finger while slicing the banana. Your perspective is it's a small cut, no big deal, life goes on.
But if you are scaling the wall of a mountain, your fingers gripping into crevices and crags in the rock, a cut finger can mean disaster. The grip needed to hoist your 200 pound frame up the rock is compromised.
The same small cut from the perspective of two different scenarios.
If we aren't scaling mountains, chances are we would never think about this perspective but that doesn't make it any less a hazard to those that do.
Jalen Green is an up and coming player in the NBA, formerly of the Houston Rockets and now with the Phoenix Suns. He was traded a few weeks ago. During the regular season, Green averaged 21 points, almost 5 rebounds and 3 assists. These are substantial numbers from any player in the Association and Green was integral in Houston's push to the playoffs this season, their first in 5 years.
However in the playoffs, Green's numbers took a dive. He still averaged his 5 rebounds and 3 assists but his points per game was only 13 ppg. League perspective became that Green wasn't a playoff player, he couldn't win in big games and thus, he became expendable.
What that perspective probably doesn't talk about was how the defense of the team they faced, the Golden State Warriors, double teamed him to get the ball out of his hands, played him physical and being it was his first playoff experience, used that inexperience to flummox the guard. Jalen Green was traded weeks later.
This past few weeks we have seen the volleyball world's version of the encore. Final end of year tournaments are happening throughout the country. Thousands of teams and tens of thousands of players are participating under the watchful eyes, and perspectives, of coaches and parents alike.
The different perspectives of coaches, players and parents is the driving force behind most of the club hopping, coach-parent meetings and overall discontent throughout the club circles.
Perspective is often infused with the following observation: "Everybody's personal narrative is designed to protect them from pain and accountability."
The Coach who loses already takes a hit to his ego but then must defend why he lost to Parents and sometimes players and club personnel. We forego the perspective of the 19 year old on the sidelines who has all the answers, knows everything about coaching and is rarely if ever given the grace they need to make mistakes, learn from them, gain experience and move on.
Parents make excuses for their athletes, blaming coaches for misusing their talents and other players for not being good enough. The perspective of their daughter being the best player on the team, despite she doesn't start, only plays backrow and can't serve over the net yet infects Mom and Dad's mind. She is being persecuted and so Mom is searching for new clubs on the drive to the airport.
Players, under pressure from said coaches and parents, will blame injury or other players for their foibles, most often to the detriment of the team. He will tell anyone who will listen that his setter can't set him correctly, that he is always set into a block and that his passes are fragile because the other team was screening him. His perspective of being the persecuted starts a toxic domino affect throughout the team.
But in reality, and understanding that EVERY situation is different, if all parties involved just took a step back and tried to see the issue from the other person's perspective, many of the atomic riffs of our season could be muted into simple misunderstandings.
Another Coach was shown alone in a picture wearing their club shirt and proclaiming they were undefeated on the day. No mention of the team that performed, we are to assume it was ALL coaching.
Even athletes will get film from their parents and post a big kill or a monster block on social media sites, never acknowledging their fellow actors that were involved in the highlight. "Yup, Cami passed the ball to herself, set herself and then got the kill down the line! She's amazing!!!"
Volleyball is a team sport first and foremost. Recognize that as an athlete and a Parent. The coach is paid to make your daughter better AND make every other daughter on their team better. Getting better takes time and patience, it is not linear, we all develop, learn and grow at different rates. Holding your athlete to the standard of another is a lack of perspective on your part.
Coaches, we need to recognize that not all Parents are going to see the other 5 girls on the court. Their iPhones and GoPros are focused on their own son or daughter. Don't shun them or hide behind the "48 hour rule." Educate them, talk to them at practice about why and what you are doing. Talk to them honestly about their daughters strengths and weaknesses and what you plan is to utilize and address them. Give Parents the perspective they need to overlook the idea of their one and the other eleven and show them the benefits for all about thinking about the one being part of the twelve.
Perspective is constantly in flux. In our politics, our social media sites, in all aspects of culture. We have become a society of reflexive judgements and a perspective that only travels from our eyes to the end of our noses.
But our sports can be better and do better.
