“Pressure can burst a pipe, or pressure can make a diamond.”
This is a very common saying in the sports world and has been credited to a number of athletes including retired basketball player, Robert Horry.
At the Masters on Apr. 10 that pressure seemingly burst another pipe.
Jordan Spieth, fresh off four straight birdies to close out the front nine at famed Augusta National, Spieth seemed to be in cruise control with nine holes to play.
Especially considering the last time he finished a round at Augusta without the lead the year was 2014, seven straight rounds he had lead the tournament either outright or had a share of the lead.
Then on the tenth hole, bogey. Eleven, bogey again. Just like that his five stroke lead shrunk to one stroke thanks to a pair of birdies by Danny Willet.
Still in control Spieth stepped up to the tee at the par three 12th hole looking to right the ship. Instead, he hit his tee shot into the water. Then, incredibly he hit his next shot into the same water hazard. Three shots later he found the cup for a quadruple bogey seven that moved him from one shot ahead to four shots behind.
By the time the tournament ended Spieth finished three shots behind the winner, Willet who played an amazing final round to win.
Spieth is just 22 years old and is the latest in a long line of young athletes who face a great deal of pressure.
Another, is one Canadian Olympics fans might remember well was a 23 year old hurdling phenom by the name of Perdita Felicien.
She was coming off a world championship the year before and came into the Olympics with six straight wins in hurdling events and was the odds on favourite to claim Olympic gold. Incredibly that dream ended right after the race started when she famously crashed into the first hurdle and fell ending her race prematurely.
It is not just young athletes at the Olympic or professional level that are under so much pressure these days.
Athletes of any age have become under pressure more and more as time has wore on. I used to referee hockey and the yelling that could be heard from the stands during a game at their own kids, at their kids’ teammates and at the opposing players was insane.
These are kids who are supposed to be playing a game and they are being treated like a professional athlete being paid millions of dollars to play in a minor hockey game.
If we quit treating athletes, especially young ones that they are expected to be perfect all the time and just let them work hard without the pressure most of them would be closer to perfect not further away.
More often than not diamonds are not made from pressure. In the sports world, pipes are bursting.
