Written by When we hear the word “pivot” I’d be willing to bet many of us first think of Ross Geller’s famous “PIVOT!! PIVOT!!” Growing up a dancer, when I hear the word pivot, I think of a change of direction, or a turn. Pivoting is common in many sports: basketball players pivoting back and forth to protect the ball, baseball players pivot as they round the bases, football players pivoting to avoid a tackle, the list goes on. But what about pivoting as it relates to career? Is it ever too late to pivot?
I recently read about LSU’s punter, Zach Von Rosenberg. He was drafted out of high school to pitch in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. After 6 seasons and injury resulting in the loss of feeling in several fingers of his pitching hand, he quit baseball altogether and decided to pivot and play collegiate football. Naturally, we would expect him to play quarterback, given his throwing ability, but there was not a quarterback position open. Again, he had to pivot and tryout for the tight end position. After a coach saw him messing around kicking punts before practice, he pivoted again and trained for the punter position, having played soccer in his youth and punter for two years in high school. Now at 30 years old, he may become one the oldest NFL draft picks of all time.
Last week, Lucas Rudy, wrote about the negative effects of specialization in youth sports, two of which are burnout and injury. Many parents believe their child will be the next Kobe Bryant, or Peyton Manning, or Mike Trout, if they start their kids early enough and push them hard enough (the unfortunate reality is most of them will not be). What happens though, when these same kids who we think are destined for the MLB, decide late in their high school career that no, baseball is not in fact where their heart lies? Or when they blow out their elbow in middle school and their pitching career is over? Have we provided our kids with plan B or C to pivot to?
I think what we can take away from Von Rosenberg’s incredibly unique story is that, many kids do have natural talents to specialize in, but they can also develop other talents in other sports, or even non-athletic extra-curriculars, that can not only develop them as quality human beings, but may down the road provide greater opportunities to pivot their goals and aspirations. And us adults? Well, it is also never too late for us to learn a new skill or switch careers, as long as we are always willing to learn.