When it comes to adversity in sports, experiencing an injury remains one of the biggest hardships for any athlete.

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Presuming someone has the skills, physical ability, and mentality to make it to the next level, an injury is the one factor that can instantly limit potential and cut short an otherwise successful sports career.

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Two prominent examples where significant injury had a massive career impact involved Derrick Rose and Bo Jackson.

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In the early days of his NBA career, Derrick Rose was considered one of the best players in the league. The explosively athletic point guard was practically unstoppable. In 2011, when awarded MVP, Rose was redefining how his position was played. Until game one of the 2012 playoffs, when he went down with what was later found to be a torn ACL. Rose did make a comeback and has had a solid NBA career since, but it is widely accepted that this injury significantly limited him in reaching his full potential.

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Years earlier, Bo Jackson—the only person to ever be named an All-Star in both baseball and football, also had his career cut tragically short after a hip injury in 1991. Jackson was only 28 at the time, and the injury ended his football career. After his recovery, Jackson returned to baseball and by all accounts did well. But just three years later, he retired from professional sports altogether, which most people attribute to that injury.

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The Truth About Injury

Rose and Jackson highlight two important points about injury.

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1. Injuries happen – even to the best of the best. At any level, dealing with injuries is part of the game.

2. Success is still possible. While potential was limited, both Rose and Jackson (and many others) still went on to have success in their chosen sports after injury.

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If you have your sights set on high-level competitive sports, be prepared to deal with injury.

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While we can’t help with the treatment side of things, we can assist with the required mental and personal preparation.

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But rather than try to tackle this problem ourselves, we went straight to the source.

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Versus sat down with MLB superstars Adam Wainwright and Albert Pujols, to discuss overcoming adversity. We recorded exclusive video interviews, covering how both of these athletes have dealt with injuries during their long and successful careers.

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To get the full experience you’ll have to sign up. Until then, we’ve highlighted the main points from the videos so you won’t miss out.

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Adam Wainwright - Adversity = Opportunity

In the video, Wainwright shares his unique perspective around injury and adversity, which helped cement his place as one of the top pitchers in MLB history.

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“Waino” as he’s nicknamed is a gifted storyteller and describes in great detail how he spent all of 2009 and 2010 gunning for the Cy Young Award (given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball).

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After being confident that he would win the Cy Young two years in a row, only to narrowly miss out, Wainwright was convinced that 2011 would be his year. He was even finally moved up to starter, solidifying his belief that this was his big break.

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Then, Waino threw a live batting practice, the first one of spring training, and injured his arm. He failed to pitch that entire season, as he rehabilitated his arm.

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It’s remarkable that Wainwright adopted a mentality summarized as “I may as well use this time to get better.” Later, he even referred to 2011 as his “year of opportunity.”

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Now, it's one thing to handle an injury with dignity and determination. But to look at the adversity from a situation like this as an opportunity—that’s something else!

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Here are the two top takeaways from Waino’s video on how to turn adversity into opportunity:

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Stay Connected to the Team

For Adam, staying connected to the team was one of his keys to success. In the video, he explains how he was able to do his rehab in St. Louis, and made a firm commitment to stay close and support the team, no matter what.

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In Waino’s words, “I stayed on the bench the whole game. Never left the stadium. It was just like I was there in a regular capacity to pitch, just not pitching”. As a real show of commitment, he even dressed up as a cheerleader on opening day (pom-poms, hair ribbon, and all) and joined in the procession around the stadium!

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The Cardinals went on to win the World Series that year. While he couldn’t play, his commitment to supporting the team meant Wainwright could at least say “I was there”. The feeling was obviously shared throughout the team, as Waino was awarded a World Series ring, despite not pitching the entire season.

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The fact that Waino stayed so connected to the team meant that as soon as he was recovered, he could get right back at it. In 2013, after his first full season back from injury, Wainwright signed a five-year contract extension with a total value of $97.5 million—the largest contract ever for a Cardinal’s pitcher.

Adversity Is a Chance to Grow    

No doubt after more than a little initial frustration and upset over his injury, Wainwright made a firm commitment that he was going to use the year he was out to grow and get better. This theme of turning adversity into opportunity runs throughout the whole video.

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Waino watched the starts of all the best pitchers in the game at the time. He gained some valuable insights that helped fuel his later success. Lessons like the importance of executing one pitch at a time. And never walking anyone—something he still believes is key for any pitcher in the big leagues.

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It’s all too easy to shift down a gear during recovery from injury, then return to the game at the same level (or lower) as before. Wainwright’s experience clearly shows us that it is possible to come back from injury in an even stronger position than before.

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Albert Pujols - Overcoming Adversity  

Albert Pujols, aka “The Machine,” is currently the oldest active MLB player. He has a decorated career in the big leagues spanning more than 20 years and some of his achievements include:

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• 10x All Star
• 6 x Silver Slugger Award
• 3 x MVP
• 2 x Golden Glove Award
• 2x World Series Champion
• 2 x National League home run leader
• Rookie of the Year
• One of only five players in MLB history to top 2000 runs batted in

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In terms of injuries, Pujols states that the first 6 or 7 years of his career were “great,” until he had elbow surgery in 2008. In the video, Pujols describes how this set back led him to view overcoming injuries and adversity as part of the game. To quote Pujols talking about injury, “It’s not a matter of if, it’s when. The question is, how are you going to handle it?”

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Like many professional athletes, Pujols experienced numerous injuries throughout his career—recurrent elbow issues, plantar fasciitis, knee surgery, a fractured wrist—but always found a way to overcome any adversity thrown his way.

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In the video, Pujols covers some of the practical strategies he uses to overcome injuries and adversity. He even gives some wise words on dealing with criticism, including how to deal with negativity and whose criticism he seeks out.

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We’re going to cover the tips on overcoming injury and adversity below, but to get the rest, you'll need to head over to Versus and sign up.

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Injuries Are Part of the Game - Train Hard and Get Back at It!

This phrase might sound simple, but Pujols knows what it takes to overcome an injury. Hearing him speak on this topic reveals he isn’t just throwing out the “train hard” tagline as some simplistic way to grind through injury—Pujols has a detailed system and philosophy for moving through adversity.

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Part of this approach is mentality. By recognizing that injuries are going to happen, an athlete can sidestep the dangerous mindset that injury is something that just happens to unlucky people. Not only does Pujols know that injury is coming his way, he knows that when it does, he can overcome it. Pujols clearly sees overcoming injury as a way to develop a more resilient mindset, which can then be put to work to move through future challenges.

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When he says “train hard”, Pujols is referring to doing everything necessary to recover from an injury. Physical rehab, medical care, mindset work, injury prevention—they are all a part of it.

Have People Who Can Encourage You Along the Way

Pujols mentions his physical therapist several times throughout the video. It's clear that while he sees overcoming injury as his personal responsibility, Pujols has other people involved in the process to support him along the way.

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Summarizing his views on this topic, Pujols explains that in addition to his physiotherapist and two or three good friends would always encourage him in a positive way. He states this was particularly useful when he was feeling down and like “throwing in the towel.”

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While every athlete’s situation will be different, it’s important to maintain relationships with people who can provide support in tough times. The drive and focus to succeed can make it easy to neglect relationships. But in times of adversity, these are usually just the people we need to lean on for encouragement to overcome a setback.

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When in Doubt, Focus On Growth

If there is one common theme in overcoming adversity, it’s the importance of focusing on growth.

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Whether it's going through a slump, missing out on selection, or dealing with injury—those who make it to the top have one thing in common—they find a way to grow through adversity.

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Think about it. By definition, if you stay the same in the face of adversity, there’s no way you will overcome it. That barrier you are bumping up against will always be there and will always keep you down. Until you find a way to grow and to change, you will stay stuck.

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Now, it's one thing to recognize this. Learning how to put it into practice is another thing entirely…

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At Versus, our goal is to give you access to cutting-edge education and advice from the best athletes in the world. People who have stared adversity in the face, risen to the challenge, and gone on to achieve massive success. Adam Wainwright and Albert Pujols are two people who have done just that.

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This article gives you an overview of their advice for turning adversity into opportunity, so you can apply it to your chosen field.

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For the full video experience, head over to Versus to sign up. You will get access to both exclusive videos, plus loads more.    

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Related Articles:

• How to Develop Your Preparation and Focus
• How to Use Critical Thinking in Sports
• How Meditation Can Improve Athletic Performance
• How to Set Goals in Sports

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