The “Quiver” Concept

An Excerpt from The Game Within

In any given athletic competition, individual or team, athletes step on to the field, pitch, court, diamond, track, course, mat, into the cage or ring to compete. Upon initial inspection, the spectators can see differences in height and body type but for the most part the competitors, dressed in team uniforms or handling like equipment, look very similar. However, they are all quite different in the profound sense that each has a unique skill set that they bring with them. The outcome of the competition will primarily be decided by the understanding and the implementation of the contents of each individual player’s quiver.

In days long past now chronicled in history books battles were fought hand to hand, face to face. Clubs, knives, swords and spears made battles intimate and gruesome. In pre-modern warfare there was one group who was feared most by the combatants, the archer. Just like the modern-day sniper, the archer stood far from the blood and gore of the battle field and rained down death and destruction silently and accurately on a helpless enemy. When most think of the archer they envision a person standing with a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other, preparing to take aim at an unsuspecting adversary. What most will not think of is the quiver strapped passively to the back of the archer. “Quiver” is an odd word to describe a container to hold arrows and it seemingly portends the idea that it is an accessory rather than a necessity. But in reality it is a container that literally holds all the power the archer has and all that they are capable of doing with that power. It provides possibilities and establishes limitations on what actions the archer can take and for how long those actions can be sustained. For once the quiver is empty, the feared and formidable archer is rendered impotent and vulnerable.

Imagine now the athlete who is about compete. From the most novice player to the most accomplished veteran each has their own number of skills that, if used properly, can positively impact the game. The difference between the two is primarily based on the amount of practice and experience and thus the amount of skills in each player’s perspective quivers. The competition is nothing more than the matching of quivers within collective strategies to determine who is best. It is the development of the diversity of skills in the quiver of each individual athlete and the management of those skills that defines performance and rules the day.

Every game to the casual observer seems to be waged in a chaotic fashion, however there is a very basic underlying structure to all sports. Size of venues, time constraints, and rules create structure which determines much of the action. Within that structure an individual player who has specific knowledge of their own abilities, what is contained in their quiver, has an advantage. Understanding of the strengths and limitations of ability gives an athlete the power to shape a game in ways that accentuate their own specific skills and hamper the strategy of their adversary. It also allows for a greater concentration on the improvisational aspects of competition. If a player knows their skill level and does not have to divert attention to some of the basics of the game it frees their mind to be aware and respond to the nuances of the competition. It allows the athlete the ability to make the great play at the right time because they are not mentally preoccupied with the basic action and construct of the game itself. It also provides the platform for honest post-competition evaluation of skills and establishes a template for training and thus the acquiring of skills. Skills that can be added to those already in their quiver and then used in future competition. 

At the end of the game there will be a score that determines the winners and losers. The winners will celebrate and the losers will commiserate but within that score lies a different determination; beneath that simple score the complexities of each players skills and weaknesses are adjudicated. Just like the archer of old, the positive impact and success of an athlete is defined by these three factors: the contents, their knowledge of the contents, and their ability to implement the contents contained in their quiver.