Texas High School Football.
Some will say it doesn't get any bigger than that. Others will tell you
it’s not a sport it’s a religion. Most anyone will tell you though it’s all
about winning. I’m not going to tell you
that winning isn't important. It is. No doubt about it. But, what I will tell
you is that winning only teaches half of the lessons that should be taught to
our athletes.
After sixteen years of coaching, my coach and I have
experienced winning seasons and losing seasons.
We have blessed to be a part of some great communities during our
coaching years and the majority of our seasons have been winning seasons. Even
during those winning seasons most have come with a loss or two along the way. All sorts of books have been written and
speeches have been given about winning. Sometimes though, you need to focus on the losing.
There are many correlations to real life that can be applied
to a losing season or even losing one game. We don’t win everything we do or
try in life and I think that kids today think that they can and should win
everything. In little league sports
everyone seems to get a trophy, we don’t always keep score and kids get used to
hearing “everyone is a winner.” Well,
then high school hits and all of the sudden, everyone isn’t a winner. Games are won and games are lost. Not
everyone goes to the playoffs and not everyone is handed a trophy. That’s part of the game of life and that’s
when it’s important to step in and teach the grace and dignity of losing. It’s best to help teach our athletes that now
before they hit college and the real world and don’t know how to react when the
game plan of life doesn’t turn out like they had planned.
The year that we were going into our final game of the season
and we were 0-9 was a great year to teach about losing with grace. It was also
a time to teach determination and how not to quit in any situation. Through nine long weeks the coaches worked
with kids to teach that to never stop fighting and to always play to the
absolute best of their ability. They
taught them that life isn’t always so easy and that trophies aren’t just going
to be handed out to everyone. They were doing amazing things with those kids
and the work paid off. The boys never
quit and they never gave up and they won their last game of the season. To some
that might seem small but to them, it was like winning the state championship.
They learned to work and never give up in order to achieve what they wanted the
most. They wanted a victory and they got it. To them it seemed like they had
one the state championship.
This is another life lesson that sports can teach you even
if you’re in the stands and not on the field. We all strive for that promotion
or raise or win at whatever we are doing. Not everything is always going to go
according to that plan either. Sometimes
the game plan has to shift a little. We have to adapt to the things going on
around us and sometimes come up with a new plan all together. We need to take that time out so to speak and
reevaluate the goal. OK- that’s a whole
lot of sports metaphors in one paragraph, but I’m the wife of a coach and I
know that sports can teach you things off the field as well as on the
field.
We can also learn these same lessons in scripture. Jeremiah
29:11-13 says “ For I know the plans I have for
you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and
come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will
seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
He’s got a game plan for us. When life doesn't give us what
we want or we find ourselves at a loss, we need to stop and seek Him with all
of our heart and He will show us His game plan for our lives.
Cheering you on,
Laurel
Laurel
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