Remind Yourself Why
Hey Coach,
I hope you had a great week. I wanted to drop you quick note today and just encourage you as you enter the offseason. I was reflecting on this as we celebrated at our team banquet yesterday.
This year, we did not have the on-field success that we were looking for. There are several valid reasons for this. We were really young. We played a really tough schedule. We lost 4 games by a total of 11 points. We gave up over 35 points on special teams…etc, etc.
I’m sure that most of us have lists of excuses like this. We either throw them around the coaches office or at least have little internal conversations with ourselves and our own minds. We justify our current circumstances. We compare with other years or other teams. We pine for better players, or more committed parents, or a better booster club.
I’ve been there.
But, the message I tried to deliver to our kids yesterday is that there is another approach…
Relish the losses. Be thankful for the struggle. Yearn for the hard times. Because difficulty leads to perseverance and struggles build character.
So, while some may look at a below average season as a failure, we must try to look at it as a pivotal step on our journey to ultimate success.
Now, this is easier said than done. We are all competitive. We all hate to lose. And we all want our kids, especially our seniors, to play in the championship game, win a ring, and pose for the picture with index fingers raised to the the sky.
But, when we think about what we are actually doing. That we are trying to create champions for life. That we are trying to build young men of character. That we are more concerned with whether they will be great husbands and fathers than great football players. When that is our mindset, there is always something to celebrate….even at the end of a subpar season.
For me, it’s a call to recommit. It’s a call to work harder. It’s a call to take the offseason more seriously. It’s a call to give everything everyday. And, it’s a call to remind ourselves that success is not always measured by the scoreboard.
