06/08/2022
We don’t know what’s to come for our young athletes.
We don’t know whether their team will win the state championship, or never even make the playoffs. We don’t know if they’ll have to fight through season-ending injuries, or fight to even make the team. We don’t know if they’ll see their sports through high school, or choose to walk away. We don’t know if they’ll become D1 star athletes or the star of their dorm’s intramural flag football team. We don’t know if they’ll become major league players or be known for their work in the community.
We can’t predict any of it.
But what we DO know is what’s in front of us right now. And RIGHT NOW we have an opportunity to help our kids learn the lessons they’ll carry with them no matter where they go.
And making that game-winning RBI is a chance to teach them about humility.
Learning how to be out on the field with a teammate they don't get along with is a lesson they'll remember when they're disagreeing with someone in a board room.
Making that game-costing mistake is a chance to show them what it means to fail, learn and grow.
Watching an opposing player struggle with a loss as they’re coming through the handshake line is an opportunity for them to understand empathy.
How they handle not making the team is a chance to get them ready for the moments when they don’t land that dream job after they thought they aced the interview.
If we’re just focusing on winning and losing, we’re missing the point.
So let's remember ... as we cheer on our kids as their little siblings are off getting their $1.00 candy bars at the concession stand and we compare team gear on the sidelines and ask each other about our fancy rocking folding chairs…
We don’t know what’s to come for those kids.
But we all have an opportunity to be with them right where they are… and set them up with the lessons they’ll need no matter where they end up.