🍎 Everyone wants to win and nobody wants to be a loser. However in life you win some and you lose some and it’s important to teach our children to be both humble winners and gracious losers, both on the field and in life. It’s good to fight “the tough fight” it’s part of our human nature. However, when the game is over, we leave it on the field/court/rink, shake hands and move on. We would give our kiddos a reasonable amount of time to cool down. Then they would ‘come to the surface’ and say “what did you think?” And their Dad would say, “I thought they were pretty good. What did you think?” That’s where the discussion would start on what needed to be worked on before the next match or tournament, including what they did well.
A friend of ours played football for Bo at U of M back in the 80s. When he scored his first TD he started ‘showboating’, well as much as they showboated back then. Bo grabbed him and said, (paraphrasing here), “Next time, make it look like you’ve done it before.” Every team needs a good leader who teaches good athleticism and how to train and likewise, to be a humble winner and gracious looser also should come from the coach. Teaching our children that when they step out of our homes they represent themselves, a nuclear family, an extended family, a school, community or any other group they are part of. They should represent themselves well. Their actions show their character. The actions of one or a few can ‘taint’ others reputations, unfortunately, even though that is not right. Many can look beyond that but it still can leave a mark. Teaching these qualities can lead to many…Great Days 🍎
