Lessons learnt from losing
Defeat in a recent soccer fixture left me reflecting on lessons learnt from losing. I need to be upfront and state that no Saints boy or Staff member stands opposite an opponent without the genuine desire to represent his team and our school within a spirit of fair play, sportsmanship and a testing of respective sporting skills both physically and mentally. Yes we do play to win and winning is desirable but it is not the most important outcome.
Just before half-time we were already 3 nil down. Standing on the sideline I started preparing for our half time team talk- thinking what can I do or say to keep my team in the game. To keep the fight alive.
The boys sat in a semi-circle around me, sweat trickling from their faces, silent laboured breathing, and their eyes searching for some words of wisdom.
Instinct and experience guided my team talk- Be a Teacher...
This is perhaps the most important and most powerful concept I would wish for you to take from this blog. Coaching is teaching. What is the priority and overriding concern of a teacher? It's the progress of the boy, not wins and losses.
During our talk, I encouraged each boy to play his part in giving his best and if on the day, we are defeated, then so be it. Yes we knew we had a hard second half ahead of us, but what was most inspiring was the genuine desire by each boy to not give up and simply hand over the win. We would however, remain true to our Saints Honour and would lose as if we had won – and win as if we had lost.
Regrettably I could not write a blog highlighting how we were able to reverse the goal deficit into a miraculous draw or win, instead, I can share with you three points I learnt from the loss.
The value of taking risks: Changing our game strategy, and player positions encouraged taking risks, risk requires mental toughness. A risk-taker must be able to shrug off mistakes, bad breaks and lousy calls during the course of a game. Dwelling on them is counterproductive.
Failure a step before success: I felt our boys would learn from the end result. If you're not allowed to fail, then how do you know when you're succeeding?
The gift of boys: The team left the field in high spirits, happy to have been in the company of friends, slightly "bruised" but not defeated. Instead as we shook hands I could already hear them preparing for the next encounter to equal the score.
What a beautiful afternoon I ended up having realizing that I had won more than a soccer result.
To each Saint boy who takes the field and represents his age group, team and our wonderful school, thank you for your enthusiasm shown towards sport and thank you for not only enjoying the victories, but showing your true character when faced with a loss.
Until the next fixture...
Mr. Q Pascoe
