Whether you watch, play, or encounter it randomly day to day, sports will always be correlated to your life. Understanding the game may not spark your interest, but knowing why student athletes do what they do might. Emotions. Growth. Strength. Failure. Setback. It takes a lot to be the greatest.
Why It Matters: The crowds cheering and booing, winning or losing. This is what you hear, this is what you see. But what happens inside the walls when we aren’t there in the stands? How do they get to the winning state, what do they do to get past the losses they face? Each sport comes together in some way, but how? Jesse Edwards explains some ways to face and overcome said losses, here’s the sum of it.
- Understanding you have to lose to win.
- Learning from the mistakes you make, taking the loss as a lesson.
- Adopting a different mindset, don’t keep the same idea that you will keep losing. Change your approach.
“My biggest lesson was not putting in the extra effort. My loss, not qualifying for states, that really changed me. I cried- that was the first time I cried in a sport,” said senior Jacob Dalverny. “This season I’m going all in, I’m giving 100%.”
Looking Deeper: Every day these student athletes are working harder to better themselves in their sport. Coaches plan practices to help get these students to their top potential. Teams form bonds.The deeper the bond- the better they will be able to play. Our football team made the comeback of the century this season, basketball can and will be next. Your team needs structure, it’s just a matter of how.
- You’re always going to need your team in a team sport. Don’t make it all about an individual accomplishment.
- Your coach is not out to get you, they want what’s best for you. Try to learn from them.
- “Don’t only focus on yourself, make sure everyone finishes, make sure everyone succeeds. That’s how you win,” said basketball coach Edwards.
Discipline: Coaches have to adapt to all the different kids and how they work and react. Not only do you have to take your coach’s discipline, you have to have self discipline. Whether it be working your hardest not to let your team down. Or making sure to not just show up to practice, but give your all while you’re there. Keeping your word, not making excuses.
Here’s The Scoop: “changing your mindset, not looking at yourself but looking at others,” said senior point guard Jonathan Daniels. “Whatever you do, whatever you have to do in 30 seconds, you just have to get it done.”
Changes: Our generation as a whole can come off a little selfish. Teammates can be self centered, this is not how you win. This is something as a whole that we need to make a change in. We want to win, we just don’t know how, we want greatness- we just don’t know how to be great.
- “One of the first things I noticed was the guys just wanted to get out of the gym at the end of practice,” said Edwards. “They wanted to come in to win, they just didn’t know how to win. I’m not teaching them how to shoot the ball but using what they already know to help win ball games at a higher level.”
