Revisiting Courage, Determination and Will
Defining what success means for each of us.
As Alan Alda once mused, "Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."
The soccer season kicked off in this article concluded last week.
Let's say the outcomes for my grandkids, 'E' and 'C' were not what we expected.
Give a listen or re-read the article and then drop to the bottom for what Paul Harvey used to call…the rest of the story.
Audio narration by David Marlow
There was a crispness to the air. The kind that makes holding a warm cup of coffee as pleasurable as drinking it.
The sort of day most people think of when they say, “I love fall.”
Out on the pitch, the game was not going the Raptor’s way. Trailing 5-1 at half it looked as though the championship was lost.
They had played hard and well. A few bad bounces and near misses had them trailing.
That’s when number 55 turned it up a notch. My grandson chose 55 because his grandmother’s favorite number 5 wasn’t available and fifty-five was twice as good anyway. His words, not mine.
It started with one play early in the second half. The opponent had a breakaway down the line, and E turned on the afterburners, the jets, as we used to say in the Marines, and not only caught the player, he stole the ball and sent it quickly up the field where a teammate was wide open for a shot.
5-2
He didn’t score the goal. He fought for the ball and turned the tide. And turn the tide it did. At the end of the third quarter, it was 5-4.
Another goal early in the fourth quarter and they were tied.
Now with time running out, another breakaway by the green team, and again, E chased and caught him deflecting the ball out of bounds. On the throw-in, there was a fight for the ball.
Three players from each team were all battling for the ball. Somehow E managed to clear it out and then dribble it up the field, through the mid-fielders toward the goal.
The picture shows what happened next.
He sent the ball flying toward the goal…
And scored! Moments later, time expired, and the game was over. The Raptors won.
Tomorrow starts a new season of soccer for my two oldest grandkids. Success will be measured differently for E this year.
He is on a team that has many new players, some who’ve never played soccer before. A championship seems unlikely.
They weren’t successful last year because they won the championship. They won the championship because they were successful in learning, growing, and coming together as a team.
Success like that is always available.
Success means many different things to people.
For my granddaughter, scoring her first goal would be a big deal. Success for her, though is having fun with friends and playing soccer like her big brother does.
It begs the question. Is there a single definition of success?
Let’s consider these two ideas from Wesley Yang and George Sheehan.
🌀 There is a paradox resting between these two. Spend some time with that paradox, and you will get a new perspective.
As for me, I’ve got to get the folding chairs into the car and my to-go coffee mug ready. There’s a soccer game to get to this morning.
🌀Reflection:
“If you became your best self, would it be enough?”
Wesley Yang
“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”
George Sheehan
The Rest of the Story…
I made some assumptions about the season. Assumptions are the breadcrumbs our mind leaves behind to find its way, but often, on the way back, they lead us astray.
For 'E's" team, despite having many new players, some of whom had never played soccer before, they ended with an undefeated regular season. Though they lost to the eventual champions in the tournament, they far exceeded any expectations.
'E' scored only one goal and yet had his best season ever. He was a selfless player, passing and setting up others for goals, and a courageous clutch defender.
And our Miss 'C' who in the prior year was happy being able to 'play' soccer like her big brother did much more than play. She not only scored her first goal, she scored three. One goal, she kicked more than half the field away from the goal.
After scoring the first goal, she transformed. It was like a switch flipped, and she understood the game. It helped that the older, aggressive boys who had been on the team the year before moved up a level. She had time to figure out what to do before someone else stole the ball. It is incredible what we can learn when given a little extra time and opportunity.
It would be fair to say my skills as a soccer ‘seer’ leave a bit to be desired. And I couldn't be happier.
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