Our Little League Softball season opens today. It is the first game at a whole new level for my daughter. She is nervous because she has never even watched a game at this level. She has no idea what it's like.
As coaches, we have tried to prepare her and her teammates for the field. We hit balls to be fielded, and pitch endless batting practice. We teach, we correct, we yell only to be heard, not in anger. Tonight, it is all for real.
She is nervous, and I want my players a little nervous. It means the game means something to you. You like the thought of seeing if they are better than us. You want to be good when the world is watching. Everybody likes to make the SportsCenter play.
Coaches look for routine plays. Routine plays win games. I get excited by the ground out to shortstop defensively. I get excited by the well executed bunt. A perfect steal makes my day. A good throw to the cutoff man from someone that has never thrown particularly well puts a smile on my face.
Yes, I like to win. But I like Vince Lombardi's view of winning. His famous quote,"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." needs the remainder of the quote added: "but making the effort to win is."
Time to go win...at work, at school, at home.
So...am I off base?
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