The Joys of Fatherhood: Of course it is overused, but sports is a perfect metaphor for life. Today, my sons team lost an incredible playoff game 12-6 in overtime to the Fairhill Owls. I witnessed incredible play by both teams. It was packed on both sidelines, emotions were high, and we all wanted to win. And then as a coach, I had to show the team how to lose with dignity, showing them how to line-up and still shake hands at the end. In addition to hugging my son, Joshua, who had a 67 yard touchdown, I had to hug a number of these 11 year old men to let them know that there is no shame in losing when they gave it their absolute best. Of course, I gave the team and parents a speech, but for those of you who are reading this post, may the words of Theodore Roosevelt speak to you when you experience the agony of defeat. There are so many things that we wished they we had done differently today and we must remind ourselves that we will have another day. Special thanks to all of the Lawncrest Lions players, coaches, and parents for a great season. #9 (Josh Barlow) you had a great season and it was such a joy to watch you play the game. May you live in the manner in which you played today. Here are the words of Theodore Roosevelt: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 20:45:28 +0000