Monday, April 4, 2011

Lessons in Losing

Friday's game was a tough one. I can offer up many excuses for why Christen's team lost and all of them would be valid, but would not change the end result.




I guess the sting of loss wouldn't be so painful if things would have been.... (And I'm trying to think of a way to say this w/out it sounding like an excuse) fair.



I keep thinking back to the plays that I saw and the calls that should have been made, and I've talked to other spectators and it's the conclusion we've all come to.



But, there can be lessons the girls should learn from this loss. And below are some I think are important:



• Life is not fair. Things happen that shouldn't and even though you play by the rules, you still may lose to others who don't play by the rules. You should be proud that you don't have to play dirty to win. And truthfully, you should pray for those girls whose coaches and parents applaud and encourage cheating. Those girls need our prayers.

• Just because you easily beat them once, doesn't mean you'll always beat them. Never come onto the field and assume you are good enough to beat the other team without trying. Obviously, they learned something from their loss to us in the last game. Stay on your game.

• Make sure you learn something from the loss. A true winner has lost... a lot. Losses make you stronger as long as you learn from them.

• Turn the hurt and disappointment of this loss into the drive you need to come back stronger than ever.

Over and over in the Bible, you see greatness come after painful losses. The most important one being the pain Jesus had to endure to give us eternal life. Of course, a soccer game cannot even begin to compare what Jesus gave up for us. But just knowing that even though we have to endure the darkness, the light will come in the morning.



Trust in Jesus, girls. Put all your faith in Him and give Him all the glory for every win and every lesson learned in losses.  And with this faith, no matter what your standings are at the end of the season, you will be a winner.

6 comments:

nic said...

SO much wisdom here. it's hard as a mama to watch our children lose, yet so critical for them to learn to face defeat and injustice with grace. i hope i can teach my children as well as you are imparting these lessons to christen. you rock.

Anonymous said...

Very wise. So why do you call your blog "The un-soccer mom?" You seem to be the very definition of a soccer mom: you go to your daughter's games and you are very proud of her and you give her good advice.

TheUnSoccerMom said...

I thought I would answer here, and may be in another post...

I call myself the UN-Soccer Mom b/c compared to the majority of the other Soccer Moms I interact with, I am the opposite. I'm not saying they don't go to every game or they don't cheer on their kids. They do those things.

But one thing that some of them do that I don't? They don't let their girls succeed or fail on their own. They get a bit too involved with the selection process.

Not complaining, just stating the truth.

I always felt that was the case, but two separate events really sealed the deal and brought the truth to light.

I prefer to let Christen make the team on her own. I don't get involved w/ the politics of it all. So, that's the long story behind the name. :o)

Sandra said...

I am taking your life lesson quotes and applying them to my life.

Holly said...

Good stuff :)

Farmgirl Paints said...

So true. Things don't make sense. They just don't. Amazing how sports can teach valuable life lessons.