Wins, Losses and Lessons

Watching high school sports as a frequent observer it is easy to see the programs that are strong. They are easy to watch. Camden Hills, Hampden, Bangor, and Calais are communities in Eastern Maine that seem to be consistently strong in basketball for example.

Other programs can just as easily be named that are consistently among those that are on the outside looking in when it comes to tournament time.

Everybody wants to win. It is a trait which we all have and it is a good thing, it leads us to be driven.

However which children learn more. Those that are on programs that more than a couple losses a year are considered catastrophic or those that are on programs where each win is to be savored. Which children, in terms of lessons learned in the sporting field, are being better prepared for the adversities of life.

My son goes to one of the reload not rebuild schools. They are a powerhouse and the first victory won at these schools for the kids is to even make the team. The competition is fierce.

A good friend of mine coaches at one of the schools that struggles. He has started to rebuild a program from the bottom up. His kids for the most part have had a great attitude and seem to stick together very well. This year hopes were high that the program would continue to grow in wins as it had slowly been doing. When that did not happen there started to be some grumblings. For the effort he has put in this was hurtful for him. The team rebounded and split its last six games. Still with expectations comes more potential for adversity.


So what is the adversity. The pressure of having to win or the pressure of not winning. What started out as an article about the strength gained by the adversity of losing might be showing that the diminished expectations of losing might provide less of an adversity.

That however is not true either. In both cases these kids deal with unique situations. Both cases can be very stressful and both cases can be handled in a better way. The key in all things is leadership.

A coach has a huge ability to teach his players lessons on an off the court. I believe that 90 percent of coaches are doing all they can to improve their players experience. My friends team lost a heartbreaking game on a Friday night this past season and 8 hours later met at a food bank and spent a Saturday morning packing up food for those in need. This is as important a lesson as anything learned on the court.

Wins and Losses matter. My son has grown so much as a basketball player playing in the pressure cooker that he plays in. However I would have loved to see a Saturday practice abandoned in December and seen him at the food bank.