"It ain't about how hard ya hit...."

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” –Rocky Balboa

Every good blog post should start with a Rocky Balboa quote!  (If you didn't know, those are my favorite movies! True story!)

I have always loved watching or playing sports. Rachel Thomas, 6'2 basketball player at Walton High was my hero as a young girl. It's what I did with my dad. We would go watch games all over the county. Play outside on the carport or yard.

I've mentioned before that I coach two sports.  This year it's been volleyball and softball.  Over the past 8 years of teaching, it's either been just volleyball, volleyball and basketball, or volleyball and softball.  I had absolutely no interest in being a coach 8 years ago when I started teaching.  But, when Mr. Hughes calls you into his office and asks you to coach basketball and volleyball your first year of teaching, you reply with a definite, "Yes! Of course!"  After my 5th year, I had decided to take a break from coaching and work on my Master's, but I met Jeremy in March of that year, fell in love, and it just so happened to work out that Demopolis High School needed a volleyball coach.  So, here I am, 8 years later, still coaching. 

I have noticed more and more parallels between life and sports the older I've grown.  As Americans, we are bombarded with sports and I cannot understand why we can understand the "rules" of sports and not take lessons from them and apply to our life.  You don't have to be a super athlete or even like sports to see the lessons.

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” –Babe Ruth

“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” –Babe Ruth

You don't quit just because you fail one time (or twice, or three times, etc).  How many professional baseball players do you know of that bat .1000 or pitchers who have never walked or hit a batter? How many basketball players miss their shots?  How many running backs have dropped a football?  Nobody is perfect.  Get used to it.  You can be good, great even, at something and not be perfect.  I'm a decent cook when I do cook, but sometimes the bread gets burnt or the noodles overcooked.  I can't just give up cooking altogether. 

“It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. It took one afternoon on the golf course.” –Hank Aaron

Every sport is not for everyone.  Yes, you have athletes like Bo Jackson, who are superior at 3 different sports, but he would probably stink at hockey.  We probably all suffer from this in our normal lives, but sometimes we have to accept that someone is better than us at something.  It doesn't mean that what we offer isn't good as well.  For instance, Jeremy is not good at hanging pictures in our house, but he can lift and move heavy furniture when I want to change things up.  In the church, there are people who can get up and deliver a lesson in front of an audience and those who are really great at sending cards to invite and encourage others.  We all have gifts or talents.  Which leads me to the next point...

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” –Phil Jackson

At school, every teacher is an important member of the faculty.  We cannot do our job without the help of each other.  One teacher cannot do the job of all.  When you play softball, there are 9 players on the field, in basketball there are 5 team members on the court, and in volleyball there are 6 on each side.  One person does not win or lose the game.  Whether it's on a team or in a family, you all have to contribute your very best for there to be success.  There's also a lesson to be learned at who you choose to be your teammates through life.  Jeremy often says, "Good job, Team Smith!" when we have accomplished something together.  Who you surround yourself with in life will affect you either negatively or positively.  And, as a coach, sometime you may have to cut the best ___________ (whatever) from the team because they aren't a team player or would only hurt the chemistry of the team.

“Many people say I’m the best women’s soccer player in the world. I don’t think so. And because of that, someday I just might be.” –Mia Hamm

You can always find some way to better yourself.  I heard someone say recently that there's only 1 person in the world "the best" at anything.  For instance, there's only one person who can speak French "the best" or play the piano "the best," etc.  A lot of times, that is just an opinion anyway.  The point is, just when we are feeling like we've reached the top of a certain ability, you probably need to start challenging yourself more.  Also, I would like to mention if your "best years" are in high school, I feel sorry for you.  The happiest people, I think, are those content at the stage they are at, and look for ways to become a better person.

“That’s what I like about sports. No matter if everyone playing the game speaks completely different languages, on the field, or the court, wherever they are playing, the language of moves and passes and scores is all the same. Universal.” –Rachel Cohn

Universal.  I mentioned Americans, but all over the world people play some types of sport.  Hence, the Olympics.  I think this parallels to Christianity and the church in life.  Christ did not discriminate against certain ages, races, genders, etc.  The Bible talks about salvation being for "Jews, Greeks, rich, poor, slave, free" and we should act accordingly.  If we allow anyone to play a sport (something that is temporal and in the grand scheme, unimportant), why wouldn't we want anyone to be part of the body of Christ, the church.  Coaches spend so much time getting players recruited to colleges and professional leagues, shouldn't Christians have more dedication to the cause of Christ?

“Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.” –William Arthur Ward

There will be tough times in life; break ups, economic trouble, unfair treatment, unforseen tragedies, sickness, etc.  It is your faith and attitude that will bring you through. 

“Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.” –Lou Holtz

There were always people in school that were smarter than me and made better grades than me, etc.  Then there were those people in school who also were smarter than me but I had better grades.  What's the difference?  Not to brag, but in school I just had more self-discipline than others who were, on paper, smarter than me.  That just means I studied my butt off when I needed to do well on a test.  There are athletes that aren't necessarily more talented, but they have the self-discipline to work hard and get better so they surpass others with more talent. 

“football is like life-it requires perserverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.” –Vince Lombardi Jr.

You could replace football with any other sport and it would still be true.  And who would dare claim that any of the qualities/characteristics aren't useful in life?  Also, being prepared is important in sports.  You don't go into a game without practicing, so you shouldn't go into adulthood without learning and practicing some basic skills.  Just like when you are down 4-2 in the last inning of a elimination game and it comes down to the next 3 batters, sure they could rally back and get enough runs to win, but not making errors early in the game might've prevented you being put in a "do or die" situation.  When you can't figure out why your checkbook won't balance, you may wish you paid a little more attention in math. 

The hardest days during the school year are the days after I post who made my volleyball, basketball, or softball team.  I know that for that day, I am the most hated person at the school.  I am the person who makes girls cry when all they wanted was to be part of a group.  I always pray that maybe, just maybe, the girls who don't make it will either go home over the next year and get better and prove me wrong the next year, or find another group to be part of.  I also pray that the girls who do make the team become better people and players over the course of a season.  I wish that every young person had an adult who would teach and guide them through these difficult lessons.  All I can control, however, are those young people that I come in contact with.