"Yet winning and losing is all around us. From the high school level on, athletes are prepared to win and they in turn convey to a larger public what it is to be a winner...Victory has very narrow meanings and, if exaggerated or misused, can become a destructive force. The taste of defeat has a richness of experience all its own." - Bill Bradley in "Life on the Run"
Sports at their best are art - a tapestry woven from individual threads into expansive and sometimes iconic design.
Great performances, seasons, or careers are mosaics of both memorable and forgettable moments.
Most of us want to be 'winners'. Athletes repeat cycles - preparation, practice, competition, recovery and back again. Games are a small slice of the whole, the "tip of the iceberg."
A memorable moment of a triumphant game-winning attack or home run is but one tile in that career mosaic. The errors and losses have roles, too, filling "blank space."
In the context of a mosaic, we attach significance to moments, often far beyond their 'true' importance. The knowing wink from a coach or transitory praise becomes a tessera in life's mosaic.
For the aspiring athlete, managing physical and emotional "transitions" after practice or competitions has vital importance. Both triumph and trials need perspective.
The math test '100' is one tile forming part of your course grade, your semester GPA. Thankfully, we don't get graded on every sentence, every message, every relationship, every game.
The athlete who navigates victory and defeat well, Bradley's "richness of experience" has a better chance to fashion a memorable career.
Merry Christmas!
Lagniappe. Even elite players struggle. Rafael Nadal found meaning in the "fight for better feelings."
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