Tuesday, June 18, 2019

The importance of winning

Ask a coach how important winning is and the response will range from "winning is everything" to "winning is unimportant."  I know that I fell into that latter category when recently asked how important winning is to me.  I admit, my opinion has made an about-face from the days I coached basketball and baseball.  In those sports, the success of the team was defined by victories.  Losses equaled failure. A winning record, a championship run, a title meant everything.  I played those sports.  I get it.

But I'll stand by my response today.  I'm a Cross Country coach.  I've coached teams entered into races with several hundred competitors.  One kid wins, the rest don't.  How important can "winning" be?  The truth is that in our sport EVERYBODY can be a winner.  No, we don't give trophies to those at the back, or even the middle, of the pack.  But winning in Cross Country consists of two elements.  Effort and improvement.  Take a random score in a baseball game . . . 7-5.  The team scoring 7 runs consists of 15 "winners."  The team scoring 5 runs leaves them with 15 . . . well, you get it.  In each and every race in Cross Country, the athletes "win" is directly tied in to (1) his/her last race, (2) his/her season record, or (3) his/her personal record (PR).  Three chances for improvement.  Three chances to "win."

I've felt, and said, that winning for me in our sport, and for each of our athletes, is not necessarily dependent upon beating the team you're opposing that day.  Winning is accomplished by beating the runner you see each day in the mirror.  Those individual victories are what drives a runner.  I understand that perfectly.  Win that race each time out and "team" victories will follow.  

When I was asked that question, "how important is winning?" it was in the context of team wins.  My focus remains on those individual "victories" each of you can have in each race you run.  Prepare accordingly.  In that context, winning can be "everything."  



 


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