Always play to win!

I just got a call from Coach. The lil' Lady Lions were playing in an AAU tournament in Jacksonville this weekend. They won every game they played to take the championship. Congratulations Lady Lions! I cannot think of playing to win without the story of the Dallas Cowboys coming to mind.

Back to back victories by the Dallas Cowboys at the Super Bowl in 1993 and 1994 may mask the fact that Jimmy Johnson, the team's legendary former coach knew as much about losing as he did about winning. In 1989, his first season at Dallas, Johnson's team had only one win and fifteen losses. Johnson kept a positive attitude. If a running back had the ball, he shouted, "Protect the ball", rather than "Don't fumble". To his field-goal kickers he'd say, "Make this," not "Don't miss." After a loss, he would spend his post-game time plotting the next win, rather than second-guessing what had gone wrong.

The Cowboys responded and improved. It took four years, but the Super Bowl rings were on their fingers. You may not win every tournament or every game, but the person who plays to win always has a much better chance.

Coach said "They left it all on the court". What a compliment. They held nothing back, they gave all they had and then some. And all they had was enough for them to win this championship that now qualifies them to play in the AAU National Tournment in Minneapolis, Minnesota in June 2007.

Way to go Lady Lions.....Queens of the Jungle! Grrr...rrrh!

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (making us conquerors) through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57 AMP

The Price of Success!

Napoleon saw Italy, but not the Alps. He had an objective and he knew where he was going. The Alps were simply something to be crossed enroute. Washington saw Hessians massed at Trenton. He didn't see the Delaware choked with ice. A frozen river was simply a challenge to be overcome on the way to victory.

Students in kindergarten do not see all the years ahead of them, all the homework, the exams and long nights of study that they must endure in exchange for graduation out of high school.
They see years of fun with their friends, sports on their favorite teams and learning new stuff every year.

A mother about to give birth has her mind and heart wrapped around the baby she will soon hold in her arms. The agony of childbirth is simply something that must be lived through in order to experience the joy of new life.

The basketball player intent on bettering her game and earning a state championship will hold the image of the championship ring in her mind. The long hours of training, practice, conditioning and strengthening are simply the price that must be paid in exchange for a great reward. And what a reward!

You can choose to see the obstacles that loom in your path or choose to be truly successful by seeing the objectives: the goals, the reason; the hope that lies beyond those obstacles. Beyond the hurdles lies the finish line.

Those who work through problems reside in the land of success. Those that don't, are lost in oblivion. Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp...

"...but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal."
Philippians 3:13-14 NRSV

Growing into place!

I know all moms with daughters will identify with this. When Vanessa was younger, three and four years old, she loved putting on my high-heeled shoes and wobbled around in them. She pranced in front of the mirror and I imagine she could not wait for a time when she could fit into those shoes.

I was reminded of that scenario this past week when I met with her coach to discuss her evaluation of the past basketball season (at school). Several of their top players were seniors and with two back to back state championships to their name it will be hard to follow in their footsteps. Will everyone expect them to play as the team did last year and the year before?
Maybe or maybe not. However, this is what they must remember, every person, every player has a different footprint. Allowances will be made if they don't play their best. After all, they will not have their players numbers this, that and the other. However, they can rise to the challenge and create the magic of a great team and amaze us all by playing their very best because they were a part of the best team in their league.

For a while little Vanessa teetered around in my shoes, several sizes too large. Ironically today, not too many years later, she wears a size larger than mine. We all know that especially with sneakers, the shoes seem to get molded to one's foot and no one else can be comfortable in those shoes. So do not seek to fill the shoes of others. Learn from them by all means. Then carve a path that is your own. Have your heroes, but don't live in their shadows for you must strive so others will learn and be inspired by you.

As we get into each tournament and each season, we are not looking for a replay of the best of our games. We are looking for new marvels, new inspiration, improvement and astonishing plays from unsuspected corners. That is what keeps the game fresh and exciting.
So as I watch your games as this season progresses, I will be looking to be enchanted, to be mesmerised, totally blown away by players who are electrifying, totally extraordinary. Players who have been well trained and have also learnt from other great players by reading their biographies and watching their games and beyond that modelled their own unique style.

Don't stay under the bar that already exists. Go on, raise the bar and then strive to keep raising it. Triumph is just "umph" added to try.

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not..."
Galatians 6:9

To the Seniors who have graced our courts, delighted us all and raised the bar for entire generations to come the world ahead is even more exciting than this one that they leave behind. My words to them:

"Do not follow where the path may lead... go instead where there is no path and leave a trail..."
God's Little Devotional Book for Leaders