Life Lessons Start in the First Game

For every athlete, there is always a first game. Some react nervously; others are calm. No matter how the player approaches it, that first game seldom unfolds exactly as he or she had imagined. Every player must walk onto the field and face competition for the first time, and for Chase McDonald, that day recently arrived. Most people would probably imagine a 7-year-old boy spending his Saturday morning eating cereal, playing video games or watching cartoons, but that was not what Chase had planned for this particular Saturday. He was up early that day, preparing himself to face the Ridglea Roughnecks. He informed me that the Roughnecks were a team with some experience. "They have played together a lot before this year," Chase noted about his opponents. Chase's team, the Lake Worth Bullfrogs, was not heavy on veterans. The Bullfrogs roster included a handful of seasoned players, while most others had never before played organized sports. The game kicked off and Chase played well in the first quarter, making tackles on both special teams and defense. Perhaps his best moment came in the second quarter - a tackle-for-loss that forced the Roughnecks to turn the ball over on downs. His team went into halftime with the score tied at 14. The second half wasn't kind to the Bullfrogs, though, as the Roughnecks galloped out to a 28-point lead before adding another touchdown on the final play of the game. Instead of attempting a two-point conversion, the Roughnecks simply took a knee and brought the contest to its conclusion. In his postgame speech to the team, the Bullfrogs' coach tried to drive home the lessons of the day. "We learned a lot today, men," he said. "We learned to count on each other when times are hard and we are tired. Our opponents learned that we won't quit and they know they were in a game today. And I learned that there is no quit in any of you. I'm proud of the effort that all of you put into that game. Now, coach has juice boxes and cookies for everyone." With that, the entire team was off at a near sprint. The game ended with a 46-14 loss for the Bullfrogs. How did Chase assess his first foray into organized competition? "They seemed faster and I wasn't used to their technique because I don't practice against them," he said. "We could have done better. We tried our best. I was so tired that I wanted to lay down, but I didn't want to give up or let my team down." And with that, Chase illustrated the beauty of youth competition. In youth sports, the final score isn't the point. Wins and losses are trivial. I was reminded of that as I watched Chase walk off the field with his mother. "I'm so proud of you," she said. Indeed she was. She was proud that her son had found in himself the ability to keep going despite adversity and exhaustion. These qualities that we value in adults are taught to young athletes on the field. Chase was already learning this, and only his first game was in the books.