I once had a U10 girl’s soccer team. It was a school team, and because of scheduling problems, we had one practice before our first game with Edina.
Edina was a large school, and I suspected we might be in trouble when their players each arrived with their own matching athletic bags and personal trainers. When the game started, it was forty-five seconds before they scored on us. After three goals, our goalie began to cry.
I turned to our subs and told them that this was a game where everyone was going to get a chance to play goalie. Then I asked who wanted to go first. A couple of kids volunteered. I told them, they would get to stay in the game until two goals were scored against them, and if they stayed in the longest, they would win a prize.
We lost fifteen to zero. The goalie that did the best lasted about six minutes, and she had some good saves.
I called the team in after the game, and tired to think of what to say to them. I started by saying that it was a tough game, then paused. A hand went up from the back of the team. Lizzy asked, “Can we go to the Dairy Queen now?”
“Yes,” I said, “That’s exactly what I was going to say. That’s the prize”
Lesson six. Keep your defeats in perspective. It’s never fun to be defeated, but defeats always seem much bigger at the time. It’s really what you do about them afterward.
Do Great Things
Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)