For many children in sport, May and June mean tryout season. This is inevitably a season of disappointment for many children, some who do not make the team they want, and others who do not make a team at all. It is a time where they face uncertainties such as new teammates, a new coach, perhaps a new club and whole new friend group. Many families move towns, and young athletes are thrust into trying situations, with no friends or familiar faces to look upon.
They may face failure and adversity. They will definitely face it if they continue in sports. I love this image about talent development:
It is not a smooth path nor a straight line to the top. That is where we parents come in. It is up to us to ensure that failure becomes their fuel. How do we do that?
We can help our children learn from adversity, and embrace the struggle. To do so, try these ideas below:
1. HELP YOUR ATHLETES FOCUS ON THE PROCESS: Nothing worth doing comes easily, especially in sports. You will have your good days and bad days, your injuries and your healthy periods, your good coaches and your bad ones. Help instill a growth mindset in your kids by, as noted Stanford Researcher Carol Dweck says in her great TED talk, introducing the word“ yet” into their vocabulary.“ I didn’ t make the top team YET; I need to practice more.”“ I have not earned a starting spot YET; time to get to practice early and stay late.”
2. ASK YOUR ATHLETES THE RIGHT QUESTIONS WHEN THEY STRUGGLE: Though times of adversity can often lead us to criticize, or focus on the negative, a great approach after a struggle is to ask these three questions:
• What went well?
• What needs work?
• What can you learn from today that will help you practice better this week and perform better in the future?
These are not only process-oriented questions, but they help athletes realize that it never all goes wrong. There is always some good, and always opportunities to learn. When your athlete faces adversity, focus on“ what is good about this?”
3. DON’ T BLAME THE UNCONTROLLABLES: instead focus on their response to events. Athletes do not control the actions of officials, or what the opponent does. They cannot account for bad field conditions or poor weather. Blaming and complaining about those things will never make an athlete better, and they only bring negative energy into the conversation and the team. Help them focus on what they control( effort, focus, training time, etc.) and let the other stuff just roll off. As former Ohio State Football Coach Urban Meyer said, E + R = O. The EVENT plus our RESPONSE equals the OUTCOME. We control our response, so respond well!
4. HELP THEM FIND THINGS THEY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT: One of the critical ingredients needed for athletes to overcome adversity is ownership of the experience. As parents, when it comes to sports it is very helpful to assist our kids in finding their passion, instead of determining it for them. When a young athlete loves what she is doing, and is doing it because she owns the experience, she is far more likely to keep pushing through injuries, adversity, etc. It is great when kids fall in love with the sports we love or played, but that does not always happen. You cannot force passion, and passion is what overcomes adversity.
5. SHOW THEM HOW TO EMBRACE THE HAND THEY WERE DEALT, AND PLAY IT WELL: We all have faced adversity, and when our children struggle, it is a great time to share our own struggles, and what we learned from them. Be vulnerable, and teach them how adversity helps you develop grit, resilience and more love of a sport, or a job, or anything you do. As Wambach shared in her speech, going into the 2015 World Cup, as one of the greatest players and leaders the U. S. National Team had ever known, she was asked to lead from the bench.“ You’ re allowed to be disappointed when it feels like life’ s benched you,” said Wambach.“ What you aren’ t allowed to do is miss your opportunity to lead from the bench. During that last World Cup, my teammates told me that my presence, my support, my vocal and relentless belief in them from the bench, is what gave them the confidence they needed to win us that championship. If you’ re not a leader on the bench, then don’ t call yourself a leader on the field. You’ re either a leader everywhere or nowhere.”
I wrote this today not only because I just heard Abby Wambach’ s inspiring commencement address. I wrote it because I am a coach, and my teams just finished tryout season. I have been coaching for over two decades, and I still hate tryouts. This year, like every other, there were disappointed players. But there was one who was thrilled.
Recently, I had to have a very difficult conversation with this young player who was devastated not to make the top team in her age group. It is a conversation every coach dreads having.
She could have quit. She could have blamed everyone. But she did not. She got to work. She showed up focused and prepared every day. She joined extra practices. She embraced her role as a leader on her new team. She took every opportunity to play up, and gave her best effort every time. She learned from the good days, and from the bad days. And one year later, she was back on the top team in her age group.
Her failure was her fuel. And that fuel helped her earn her spot.
Because in the end, it was not really even a failure at all. Just a bump in the long rocky road to the top.
Help your athletes make failure their fuel. Help them navigate those potholes that sports, and life, throw in their way. Not by blaming, avoiding or paving over those bumps, but by helping your athletes see that there is always a path forward. n
34 | Soccer Journal