Treasure Coast Sports Journal Spring 2014 Spring 2014 | Page 3

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S u m m e r

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Many seasons have passed since my playing days at Lincoln Park falling apart, I could hear the whiners and the encouragers, but
Academy. The seasons have passed, but not the memories and above it all I learned from the leader who neither whined or
life lessons learned on the Greyhound basketball court. Today, wistfully encouraged, but rather strategized and adjusted to reI find myself sitting in the stands cheering for my oldest son at solve the problem. The leaders on our team didn’t care who
Central High School, and my daughter at Lincoln Park. Vicari- received the glory, and in their own way, made each of us feel
ously, I watch my children
greater than we really were.
experiencing and learning life lessons that I
I wish that I could write
know will be valuable all
that my Lincoln Park playBy Troy Ingersoll
the days of their lives.
ing years were greatly sucPerhaps, in a few paragraphs,
cessful and we hardly lost a
I can share the lessons learned from sports that I consider price- game. It would not be the truth. Lincoln Park had shut down
less as an individual, father, and school board member.
the basketball program for many years, and I had the opportunity to be part of those players that participated that first year
On the court I learned that individuals of all nationalities, races the program was brought back. We were shellacked by almost
and backgrounds can become a team, when every member is every High School we played. The second year of playing we bewilling to trust each other to give the best of their talent and came almost invincible, beating most of the teams we played.
skill. It was a major advancement in my eduIn truth, I believe that the most important life
cation when I realized that each of the men
lessons learned came from the first seaI played with, helped me do a better job,
son, when we lost almost every game. It
than I could have done on my own. My
was the year that I learned about failgreatest year of basketball starred a Gerure, and those lessons have served as a
man student, a Canadian student, Caugreat asset.
casians and African-Americans. It didn’t
matter what we were or where we came
I learned that failing for a season does
from, but each of us learned, that as a
not become a pattern for failure the
team, not one of us was a good as all of
next season. Each of us that played that
us.
first season at Lincoln Park learned that
failure was an occurrence, but it did not
I can remember many days after school
define us. We learned that the greatest
dreading the hours of practice, and
barrier to our success was our fear of
sometimes envying those students that
failure and our unwillingness to accept
went home for snacks, idle play, and TV
a series of defeats as the final defeat.
time. However, I learned that self-denial
We learned to try again. Get beat. Get
was the key to success. The joy of vicback up and try again.
tory came only by self-denial, and all the
good thoughts, fuzzy feelings, and passionAs stated, the next season we became the
ate prayers of the self-indulgent would never
upset team. Sometimes while listening as a
accomplish the tangible taste of succeeding. It is impossible for father or a school board member, I hear a hint of defeatism, and
any individual to fully grasp the breadth of victory, until they I remember the emotions from long ago as part of that failing
have experienced firsthand, the cost of self-denial to make a basketball team, and I remember that old saying, “Success builds
dream come true.
character, failure reveals it.”

Sports and Academics

Sports taught me the lesson of priorities. I had to prioritize how
I spent my time. It is true of any high school athlete. They must
balance sport participation with academics, home life, church,
and sometimes a part-time job. It was not so much a matter of
time management, but more a matter of priority management.
Playing basketball was a priority. My time playing high school
began the process of teaching me that I had to schedule my priorities, and take control of my priorities, recognizing that each
decision would be either be a step towards my ultimate goal, or
a step away.

High school athletics taught me the basics of leadership. The
lessons came quickly as I observed that it is impossible to ask
others to do something that you are unwilling to do yourself. If
a player wants the ball to be passed to him, he must be as willing
to pass to others. On the basketball court, when the game was

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S p r i n g

Sometimes I’m asked, “Why do you support the athletic programs so strongly?” The answer is, “We can teach our students
about science, mathematics, English, and history through books
and classrooms, but on the courts and practice fields, we can
give them a life lab experience with competition, courage, dedication, determination, discipline, failure, leadership, priorities,
self-denial, and team work!”

Troy Ingersoll is a member of the St. Lucie County School Board.
He is running for re-election in August.

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