All around the world, at this time of the year, are going down
to defeat in the postseason. As we all know, there can be only be
one winner. There will be only one winner at the Little League
World Series, only one winner at the Pony Baseball World Series in
Monterey and only one winner crowned at the end of the year in
Major League Baseball. At every level of competition there will be
teams that are defeated. Only one team moves on. And they, in turn,
may reach the end of the road before enjoying the pot of gold.
All around the world, at this time of the year, are going down to defeat in the postseason. As we all know, there can be only be one winner. There will be only one winner at the Little League World Series, only one winner at the Pony Baseball World Series in Monterey and only one winner crowned at the end of the year in Major League Baseball.
At every level of competition there will be teams that are defeated. Only one team moves on. And they, in turn, may reach the end of the road before enjoying the pot of gold.
But it’s how every player, coach and parent handles defeat that goes a long way toward developing character for the future, in addition to learning lessons on life.
How we approach the minutes, days and weeks after a tough loss with our youth players is important The reality is, the season is done and the games are over. Each player gave his best and tried hard at every practice and game. Kids improved in every facet of the game and learned how to play with one another as a team. Friendships were started both among players and parents. Coaches gave extra time and effort toward putting a competitive team on the field.
As each game was played, weaknesses and mistakes were magnified much more than the regular season. Every pitch and every swing of the bat became an important time in the game. And that’s what all the players and parents, along with the coaches, need to build on for next year as they work in the offseason. Let defeat work for you. Become proactive and don’t dwell on what could have been..
A couple of fielding errors may mean working harder on defensive skills for next year. Making a bad pitch may mean working on better location of pitches. Striking out in a crucial situation as a hitter may signal the time to become more of a contact hitter than trying to hit a home run.
Parents should keep each player’s attitude positive and look at the good points of the postseason experience. Kids are resilient and will bounce back from defeat quite well. Actually, quicker than you might think.
Coaches should look back and ask themselves what they learned from the kids. What did the players teach you throughout every game, both from an intangible and tangible point of view.
Answering these questions will better prepare you in handling and understanding youth players in the future.
From every angle, defeat should be looked upon as a positive. It showed players what they have to do to win and what they can’t do to avoid losing.
Parents watched their children learn a valuable life lesson: namely, that you have to work hard to succeed.
And coaches learned how much fun it is to be around kids wanting to be champions.
Yes, there is only one winning team that survives it all, but there are also a lot of winners along the way.
That should never be forgotten.
