Long day, but worth it. Got to watch my son play at his home school against a tough team. Literally. This team is physical and a bit aggressive.
In the previous match against this team, my son’s team beat them 1-0 in a scrappy 80 minutes of soccer. Tonight, my son’s team beat them 7-2.
But, the highlight of this game was watching my son & his team stay true to the game. They got shoved, elbowed, and kicked but they all held themselves to a higher standard. They didn’t dish it back.
And, I love those boys for being such good sports. I asked my son, like I often do, what the coach said to them during halftime. He said the coach simply said, “I’m proud of you boys. You’re playing your game, not theirs. Keep it up.”
That’s pretty simple, but so powerful.
[I feel like there are so many more analogies that could be explored here. The usual sports as leadership, team morale, etc. Sure I was happy that my son’s team won, but I was more proud of the team’s composure.]