It was the late great Paul Dobson who said “Win as if you’ve
just lost, lose as if you’ve just won.”
He was speaking about school rugby and what he meant, I
think, is be humble in victory, be gracious in defeat. That’s a lesson to be learnt
from playing sport that’s going to serve you well throughout life, and the
adults who coach and organise youth sport should be teaching it, it's as
important as the technical and tactical details you try to get the children to
learn.
It’s in what happens after the game, often, that you can see
whether or not teams and individuals are operating on a foundation of solid
values. I like to watch the reaction of the winners and the losers on the final
whistle, educationally it’s probably the most important moment of the game. And
what happens around the ground in the minutes that follow – how the rest of the
learners, the parents, the old boy spectators and the coaches behave, that’s
the measure of whether there was class on display or not.
I’ve observed and wrote about examples on both sides of
the issue over the years. There were two more recently.
The bad was to be seen at Menlo Park when a clip from their
loss to Helpmekaar two weeks ago showed the post-match handshake line turning
into a full out brawl after one player apparently didn’t like what another one said or did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9c01aI0uuo
There’s a lot of emotion involved, I know, you wouldn’t be
doing your jobs at coaches if you didn’t make the players believe it’s important,
they have to be passionate and passion isn’t a tap that can be shut in an
instant. But there’s the lesson to be learnt. Win or lose, when it’s over it’s
over and there’s nothing to be gained by fighting on.
It worse when there’s an over-emphasis on winning. When
winning is your main value then it’s hard to accept defeat. When coaches roll
out the cliché that winning is the only thing, then what’s left when you lose?
Contrast that with what I saw at the Aitken hockey final on
Sunday afternoon (night actually, after lightning and loadshedding brought about
a two hour break between chukkas three and four).
I couldn’t describe it better than Adrian Carter of Saints:
Hockey doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. It’s
as hard a game as rugby and in my experience the hockey programmes in the top
schools are as professionally run as the rugby ones.
Yet, somehow, they seem closer to getting the balance right. They certainly
did in the games that I watched at the Aitken and Boden tournaments over the
weekend. Especially in the two finals.
Unfortunately we can't see what Adrian Carter said unless we are friends with him Theo.
ReplyDeleteReally? I wasn't aware of that. It seems to work for most. Can I send it to you somehow?
DeleteHi Theo, well said. I find it quite iterating when old boys and pupils run onto the field to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteNo problem Theo, he has a private profile on Facebook (most profiles are), so you can only read his posts if you are a friend of his on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteWith Adrian’s permission, I paste his comments below:
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who know me, I owe a lot to the sport of hockey. Yesterday St Stithians College hosted the final of the Aitken Hockey Tournament between Jeppe High School for Boys and St Stithians College. It was upon reflection a Celebration of Hockey. Firstly our St Stithians Boys and Girls Schools came out by the hundred to support a very special team on a Sunday - thank you to my fellow colleagues for your incredible support. The Saint's blue Astro was packed with between 2000-3000 spectators to ensure a truly special occasion for both teams. It was a cracker of a final with Jeppe getting an early goal, while Saints kept asking questions consistently thereafter. The Jeppe keeper was a rock and pulled off a few top saves. Then came the lightning siren and delay, infused with load-shedding and both parties were in for a long wait. Both teams got back on with the last chukka to play, where Saints soon leveled matters. Game on. Both teams had opportunities to win it, when as time was all but up, Jeppe got a corner and sunk it with surgical precision. Pure heartbreak for my boys. Both teams and coaches bought out the best in each yesterday, with the final result of 2-1 being known some four hours after kickoff. Jeppe continues to be the hockey benchmark for teams in the Province, however, the game was about so much more. Our Saints Knights were up for and rose to the challenge which must have been so inspiring for all our junior hockey players and the bigger Saints hockey community. I am so proud of this team for winning the silver medal and making the final for the first time in 47 years. Our boys went over to the Jeppe parents to thank them and congratulate their sons for the win- all this at a time when they were hurting after what had just transpired- what a class gesture. The Saint's parents created a tunnel on the field to congratulate the Jeppe team on their win whilst collecting their trophy and gold medals. It must have been special for these parents to clap for their own children walking through the same tunnel to collect their medals.
The day was not only a celebration of hockey but a celebration of true sportsmanship and deep respect between two remarkable schools. Congratulations to both teams, coaches, and parents on a spectacular display of hockey on the field and impeccable values throughout. It was a privilege to have been a part of it all. The St Stithians first hockey team of 2022, has laid a solid foundation for years to come, and with us retaining most of this team for 2023, the future looks very bright together with our Boden U15 team which came 5th, and our U16 team which came 4th in Top 8. I am one very proud St Stithians staff member.