5 things I learned from playing sports

I’ve played sports my entire life that I can remember. I still do. I play ice and roller hockey year round on competitive mens league teams in the Boston area.

Am I good? It’s all relative.

I try my best and I have fun and usually that means I can play.

And that’s all that matters. Not just in sports but in life.

All that matters is that you try and you know for sure that you suck at indoor softball. I tried it. Not my bag but plenty of other indoor softball loving people love it and that’s awesome.

That’s exercise, business revenue, and people having fun and enjoying their lives. And isn’t that what we need more of these days?

I’ve swung a stick at an object in hopes of propelling it into a different location for fun.

I’ve also jumped off my childhood home’s staircase like a skier that I saw on TV.

I also skied, too as a kid.

So jumping off my entire staircase as a kid was probably not the best idea but I did it anyway.

Not once but twice. (Had to hit the cellar stairs, too!) I mean, if I didn’t jump down those entire staircases of maybe 10 to 20+ feet total then I would not know what it’s like.

And what is it like?

It’s hurts. Trust me.

But life hurts. And you learn what hurts. In hopes of avoiding that hurt.

That’s what I learned as a kid jumping off staircases and hitting pebbles with my baseball bat and launching them into far off fields…and maybe…a neighbor’s roof or two…but still…the point is…I learned.

I played a lot of sports, mainly football, hockey, and lacrosse from middle school through high school and various rec/beer leagues in my post college working adult life.

I’ve been on championship teams and winless, miserable, “Why do I even bother” teams. But I sign up every season. And I try.

Those sports are all contact sports.

And sometimes, contact sports hurt. But that’s OK. Because you learn how to avoid/reduce the hurt and lessen the chance of an injury. Plus, you are usually padded up.

So for the most part, you are fine. But for those times where it’s not fine and you get knocked to the ground/ice/hard, unforgiving surface…well, you are trained from sports to GET UP.

Or else. Or else people will laugh at you from the bleachers.

And your coach will be mad.

And worst of all…you will let down your friends and teammates if you quit and they lost the Game.

5 things I learned from playing sports

5. Practice how you play. And play like you ball.

The work you do in practice does not count in the standings.

It’s more important than that.

Because it dictates how you will live your life and approach everything you take responsibility for.

4. You can’t win them all but you can’t keep losing either.

You can either continue down the path to mediocrity, or you can just aim your sights for greatness and land somewhere above .500.

And that’s a start.

It is progress, not perfection that you need to strive for and usually that will get you closer to where you want to go, or at least pointed in the right direction.

3. Coach sets the standard but he doesn’t score the goals.

That’s on the players.

And it’s on the players to handle their business and have each others backs on and off the ice.

Who will communicate this important directive? Leaders on the team, and sometimes they are not apparent until well into the season.

But they are there.

And sports brings them out and into the world.

2. Sports teaches you how to have fun.

Sports.

I could bore you with an etymology lesson of the word or I can use another word that describes the same thing.

That thing?

Fun.

And how do you have fun?

By making it feel like work?

No.

You make work work.

You have fun when you play and you play to have fun.

But what’s fun?

Sports are fun.

So play them and have fun.

1. Winning is the ultimate goal.

If your team wins, then that is it, you reached the top, there is nothing left to do. Nothing to worry about now!

The above two sentences are like a female professional ice hockey player. Beautiful…yet dangerous.

Winning is awesome, no doubt. Nobody loves winning more than me. But winning also teaches you what it takes to KEEP ON WINNING more and more.

And what happens if you STOP winning?

Then that is a win as well. Because you just gained new knowledge on things you need to work on to start your next winning streak.