The Best-est

I love coaching. But sometimes, I have to keep grounded in what's really important. It can't be about winning; it has to be about playing well, improving, working hard, and developing some character along the way. I believe I was called to be a coach this season, and that my purpose is not to rack up wins, but to build relationships around a medium I love.

But don't get me wrong, I love to win.

Next week is our first tournament. It's exciting and nerve-wracking, all at the same time. Today at volleyball practice, I wanted to communicate that our success next week is not measured by our wins, but by how well we play, how hard we play, and that we don't give up.

In an ironic twist, I asked them all, "So, how many of you are really competitive and like to win?"

Everyone raises their hand.

"Well, I'm the most competitive of anyone, and I --"

Suddenly an assistant coach (let's name her Prodigy. Not only is she multi-talented, but I also think of her as my coaching mentee) giggled. Everyone turned to look, and she said with a smile, "I just thought that was funny, because you were talking about being competitive, and then you said you were the MOST competitive..."

We all shared a laugh. It's true. Who am I kidding? I love winning. I love being the Best-est, including (apparently) being the most competitive. Luckily, I can admit it, and can laugh at myself for it.

Today's church sermon reminded me that my worth is not based on my performance... but rather, my worth is based in Christ. The analogy between my pep-talk to the girls, and life, is pretty amazing: The scoreboard doesn't measure who worked the most, or the hardest, or improved. The scoreboard is an unfair measurement of success. And as the coach, I don't care (for the most part) whether we win; what I care about is never giving up, working hard, and developing character.

Similarly, Christ doesn't care if I win at anything here on earth, but whether I never give up, whether I work hard, and develop character. Unfortunately, my character (like most people's) is formed more by losing than winning. And, as Prodigy and I joke, we feel we've had ENOUGH character development for a while. It's bed nice to let someone ELSE grow for a while...

Anywho, I hope we win next week. But it's kind of a win-win. Either we bring home the hardware, or we bring home some valuable life-lessons. I'm hoping for both.


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