Lose with pride

I have coached many individuals in my life, across many sports. Many of these people, young or old, have taught me many different life lessons. A little while ago, I had the privilege of sitting in my living room, while watching one of these athletes, play hockey in the u16 Girls, Top Schools final.

Hannah-Claire captained my Boland u16 team and is also the captain of a formidable Paarl Gim, u16A team. For our Boland team, who were a B side, in the A-section, we knew it would be tough. We were always destined to lose more than we would win, and the tournament would be about character and drive, more than winning hockey matches.

Time and time again, Hannah-Claire stepped up, led the team and would walk off the field with pride. We never really got outplayed in the tournament and could be proud of our performances, but we always felt something was missing. I will never forget, in our cross-pool game, we were 3-0 down to the only other B side in the A-section, after some things just did not work for us, when the game was interrupted by lightning. - Yes - LIGHTNING!

The team, sitting in the change room, waiting to go back out there, praying for a chance to regroup and try again. The room, silent, listening to the rain drops hitting the roof and the windows, and the cheers of the team in the other side of the dugout, could have easily gotten the better of anyone. Then, her moment had arrived, and boy, she DID NOT miss it.

"Come girls! - This game is not over. We will not go down like this. We will walk onto that field, and we will fight until the final whistle. If we lose, it will not be like this. We are better than this and we have to go out there and prove it, even if it's just fighting for each-other. We have come too far to just give up." The room then fell back into silence, and you could see each individual, reflecting.

We went back out a few minutes later, the team played arguably their best 10 minutes of the tournament and even though we did not score, we created more chances in those few moments than we did all week. We won our next game 4-1.

Today, again, I watched her, after a narrow defeat in a tournament FINAL, and she congratulated the opposition with a smile on her face. I believe she has mastered the art of understanding that sometimes, in life, things just do not work out for you. There's no shame in losing, if you have given your all, but you have to give your absolute ALL.

Through the way this incredible individual carries herself, I have learnt to look beyond face-value. Take your wins when they come and lose with pride and fight. This is a life lesson too. We need to push the boundaries of what we are capable of and that means sometimes, we will need to take a loss, and people will see that loss and have their opinion, but deep down, you will always remember the fight, before that loss.

The biggest challenge when losing with pride will be to focus internally and stay true to your principals, knowing your goals and where you want to be. Do not ever allow one loss, be the reason you give up, there will always be your lightning break, your opportunity to regroup, somewhere on your journey.