I am sure that by now, everyone has heard of the tragedy that occurred just a week ago in Tucson as a mentally disturbed young man opened fire on Congress women Gabrielle Gifford as she was meeting community members in front of a local grocery store. This senseless act of violence took the lives of innocent people and left a community that has grown closer than ever showing their support and love to the families of the victims. A beautiful Tucson morning turns upside down and leaves members of this community realizing how precious life can be.
As I can attest going through life changing experiences of my own, the only choice we have is to move forward and take a deeper appreciation for the relationships we have and never take them for granted. These experiences come more than we would like in all arenas. Whether it is a family member, friend, or teammate, I do know that we will all experience tragedy in our lives. We must find a way, no matter how tough the challenge, to be able to recover and move forward.
Softball provides us many situations where we must rebound from a poor performance at the plate, on the mound or a defensive mistake. The one thing I can promise you is nothing on the softball field is life threatening. Good coaches and players learn that we work hard to develop the skill sets to be successful and give us the best chance to perform at a high level. Even the very best in our game will face tough times but I have found that they always keep the game in the proper perspective. You will never learn how to be successful unless you know how to get up when the game knocks you down. Great teams react like the Tucson community by showing support for each other when falling on tough times. We all have to learn to “Get Up”. The following paragraph was written by an unknown author and is quite fitting in times of adversity.
"Get Up!"
It has been said that your success is insured when you're willing to get up at least one more time than you get knocked down. Hey, we all get knocked around. Like it or not, it's just a part
of everyday life. No one, not the most or least talented among us, are exempt from the trials and tribulations of day to day living. But it's how we respond to these temporary setbacks that will
in large measure determine how far we go and how high we fly in life.
When life deals you a crushing blow, you must condition yourself to quickly pick yourself up off the canvas and get back into the game. Winners always do. They realize that it's OK to get
knocked down and that it's perfectly normal to feel saddened hurt or disappointed about being knocked down. Lets face it, nobody likes to lose or encounter difficulty. But the winners also
recognize that the getting up part is ninety percent of overcoming any adversity placed in their paths.
Don't worry about getting knocked down. Since it's going to happen regardless of whether we like it or not, especially when we're passionately and enthusiastically chasing your dreams, we should vow to keep getting up each and every time. Laying there, moping and feeling sorry for themselves, isn't going to get them to the winners circle.
Never lose sight of the fact that you were placed here for a reason. There is a song in you that desperately needs to be sung. There are just too many good times, good things and great people out there to enjoy to ever allow a temporary setback to hold you down or hold you back. When you vow to get up every time you get knocked down, you're well on your way to living the life others only dream about.
“Do not fear the winds of adversity. Remember: A kite rises against the wind rather than with it.”
Until next month,
Coach Candrea