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I have preached for years about how sports can be such a vital tool in the development of the youth of today.
It is something that gets overlooked and is something a person that never played sports just can’t understand. Even the athletes themselves may not understand or fully grasp initially, but given time for most, the life lessons learned from sports will crystallize.
I lived it growing up and through sports, I became a better person, better coach, and most importantly a better parent. Some of the lessons are obvious, and others might not be realized initially.
There are obvious lessons like working hard to achieve maximum results and learning to work together as a team. One of my favorites and something I taught my kids, my players that I have coached, and the students I work with in the schools is, only you can control the effort you give and if you give your best, then winning and losing doesn’t matter – you can walk away knowing you gave it all.
But this leads to toughest lesson and arguably the most important – giving your best doesn’t guarantee winning. It’s the toughest to digest but once you embrace it, it makes everything in life better.
I’m not saying winning isn’t great, and I have won a lot more than I lost, but losing and how you deal with it is one of the strongest forces in character development.
There are harsh realizations and this often comes when you least expect it. The latest example came last week with the North Coast Section Volleyball playoffs.
There is so much to be taken from the Livermore-Foothill first round match.
The Cowboys came into the match 32-4, the single greatest season in Livermore history. They played and beat Foothill twice and were the No. 2 seed in the NCS tournament.
Foothill was the No. 14 seed and came into the match at 15-15, a record below the standard the Falcons have set over the last 20-plus years.
Taking all the evidence in, the match figured to be a win for Livermore as the Cowboys move towards and NCS Championship against highly rated Northgate.
That would be followed by a spot in the CIF NorCal tournament.
The result – Foothill wins 3-1, ending the amazing season by Livermore well before the Cowboys figured it would end.
I’ve been there twice, being on the losing side in the Western Regional Soccer Championships. One year we fell in penalty kicks, and I picked that time to miss the only penalty kick I missed in my playing career.
It gutted me at the age of 13 and, for a week at least, I carried that with me. I know members of the Livermore volleyball team felt or still feel the same way.
Slowly I came to the realization that I needed to embrace that we got to regional final and be proud for the work we did as a team. No one would ever be able to take that away from us and I was able to realize that I gave my best effort, which I mentioned above, is the lone thing you always have control of.
And that’s the message I would convey to the Livermore players. I know it hurts and I know that initially you think your season may have been a bust when the opposite is true.
What you did this season was amazing. You came together as a team, most of you bonding together for the last 3-4 seasons to produce the best season in the history of Livermore volleyball and one of the best seasons of any sport in Livermore history.
Take the lessons you learned over not just the season, but your Livermore career. Embrace and carry with you what you accomplished, how much you learned, and celebrate what you accomplished, not what you think you failed at.
As you grow, carry with you the lessons learned and always be willing to share with those you encounter.
EBAL dominates NCS swimming championships
It was a good day for the EBAL at the North Coast Section Swimming Championships as the league took 12 individual titles and three relay championships.
Here is a rundown of the individual titles:
Girls
Senior Mckinley Scobie of Foothill – 200 free (1:47.15).
Senior Brooke Bennett of Granada – 200 IM (2:01.83).
Sophomore Daniela Linares Danzos of San Ramon Valley – 100 fly (53.61), 100 back (52.94).
Sophomore Isabella Ferguson of Carondelet – 500 free (5:49.95)
Freshman Taylor Bennett of Granada – 100 breast (1:03.00).
Boys
Junior Kealan Tupper of Amador Valley – 200 free (36.69), 500 free (4:23.40).
Senior Tim Wu of Dougherty Valley – 200 IM (1:45.79).
Junior Cade Vieler of Amador Valley – 100 fly (44.06), 100 back (47.23).
Senior Ethan Wang of Foothill – 100 breast (54.91).
The De La Salle boys took the 200-medley relay and Amador Valley won the 400 free relay. On the girls’ side, San Ramon Valley won the 200-medley relay.
Next up is the CIF State Swimming/Diving Championships this Thursday-Sunday at the Clovis Swim Complex.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
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