Winning and Success Aren’t Always the Same Thing
This past week, we had the opportunity to celebrate some very special people at our annual Champions for Character Awards Ceremony. It is always one of my favorite events of the year because, for one evening, we recognize something that doesn’t always show up in a box score, league standing or on a championship banner. We celebrate character.
As I listened to the stories of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and officials, I found myself thinking about something that can sometimes get lost in the competitive world of high school athletics. Winning and success aren’t always the same thing. Don’t misunderstand me. I believe winning matters. Competition matters. We keep score for a reason. Our student-athletes work hard to compete, our coaches dedicate tremendous time and energy to helping their teams improve, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing a league title or CIF Southern Section championship. Learning how to compete is one of the many valuable lessons athletics can provide. However, if winning becomes the only way we measure success, we miss much of what makes high school athletics so valuable.
Success can look very different depending on the student, the team and the circumstances. It can be how a student-athlete responds to disappointment, how someone supports a teammate or how a coach handles a difficult moment. Those things don’t appear in the standings, and we don’t hang banners recognizing them. But that doesn’t make them any less important. That is what struck me again at our Champions for Character celebration. We weren’t there because of statistics or championships won. We were there because the people being recognized demonstrated through their actions what high school athletics can and should represent.
As adults, we have an important responsibility in that process as well.
Our student-athletes are watching us. How we respond when emotions
are high or things don’t go our way sends a powerful message about
what we truly value. As we move deeper into the fall season and
eventually into our CIF Southern Section playoffs, the intensity will
increase. League championships will be decided, seasons will end and
champions will be crowned. Those moments matter, and we should
enjoy them. But when the final contest has been played, I hope
we ask ourselves a larger question: Was our season successful?
Wins and losses can certainly be part of that answer, but they shouldn’t be the entire answer. Did our student-athletes grow from the experience? Did they learn how to handle adversity and be part of a team? Did we provide them with an experience they will look back upon years from now and be thankful they were a part of? If we can answer yes to those questions, then I believe we have accomplished something significant, regardless of what the final standings say. There will always be a place for trophies, banners and championships in high school athletics. They represent tremendous accomplishment and deserve to be celebrated. But long after the final scores are forgotten, the lessons, relationships and memories created through high school athletics will remain. Our Champions for Character honorees reminded us of that this past week.
Winning is important. But helping young people learn how to compete, how to lead, how to treat others and how to respond when things don’t go their way? That is success.
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