“I have yet to be involved in a game where luck was involved. Well prepared players make plays. I have yet to be in a game where the most prepared team didn’t win.”
– Urban Meyer, College Football Coach
Disclaimer: I have not been drinking. It is only 7:00 AM CDT (as if THAT mattered!). I have not lost my mind, at least not any more than usual. Yet, somehow I did just quote a person affiliated with Ohio State University’s football program. I am sorry. It served my needs for this morning. I will toss a few extra shekels in the plate this morning, in hopes that God will forgive me.
Now, where was I?
Ah, yes. Last night, LATE in the evening, after two baseball and two preceding basketball games, I watched a group of 5th Grade basketball players completely get me ready for the work week.
In their final game of the Spring Season, 7 kids provided a textbook lesson on why preparation matters so much. Outmanned 13-to-7 on the roster, facing a post player an inch taller and over 100 pounds heavier than any combination of our guys, the Four Points Basketball Club 5th Grade Vipers systematically dismantled their opponents and, after an 11-point win, heard their coaches say, “Guys, that was a great win over a very good team, but we are not surprised. You did exactly what we have been teaching you to do, exactly the way we have been teaching you to do it.”
I have a suspicion that someday, more than a few of these boys will similarly “crush it,” in a job interview, a sales presentation, a dissertation, a commencement speech or some other “high stakes” setting.
Knowing that you’ll be just fine due to preparation, practice and commitment. The stuff of difference makers. The source of confidence.
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