Here's Why We Play Inside the Lines

Life lessons learned from parenting a house of athletes

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Do you know those Dads that spend half their parenting lives on the road? Um, yeah I’m one of those.

You have to ask yourself what are we thinking? Well, we spend gobs of money, travel up and down the coast to random tournaments, and feed our kids Chipotle and Wawa along the way. There’s nothing quite like watching your kids compete on the field.

But here’s the real reason we find joy in waking up at 5 am on Saturdays. We’re wise enough to know that our kids are not going pro, but they will learn incredible life lessons that will help them attain success off the field.

And these lessons? They don’t apply just to our kids but to all of us looking to get ahead in life.

So step into the batter’s box and learn a few here.

There is no I in team. When you are on a team, you don’t succeed in trying to do everything yourself. You realize that each of your teammates must do their part to succeed. When you all make the right sacrifices and work together you learn there’s not much you can’t accomplish. You are never bigger than the team.

There is always room for improvement. We all have big dreams and our kids are no different. We want them to think big but the important lesson is to never settle. If you want to get ahead in life, never be afraid to aim high. The only thing standing in your way of achieving your dreams is belief and working hard at your craft.

You need to put in the work. Trying to play at the next level takes dedication and sacrifice and you never forget that there is always someone looking to take your spot. Keep improving your skills and you will put distance between you and the ones gunning for your job. I'm also a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.

Setbacks are the times to move forward. - For many athletes, they wrongfully assume that their current skills can easily transfer to the next level. That doesn’t happen. You were the star in high school and now you can barely get any minutes in a game. How are you going to handle that setback? These setbacks offer a great opportunity to reflect on what you need to work on and put a winning game plan in place.

You will fail. When you are an athlete, you can’t win every game or make every shot. Like most things in life, the biggest lessons come from failure. Failure is always the greatest teacher. Take the time to understand why you failed, and what you need to do better. When used the right way, these lessons in failure give you confidence to propel forward in the next situation.

The thrill of winning. - When you are part of a team and you all work towards a collective goal and win, there’s no feeling like winning. You are reminded of the value of being part of a team, or the work you put in to achieve that success so that you can replicate it all over again.

You need to manage relationships. Managing relationships doesn’t just happen in the office. When you are an athlete, learning how to manage relationships with your teammates and your coach is a critical skill. When you have a good line of communication with your coach, you have the opportunity to understand what’s expected of you and what you need to do to earn more minutes on the field. Without a good communication line, you often feel like you are working hard in the dark. Sound familiar?

And, always strive to see the best in people, and it's highly likely they’ll see the best in you.

Keeping a positive attitude. - When you lose that starting spot, or you’re working hard in practice but don’t see the results on the field, you can easily get down on yourself. Rather than focus on the negative, take the opportunity to focus on what you can do to improve and get better.

Learn to ride the wave. You’ve heard me say this before. There will be good days and bad days. Days when the game comes easy to you and days when you just can’t buy a basket or goal. But each day you work hard and persevere, you are setting yourself up for success and better preparing yourself to handle future challenges.

Develop some thick skin. - Maybe you've got crazy parents screaming from the sidelines, critical teammates, coaches barking at you, or refs making bad calls. You need to develop a thick skin. Never take things personally. And remember that if your coach or boss is taking the time to get on you, that means they see your potential. You should really start to worry if they stop paying attention to you altogether.

Staying calm under pressure. - Maybe you are on the free-throw line for the game-winning, or you have an eight-meter or a penalty kick on the soccer field. Learning to breathe, stay calm under pressure will allow you to maintain that high level of skill no matter if you are on the have the last shot of the game or in the boardroom.

“You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits.”
- Michael Phelps