Little Johnny

Winter sports seasons are here and my wife and I’s non-work lives involve running a couple boys back and forth to the hockey rinks in Eagle River and beyond.   I love sports.  Hockey can be a different animal at times but overall I truly think sports can be as beneficial in development of a young person as academics, music, and social situations.  Sports can teach teamwork, sportsmanship, gratitude, the results of hard work and effort, and learning how to both win and lose.  It can also help one be part of something bigger than themselves.  

The youth sports world has changed a lot in the past couple decades.  There is a lot more money in it and while that can provide some benefits it also has issues.  The idea of a young (say 10-15 year old) athlete specializing in one sport year round is atrocious to me.  The fact that at times we are chasing some younger kids totally out of sports at ages as young as 8 or 10  or 12 because they aren’t competitive enough is atrocious.   The fact that some parents live and die on each moment and are so quick to blame coaches, teammates, and officials for any failure is just as atrocious.  

This is a business article so why we are talking about sports?  Well I think they are very relatable.  In baseball if a hitter hits .300 career they get a hit 3 out of 10 at bats and they are among the best in the game, despite failing 70% of the time.  In my line of insurance work if we are successful in converting 30% of quoted business into booked business the feeling is similar in terms of success, despite failing 70% of the time.  As much fun as winning is learning how to lose and getting better is just as important.  My dad always said the best in life are 2 steps forward and 1 steps back.  One of my favorite sayings is “Good judgement comes from experience and experience, well that comes from bad judgement”.  

I have unique perspective on sports because I’ve played, coached, and officiated extensively over the last 2+ decades throughout youth through college levels.  I love watching sports as a fan and I still really enjoy officiating multiple sports, in recent years the playing and coaching has slowed down.  Little Johnny is a real person, I’m not sure if that is his name but he was an 8^th grade football player about 15 years ago up in Ontonagon, Mi.  It was a fall Saturday morning and Little Johhny’s dad in the stands was quite passionate and loud from the start of the contest.  Dad would yell and scream and both players, coaches, and officials with increasing intensity.  There was nothing wrong with the game and it was progressing about how most 8^th grade football games do.  I was wearing the white hat as referee so my positioning had me right near the offensive huddle before the play.  As Little Johnny’s Dad was continually screaming another player looked up at him early in the 1^st quarter while in the huddle and said “I just wish your dad would shut up”.  This moment really stuck with me as it was evident the kids wanted to play football and have fun.  Sure they wanted to win but they were grateful for the opportunity to get out and play and all of them were in their first or second year of tackle football, just starting to learn the game.  Nothing that dad was doing was helping at all and it in fact was hurting and discouraging the kids.

Food for thought when we feel wronged and are upset.  People make mistakes but no one is perfect either.  If something isn’t going the right way starting with looking in the mirror works much better to start fixing things then blaming others.