Youth sports when properly coached are a great way for kids to learn many important life lessons...winning and losing with grace, competing, giving their personal best, goal setting, earning play time, playing by the rules, respecting coaches and officials, playing as a team, fulfilling their role for the greater good, and striving to improve, to name a few. Also, sports in general can provide many business coaching lessons if one pays attention.
Case in point. My 10-year old son Matthew plays on a 4th grade select basketball team, near the end of his first season. While our son is fairly athletic himself, the athletic talent of the boys on this team is amazing. That was a plus. Also, the team is racially diverse and the kids come from all parts of our city. That was a huge plus. However, we also knew the time commitment was significant. That was a big negative for busy parents. As such, this was not an easy decision for my wife and I. In the end, allowing Matthew to play at this higher level of competition was a good decision, he has enjoyed it greatly, and it has helped him grow in many social, athletic, and emotional respects.
What my son still has to learn is how to play the game he loves with on-going passion and not worry about making mistakes or missing shots. He is being coached to focus on "The Next Play". I think that is a great philosophy. The coaches are trying to get him, and others, to stop worrying about what has already happened. That's a waste of time and energy. A player cannot undo what has happened; they can only affect what is going on right now...the next play.
The coaches want all the boys to keep their heads in the game and focus on the "here and now". If they are still fretting about a foul they committed, a free throw they missed, or a turnover they made, they are not focused on the next play and they will be ineffective. Coaches and parents (especially me) yell out "Next Play" to remind any kid, especially mine, to get re-focused on the current play. For these boys, learning to control their emotions and focus is a great life lesson.
The business coach in me loves this "Next Play" concept. Most entrepreneurs, including myself, should learn to focus our time, talent, and energies on The Next Play. Forget the Past Play. That's done and over. We need to keep our heads in the game of business and not live in the past and with regrets. In fact, we need to learn to let go of the past. Let go of mistakes. Let go of setbacks. Let go of failures. Let go and stop yearning for the "good old days". And yes, even let go of 2008!
If we are focusing on the past, we can not be effective owners in the present and positively impact our futures. Let's all get our heads in the game and learn to focus on the next play.
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System