11. A Parent Talks to Their Child Before the First Game

Now available on Amazon: Endless Teachable Moments - An Expression on the Art and Education of Sport

I’ve carried one book with me throughout most of my life: Wooden - A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court. The author is of course, the great John Wooden. I consider it the greatest book on education-based coaching ever written. I consider it a masterpiece in values, so much so that as a one-time high school assistant principal, I had an entire grade level read it. It is simple, poetic, and feels like art in your hands. This book contains, among other things, Wooden’s famous Pyramid of Success, a profound model for achieving competitive greatness. If asked for my top three recommendations on books, Wooden’s masterpiece would be one of the three. The other two, I’ll name later.

I purchased this book in college. From where, I’m not sure. I wish I remembered that moment. In was in this book that Coach Wooden, arguably the greatest team sports coach of all-time, introduced me to poetry. At that moment, I knew poetry was a tool - a tool of inspiration, a tool of mindfulness, a tool of critical thinking, a tool of expression, a tool of art.

Within this blog and podcast, I aim to give athletes, coaches, teachers, leaders, and parents content they can add to their toolkit. The poem titled, A Parent Talks to Their Child Before The First Game, by an unknown author mind you, is one of the many gems inside Wooden’s book that adults can use and pass along to others.

I’m simply here to spread the word. Education begins in the home. Parents are educators. We, the coaches and teachers, well, we simply supplement that education. This poem is both education for child and adult, so as I’ve said many time prior, drink it slowly. In Coach Wooden’s book, he names a set of ‘Seven Things to Do” written by his father. One of the seven was “drink deeply from great books.”

So to all listeners, you are a part of the educational village. Drink deeply from this poem. Read it to your child. Read it to yourself. Most importantly, pass it along. In a world of never-ending new content, it can be nice to go back to the simple and wise content of old. This poem is great art, and great art resides on the wall, forever.

A Parent Talks to Their Child Before the First Game

This is your first game, my child. I hope you win.
I hope you win for your sake, not mine. Because winning’s nice.
It’s a good feeling.
Like the whole world is yours.
But, it passes, this feeling.
And what lasts is what you’ve learned.

And what you learn about is life.
That’s what sports is all about. Life.
The whole thing is played out in an afternoon.
The happiness of life.
The miseries.
The joys.
The heartbreaks.

There’s no telling what’ll turn up.
There’s no telling whether they’ll toss you out in the first five minutes or whether you’ll stay for the long haul.

There’s no telling how you’ll do.
You might be a hero or you might be absolutely nothing.
There’s just no telling.
Too much depends on chance.
On how the ball bounces.

I’m not talking about the game, my child.
I’m talking about life.
But, it’s life that the game is all about.
Just as I said.

Because every game is life.
And life is a game.
A serious game
Dead serious.

But, that’s what you do with serious things. You do your best.
You take what comes.
You take what comes
And you run with it.

Winning is fun.
Sure.
But winning is not the point.

Wanting to win is the point.
Not giving up is the point.
Never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the point.
Never letting up is the point.
Never letting anyone down is the point.

Play to win.
Sure.
But lose like a champion.
Because it’s not winning that counts.

What counts is trying.

- Unknown


As always, be great and break barriers,

Jason Aron Ronai