Winners Never Quit

First let me start out by assuring those who read this I asked permission from my son to use his story as an example for this blog topic. I want to discuss the quality of perseverance.

My son Jamie is a tennis player at his high school. He started playing just a few years ago, literally. He loves the sport, and dreams of playing at a very high level. He's good. He wants to be better. No, that's not strong enough, he wants to be the best. He played in a tournament this weekend and was beaten, twice. He was very frustrated with his own performance.

As a child he competed in gymnastics. He was beyond naturally gifted. Gymnastics was easy, he was a hard worker, and somewhat of a perfectionist. He holds seven consecutive Oregon State All Around first place titles, and five Regional titles. He had amazing lines for the sport. When he reached level 10 (collegiate) as an eleven year old he had a bad experience throwing a double back somersault off the high bar. Hit his shins and fell like a brick to the floor. He decided that was not an experience he cared to repeat, and in the sport at that level, well, repeating is not just likely its business as usual. He never really had a passion for the sport. So he moved on. Tried a few things and then found tennis.

He is not the best out there. He is, considering his short tenure in the sport, really good. So he has to be patient and develop the skills that the kids he is playing have honed for years. He has to learn to lose. With the losses come learning. Not everything will come easy. He does have some experience really valuable to guide him to his goals; he knows what it feels like to win, to be on top, and this drives him to work harder. He has a healthy respect for the phrase effort equals output. He's not a quitter. I have no doubt he will achieve.

Although I am happy he had the experience of winning early in life, I am even more grateful for the opportunity he is having to lose. Sounds crazy? This experience will shape him in a way a thousand gold medals could not.