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Try This At Home……………….

Try This At Home

The next time your child loses, use the opportunity to help him or her learn from the situation. Have your child draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On the top of one side write Good and on the top of the other side write Improve.

First, on the Good side, write down all of the things he or she did well. Then, on the Improve side, write down all the things he or she could have done better. Look at the list of things to work on and come up with ways to practice or fix them for the next time. Remind your child that everyone wants to win, but we don’t learn nearly as much when we do; losing is an opportunity to raise his or her game to the next level.

I was happy to receive an enthusiastic endorsement from Steve Weatherford, current punter for the New York Jets. Here is what Steve had to say after reading Becoming a True Champion:

"I read it, I loved it, I live it! As a professional athlete in the NFL I've made many sacrifices in my personal and athletic life. Becoming a True Champion is an inspiration even to me now. It's a great reference for the passionate athlete willing to make sacrifices to achieve true greatness.”

This is the most recent post from my weekly blog, Sports Lessons For Life. You've heard Robert Fulghum's saying that All I Ever Need To Know About Life, I learned In Kindergarten. I contend that everything you need to succeed in life you can learn through sports. Please visit www.erinmirabella.com for more information.

Try This At Home……

(I know the description of the game below is long, but the actual game is short, so just stay with me. It’s worth it, I promise. Your kids will really get it.)

In her recent blog, Shelly Prall asks how to help her eleven-year-old son, a wrestler, keep the possibility of winning another state championship in perspective. I believe, along with John Dee, that if a child is naturally competitive, as it sounded from Shelly's blog, then that spirit should be fostered! Humans are naturally competitive and there is nothing wrong with wanting to win a second state championship. However, the long-term goal in our sons' lives was always to improve enough to make the team at the next level.