In an interview she did for Parade Magazine (Oct. 14, 2018), Jamie Lee Curtis said, “Every good thing that ever happened to me was because I was in horror films.” My take from that is that good things happen to you, but sometimes only after you work hard for them and even do things that might frighten you or that you are afraid to do.
Stepping out of our comfort zone can be scary and challenging but that’s how we grow. We shouldn’t be afraid to fail, rather we should be afraid not to try. (I don’t like scary movies at all by the way.) As I talk to you about working hard and trying, I also have to share a quote by Ty Howard who said, “Underdogs adapt, evolve and become winners because of their preparation, heart, execution and relentless attitude that the game will not end any other way.”
A couple of weeks ago, I watched the WWCC Women’s Soccer team enter the Region IX Championship match as the underdog.
They were the No. 2 seed, facing the No. 1 seed, who was nationally ranked. I watched these amazing young ladies band together and defeat this Goliath, who, by the way, we had never beaten before in the history of WWCC Women’s soccer. In addition to all of this, this year’s team accomplished many other firsts for the program including hosting a playoff game, advancing to the championship, winning a championship and advancing to the District Tournament.
A few more firsts for this group include: most wins, most Region IX post-season honors including Keeper of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year as well as Keeper of the Week for the entire NJCAA. The reason for bragging them up so much isn’t because of their record and accomplishments-It’s really because of how they performed as a team. Let me explain.
The tagline on their athletic poster simply reads, “Together We Can.” It doesn’t read, “We will play perfect matches.” It doesn’t read, “If someone makes a mistake we will get down on ourselves or each other.”
It simply reads, “Together We Can.”
And together they did. They showed us and themselves what can happen if you simply believe in yourselves and each other 100 percent and that good things do happen if you play FOR each other instead of WITH each other.
This team of talented, young ladies also showed us that if you don’t worry who gets the individual credit and just worry about team results then anything IS possible, underdog or not.
I am sure that when this team faced some of their opponents they were a bit scared. I will tell you though, you would never have known it by looking at them. They epitomized the words of Jack Canfield who said, “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” These young ladies have inspired me to keep pursuing my own dreams, goals and ambitions even if I am the only one that believes I will accomplish them. They have inspired me to set my bar higher. They have reminded me that whining, blaming, complaining and making excuses will never get you where you want to be.
By the way, while accomplishing all that they did, they have also set their sights on another realistic but awesome goal, in fact all six of our WWCC athletic teams have.
They are all collectively working to obtain Academic Championships and Awards by earning at least team 3.0 GPAs. They realize that living by our athletic motto of being “Good People first, Good Students second and Good Athletes third.” They will accomplish great things while here in college and then beyond.
They realize that being excellent both on and off the field, mat and court, the most important and distinctive honor athletes can achieve. Congratulations to this fine group of young ladies for their most recent accomplishments, but moreover, I thank them for reminding us all that as well as Veronica Roth said, “It’s not about being fearless, it’s about acting in spite of fear.”
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