alexpgp | Poetry in prose...

From The Legend of Bagger Vance:

There were nights, after Jeannie died, when I would creep into this room, alone, in those black hours beyond the stroke of two, and steal a glance at that one word.

Winner.

Does that sound superficial? Perhaps it was a rather slender straw to grasp at. And yet there is something profound and mysterious about the vastness of the gulf between "winner" and "runner-up." Even one time, just once at any level, to prevail. To be, for one fragile moment, the best.

I love Pressfield's poetry; I have my doubts about the sentiment. Or parts of it.

Oh, there is nothing at all wrong with winning. I've tasted the rarefied air in the winner's circle. It's just that often, it is easy to slip past some ill-defined point where winning stops being an end and starts becoming a way of life, a means without an end.

I am reminded of Searching for Bobby Fischer the other night, when the father responds to his son's doubts about winning by dismissing the idea out of hand. ("What if I lose?" says Josh. "That won't happen," responds his father.)

That's typical "coach" thinking: get everyone keyed up and push every button there is to obtain maximum performance. Maybe that's a good idea in boot camp, but not for playing games.

I think the only proper motivation for wanting to win a game must come from within. It can't be based on someone telling you how and why you must win for something that isn't your own. Coaches should be skilled in motivating people to want to make things their own, without making the process obvious.

I am reminded of the scene at the climax of Remember the Titans where Denzel Washington tells his team, "Okay, we may get beaten, but if we do, let's make sure they never forget us!" That's an example of what may be described as - and has been described on many citations for the Medal of Honor - "words of encouragement."

That's what coaches ought to be: encouragers.

Still... Pressfield's words ring true.

Cheers...