Sports, I love 'em.

So I know that my first love was probably my mom and dad...and then probably food and maybe a slinky, but somewhere close behind that was some sort of 'ball!


I've played...
-softball since I was maybe 6?
-volleyball since Middle School &
-basketball since 10th Grade

And those are just on actual organized teams.
If you know my parents (really my extended family should be included, too) then you know I played all kinds of ball long before I was old enough to be on an actual team.

And par for the course, I married a sports-loving man. 

But, I digress...

I write tonight to share about something that I think sports have to offer us all a lesson in--and that's life!

You see, in sports we often find ourselves doing a lot of competing--with the opposing team, with another teammate for a position we want to play, with ourselves as we push to become better--and I think that's a good thing!

Specifically, I'm talking about those times where as much as you fight your teammate for that spot, you find yourself on the sidelines when the game-clock starts. This can be an upsetting experience. I think that is OKAY. I think it's okay to be upset. I think being upset about that can spur you on to work harder the next day in practice. I think being upset can lead you to do some thinking about how even though you may not have that starting spot today, you can still be a good teammate. And I think it is a lesson that can be applied to all of life--to use those times that we come up short of our personal goals to see the bigger picture. to remain positive despite being a little upset. I think this is where sports teach us about LIFE.

Because you see....competition will always be a part of our lives. We will compete in band for a higher "chair," in classes for a higher grade, as we graduate we'll compete to be valedictorian, and in our jobs to get that promotion over a colleague.

But the fact of the matter is this: we won't always be THE top dog.
We won't always get the first chair in band, the highest grade in class. We can't all be the valedictorian or the CEO of the company that we work for.

We can't all be starters. 

BUT we can learn humility from the times we do achieve the highest honors & in the times that we don't,  we can learn to be a team player.

Team building day with my college volleyball team. 

So, while I still say that I love sports and that will never change; I have to add that I also love the life lessons they have taught me through the years.

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Now allow me to shift gears a little and share a story with you about some guys who have embraced their non-starter role on a team that you may have heard of once or twice....the UNC TarHeels Men's basketball team, yeah THOSE guys.  If you haven't ever heard of the "Blue Steel" and you are a sports fan, an athlete or otherwise interested, you should read up on them. They are the "end of the bench" for UNC & they are pretty much proud of it!


Because, get this--they recognize their role on the team & they know that without them (warming the bench but still working hard in practice everyday) the team wouldn't be what it is--a successful bunch that is always a contender when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

Oh, and they once tweeted, "You're welcome Tar Heel fans. If we didn't get dunked on every day in practice, you wouldn't be able to see it in the game. #feelthesteel". Check out their twitter here.

If that's not a lesson in how to be a TEAM PLAYER, I don't know what is. Thanks Blue Steel for being an example of the lesson that sports taught me.
A lesson I think we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

And one more thing, GO TARHEELS!