Opportunity Lost?

With every loss there should be some disappointment at the loss of an opportunity to see how good you are becoming. Are we closing the Gap? It is really impossible to know without competition and in every competition there is a winner and a loser. Across the country many teams did not live up to expectations this weekend, which gives me some comfort as a coach that we were not alone but it is what we do now that matters. Will we apply principle number 9 and grow from our loss or will we let it define us. We need to be a team that lives for the competition, perseveres to the end and plays for the love of the game.

"We play with enthusiasm and recklessness. We aren't afraid to lose. If we win, great. But win or lose, it is the competition that gives us pleasure."
-Joe Paterno - Head Football Coach Penn State University for the last 44 seasons

"Losing is only temporary and not all encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it."
-John Wooden - Legendary basketball coach for UCLA

I certainly don't have the same level of experience that these two coaches have and my weekend of watching the film can be summed up more closely by a quote from Bum Phillips (former NFL head coach) "The film looks suspiciously like the game itself." We have been steadly Closing the Gap over the past two seasons and I am sure that is how we will respond this week and it will not be an opportunity that was lost.