With all the griping and moaning on both the sports and political scene, I'm reminded of a visit to my best friend's home several years ago. His son was a star high school hockey player and , knowing that I had some connection to our state's athletic office, greeted me with this gripe....
"I had a breakaway and was about to fake out the goalie when I was hooked from behind. I went flying, crashing into the goalie with he ,me and the goal smashing into the backboard. I heard the ref's whistle and figured I would have a penalty shot coming
! I was wrong, he didn't see the hook, but hit me with a 5 minute major for roughing the goalie
! I WAS KICKED OUT OF THAT GAME AND CAN'T PLAY IN OUR NEXT
. Can you do anything, Ralph....."
His father then spoke....
"Nate, life is full of bad calls and tough breaks. A loser will dwell on those as excuses for his poor attitude and shabby performance. A loser will blame the rest of his season on that bad call. A WINNER will put that bad call behind him, Become more determined to be his team's leader and to move on. You can't change the past BUT you can control the future. You need to decide if you are a WINNER or a loser...."
The son was quick to respond....
"DAD, I'M A WINNER...and I'm not going to drag this out any longer
. "
EPILOGUE:
The son went on to lead his team in scoring and was selected to second team all-state. He later received an engineering degree at a prestigious New England college and is very successful with a wife and two children.
The father passed away several years ago, but I still remember those fatherly words and how it may have had a powerful impact on his son's future. In a few days we will see new rules posted. Some we'll like and some we won't. We need to accept them all positively as OUR new rules and work on applying them in lieu of griping about them.
Nick Susi 1947-2004 RIP
