Sports Are War Without the Dying

Sports Are War Without the Dying

I went to an end-of-the-season sports banquet, and it seemed like everyone in the room thought differently from me. They enjoyed the awards and platitudes. They had smiles and pictures. “You're one of the best players I've ever seen," and “You’re the best coach,” were shared. Of course, the coach claimed they were going to state next year. He wanted to win. That’s when I thought, something doesn’t line up here.

In my mind, the purpose of sports isn't to give awards and to be part of a team family. For sports to serve their true purpose, there has to be a need to win, not a want to win. Sports are war without the dying.

The Invention of Sports

Here is my hypothesis: Centuries ago, leaders needed a way to simulate war without killing their soldiers. Sports were born.

Sports are about taking a simulation so seriously that people learn to succeed in the hardest parts of life. It isn’t about learning to stick with a thing when it gets hard. It is about learning to succeed in desperate situations. Sports are a training ground for war and other serious matters.

Do you want to win? If so, it’s you and almost everyone else. You are part of the group that is shooting for the sports banquet. Or, do you need to win?

Needing to Win: passion and problem-solving.

No one facing war will say, "Well, if it doesn't work, that's okay." They will say, "We have to figure it out and do what is necessary." And, "We've got to."

Wanting to win will get coaches and players who will “do their best and try hard.” Needing to win will get coaches and players who solve problems and set aside their pride.

Needing to win doesn’t mean coaches cheat or are mean. Quite the opposite. Coaches who need to win must be humble and desperate. How else will a coach take the consequences of his decisions seriously? “I better be right,” is the attitude that goes along with war.

Interestingly, the person who needs to win is the humble one, while the one who wants to win has plenty of leeway to be arrogant and to do it his way. It is, after all, just another activity, and they are doing it so they can get what they want out of the activity. It is a way for them to be in control and see if their ideas can get the team past a 50-50 season.

If you see it my way, you will be disappointed by the coach who "has a good program," who "has good people," and who "you just have to trust." Those of us who see sports as something more wonder why those coaches can’t see the problems. We wonder why they haven’t asked everyone they can and gone after every resource to try to fix the problems.

The program that is closed to outside influence wants to win. The program that identifies problems and solves them with whatever help they can get needs to win.

If you or your child plays in a program that needs to win, they will do well for it, even if you don't have the same philosophy. If the goal is better, happier, more determined, and more fulfilled people with tighter bonds, then needing to win is the way.

The True Value of Sports

Sports allow people to experience or imagine serious things without the consequences. We need sports to be war without the dying. It’s not missing out on the social aspect. It is discovering the true value of sports.

A person can’t need to win in everything. It would be too much. One sport, whether you coach or play, is specifically designed to be that thing.

The telltale marker of a program that needs to win is humble, honest, and open problem-solving. Coaches are focused on serving the players. As the old Army slogan goes, a coach that needs to win makes players “the best that you can be.” There are SystemWhy best-practice systems to do all of that.

If you need to win, hit the contact.