Yesterday I attended the RSEQ university provincial final for men's rugby. Our Concordia men's team went into the game with a perfect 8-0 record and the favorite to win. They played a nearly perfect game and complete a perfect season, winning the game and championship. It is a great accomplishment, not the first championship for men's rugby and probably not the last, but what I take from it and what I have learned from my own experiences is that sport will create memories that will carry one well beyond the end of an athletic career. Athletes play hundreds maybe thousands of games over the course of their career, regardless of the sport, but there are always certain games that stick with them forever. The Stingers athletes who played last night will have a shared memory that will link them together for the rest of their lives. Anytime they get together down the road, they will always be able to say " Remember in 2017 when we ...... " and talking about it will bring back a flood of memories and sensations.
Nothing lasts forever, except memories. We don’t know which one we’re going to get next, but we can trade them, throw them and keep what we like. Memories are a part of us. We’re incomplete without them. They are what we’ve been through. Memories make us, us. When people you know become people you knew. And you remember the good times you had with them. One epic moment can give you a lifetime of memories. But we don’t appreciate the moment when it happens.We’re busy people but memories give us a chance to relive the good moments, to reminisce. Memories can cheer you up. The can make you grow. When you have great memories of something, they can guide you to remember when it was like when things were great, how you got there, everything you did to accomplish that moment and plan for how to get there again. Life is short and you only live once. Make a collection of memories you can be proud about. For the athletes who won a championship last night, it will be a highlight of their lives, and hopefully a springboard to other great moments and great memories. As an athlete and a coach, I have been around thousands of athletes some as teammates and some as players under my guidance. I have coached countless training sessions, coached in thousands of games, some I remember like it was yesterday and some I wish I could forget completely. I often tell my athletes that 10, 15 or 20 years down the road, they mostly like won't remember how many games they won or lost, the scores in most of the games they played, but they will remember the friendships, the funny moments shared with teammates, the times they worked hard to accomplish something and the motivation they felt after a disappointment. I firmly believe but at the same, I know that there are games where you remember every moment. As a coach, I remember the first time we defeated the 6 time defending provincial champion in the quarter finals, the first time we won provincials, my first game coaching at club nationals, my first game at Concordia, .... and a few others. For these games, I remember every detail, every decision. I could probably run through the entire game describing who did what when and how it rolled out. I remember who was there and who I thought of when it took place. We should never live in the past, but boy is it great to have memories and even better when we can shared it with teammates that become important to us.
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
January 2023
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