September 30, 2010. San Antonio, Tx. The Game.

Belonging to a team for a young person is valuable. Physically, learning skills and developing muscles will serve the young person well their whole life. And the social aspect of being a part of a group with the same goals and expectations with other people allows the group dynamic skills to develop, again useful for the future. Sarah belongs to the seventh grade volleyball team. They practice every day in the last period of the day and also stay for another hour to work on their skills and fitness level. They are very nice girls and they work hard. But the difficult part is they are not very good. Basically, this is the same team that won the tournament last year in the sixth grade, except now there is a new coach, and the coach is no good.

But this is the best part. It doesn't really matter. Playing on a team gives every player the opportunity to work hard yet lose the game. After the game is over and you lose the game, the sky does not fall. Life goes on. So as a player, you learn to do your best, then get on with your life. Most of these girls are good students. They are used to doing well. They certainly are not used to failure. When you play a game, you might not win every time. Being a part of a team is very valuable for a young person, if only because of the experience of not always winning. If you lose, you feel terrible for a short time, and then it is back to your real life. Where else in the life of a young person can you learn those valuable lessons?