The Lessons of Losing

One of my favorite amazing statistics:  On any given Friday night, of all the high school football teams who play, 50 percent of them LOSE.

Losing is a part of life. It happens. It happened to half of the teams who played last night. The problem is, North is ALWAYS in the bottom half.

But last night we had a chance. We were ahead! In the third quarter, we were ahead 18-9 against South. Then they scored, but we still were ahead 18-17. Then they had a chance to score but we held them FOR THREE DOWNS RIGHT AT THEIR OWN GOAL LINE. So, they kicked a field goal and got ahead 18-20 with a couple of minutes left. We took the ball almost down the field, but didn't even get a chance to kick a field goal of our own, and the game was over.

We lost, again.

And we knew it would be this way. Before Caleb enrolled at North last year, everyone told us "get ready to lose." But we wanted to stay with our assigned school. North has great tradition. We didn't want to jump through the hoops to get a special transfer so our son could play on the winning team of choice. We would tell people that if everyone would simply send their kids to their assigned schools, the teams would be more even. If the good kids living in North's district would actually attend and play for North, we could be competitive. And they would say, "Yeah, but you ultimately have to do what's best for your kid," with the implication that finding them a winning program was the way to go.

But last year we knew of some good players Caleb's age who were going to North. Their motto was, "We're bringing it back!" They won a few games as freshmen. Now those sophomores are playing varsity. They're trying. But they can't overcome an offensive line that steps aside to let the defense rush through. Players who have made mistakes are allowed to make them again and again, while others who have demonstrated they can do better are left on the sidelines or placed in positions where they are underused.

Because that's another problem with losing teams--poor coaching. Sloppy, unorganized practices lead to games like last night. Coaches who are not students of the game don't catch when the chain gang gives the opposing team an extra down on the first possession, causing them to score and setting the tone for the entire game (that was against Dodge City).

And of course, I'm speaking as a mother here, but last week playing fullback my son had 47 yards rushing on two carries (one two-yard gain, and an awesome 45-yard run in which he nearly scored. North did get one of their two touchdowns of the game from that series). So this week, did they even let him touch the ball? Did they even put him in as fullback? Of course not.

We know programs go through "rebuilding" years, but at this point we see no signs of construction. And don't get me wrong, the coach is a nice guy, but not all nice guys should be coaches.

So now we look at Harrison, who will enter high school next year (yikes). Should we take the advice of friends and "do what's best for our child' and seek out a high school with a winning program? I'd hate to do it, but faced with four more years of sitting through football games like last night, it's tempting.