March 14, 2013 ~ To Win

"If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride - and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards." - Paul Bryant

Our team had less points than Mayfair across the board, but today, members of my team are truly winners. I am not sure if I have ever felt so good after losing all four divisions, however, nothing could surpass the victory many of us encountered today.

Over the past few weeks, we have been working with our school try to begin having a student with autism join our team. While there are many obstacles in doing so, it was well worth the effort we have had to go through so far to allow him to participate. Each day we have to write down the directions and a student will volunteer to help him out, modeling directions, encouraging him and helping him out. While he has only been on the team a few days, today was our last home meet and thus, we were planning on having him run.

Prior to the meet, I was told that he might not be coming out to run for various reasons, however, I was overjoyed to see him on the track with his jersey on. With all the madness going on, trying to keep the meet in order, coaching athletes, and coordinating all the different components, I found the time to talk to Justin just before his race.

At the start of the race, he bursted out chasing the pack and I worried he had gone out too fast. He did. At the 400m mark of the 800m race, he began to walk briefly and after a quick message to him, he began running again. Seven hundred meters into the race, we saw him coming in, but before he did, he ran straight to the water fountain. While I wish he had finished, I figured, on this hot day, it might be better for him to get water. So I went to go meet him at the water fountain as they staged the varsity girls race. Just as I did, I see him sprinting towards the finish line. The girls moved to allow him to finish as the crowded erupted behind me. He crossed the line just over four minutes and raised his arms in victory. As I went to give him water, all he kept saying was, "I won, I won, I won ..." Calmly, yet with excitement in his voice. In my mind, all I could keep thinking was, yes, you did win.

In a short time, he won the attention of many on the team and in the crowd, he won the love and support of an ohana, and he won the spirit of those around who saw someone who went beyond his comfort zone to participate and to cross that line successfully. His teachers won today. His parents won today. His teammates won today. And yes, he won today.

There are many moments in the career of an athlete or coach that you get so caught up in wins and losses, that you fail to see all that lies around you in trying to earn as many wins as possible. Yet the victories of life surround us everyday and the opportunity to pick up a win much greater than any listed in a score book, in a newspaper, or on a plaque. He never quit and because of it, we were all winners.

I've always wondered what it really takes to win and even what it really means to win. Today I learned it does not mean it's the person who crossed the finish line first, because for everyone, to win means something different. Yes, today we all won and we owe it all to the newest member to our team and our ohana and I must say, it never felt so good to win.