~:[CH8 - Day 346]:~ It's Not About the W

~:[CH8 - Day 346]:~ It's Not About the W

All last week and this week, it's been non-stop planning. It's great to reminisce about the season as I prepare, but also a stressful process as well. The day of banquet is the worst, as you're mentally tired, but then become physically tired as you move everything to and from the site. In the end, however, all the effort goes out of mind, as you're reminded why you put in the effort to create this moment. The stress of it all is overshadowed by the emotions and feels of this evening. As I listened to the seniors close out the evening, it was a definite reminder about what is important. While we had one of the most historic seasons in our program's history, it mattered less than the impacts we all had on each other's lives. When you focus only on winning as a coach, you may win a championship, but you lose an opportunity to connect, to help the athletes grow, and help them overcome problems within their own lives. As the seniors spoke, the reminded me of this as they talked about their own challenges and how they arrived at where they are today. Success is not making CIF Finals for the first time or winning that championship, it's about striving for those goals, while helping to make everyone better in the process. We accomplished some great things this season, but in the process, we found a way to help each other learn and grown, we helped each other when times were tough and cheered for each other when we beat our PRs. We were a smile when someone was down, a laugh when you needed stress relief and an ear when we needed to get things off our chests. Championships, records and reaching goals are great, but having a successful program needs none of those. Our athletes have found success, but it's mainly because they found each other; they found a way to raise each other up and make themselves better; making us all better in the process. Every hour I put into this banquet and this season was worth it and it was not because of how historic it was, but because these athletes saw it's not all about the W. #ohanaRNR