The Mentality of a Champion
This year the dolphin boys soccer team and girls field hockey team were able to win their third state title in a row. The boys soccer team has now been trifecta champions the past three years by winning the regular season, TCIS championship, and state title. That’s 9 championships in 3 years, what a victory!
What does it feel like to be a champion? What about a champion three years in a row? The results of winning anything always feels good but that’s only one step for receiving the best feeling of succeeding as a champion. The fact the boys soccer team has battled 3 years in a row now to stay at the top as champions takes lots of effort. Once a champion always a champion as long as the team focuses, works hard, and builds chemistry. The team must bond and all have the same goal of winning something big. It takes an aggressive attitude to defend a championship while it also takes an aggressive attack to win the next championship.
It takes hours of practice to mature all these skills and us young players. Hard work and effort is what improves our skills and game chemistry. A preseason is vital and days off are not really a thing if you want to be a champion. Obviously, the coach will manage some rest in your season. But these are the times where good teams either participate in team bonding activities or work on their own to improve their game. By bonding with the team the maturity we display increases as we gain a higher respect for our fellow teammates. This is important because a team must be mature and stay mentally balanced in a game. One can’t get frustrated at another player or have a grudge against a player because that infects the team’s ability to play as a team. A mature team will treat each game as its own and not look ahead because you don’t always have another game after the present game if you lose.
The feeling one receives after winning was reported based on interviews with individuals. Trent Jones class of 2020 says, “[He] has never been a 3-time champion, but [he] has been a champion.” Trent’s interview is sort of comical as he is a great individual baseball player as he has obtained enough skill to commit to Hampden Sydney for baseball. The funny thing is as good as Trent is at baseball he hasn’t won a championship for it ever. Trent has won a JV basketball championship and said he felt great after winning and reflected on the hard work it took to gain this accomplishment.
Finally, an interview with the coach who led his team to 3 state titles and trifectas in a row is famous for saying the motivating words, “take one game at a time”; “do not overlook this or any game” and lastly Coach Brun says, “Winning this state title as big as it is will supply you with the best euphoric feeling ever.” As well as the inspiring words of Carter Atherton, class of 2020, who would always say, “it’s time to win with a RichHard mentality.” Those are words of motivation that lock in a well-bonded team’s focus to acquire the accommodated goal of winning a championship.
