Being a Peacemaker
Just got back from a trip to a nearby basketball court. Over the past few weeks I have found a new group of friends to play with there. Today we played for about an hour among ourselves, then later with another group of guys. The game got pretty rough. Elbows and knees etc... I was shoved alot, and also had my head whacked while under the basket. The game became rather heated... fortunately nothing more serious developed.
Once in a rugby game a few years ago there was an all out fight. I was at the bottom of a ruck and somebody threw a punch above me. All hell broke lose and it was a real rumble. I was at the bottom of the pile so there was nothing I could do...I got stomped on (see pics below) and had boot stud markings in my back for a few days. Ugh!
While such games are unfortunate, the key is how we handle such situations. I believe that as athletes such situations are things we will have to deal with some time or other in varying degrees during our years of competition. We must take up the role of peacemakers. NOT JUST PEACE-KEEPERS. Peace-Making is an active role where we go out of our way to make things right. After all, its still a game. After the game I went to shake hands with the opponents. Thats an act of peace-making. Why? Its out of mutual respect, and it shows control over our emotions with positive actions even in negative situations.Check out my "life lessons from sports" entries on the blog:)
1. Community
2. Learning to handle failure
3. Discipline part 1 and 2
4. Respect for opponents
5. Respect for authority
posted by Coach Jonathan Wong @ 4/29/2006 08:10:00 PM
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