It has been called “the beautiful game,” and when you watch it, it’s easy to see how this can be so. Twenty-two players on the pitch, running, blocking, passing, and kicking, their only protection a pair of shin guards. They don shorts and jerseys, cleats and socks. No matter the weather, the uniform is always the same. Watching soccer played well affords viewers with examples of a clean – though physical – game, good sportsmanship, and the sense that rivals on the field are rivals only for the ninety minutes of regulation game time. Otherwise, they bond over the beautiful game. I have often watched professional or college games and enjoyed the play of muscles under skin as they bunched and released, the contour of a thigh as a player kicks the ball, the elongation of the back and neck when heading it.
As you likely know, our family is big into soccer. My husband played as a child, coached our older daughter, and still loves teaching the sport to younger players. We often see former players he coached, and parents and players smile and call him, “Coach Peter.” I’ve been coaching younger children for quite a few seasons now, even though I didn’t play as a kid. For me, I get to teach them to love the game and play it with joy. Our daughters both have played several seasons each, and our older now referees and will help coach my teams at every opportunity.
When I coach, I have three rules for my team, and we go over these weekly: Have fun. Do your best. Be good sports (both within our team and towards other teams’ players). I was reflecting on these rules over the weekend after watching them play so beautifully in Saturday’s game, and it dawned on me that these same rules can apply to business as well.
(1) Have fun. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point? It can’t be all fun and games all the time. In soccer, I have yet to meet anyone who loves running wind sprints (though I did have a player last season who smiled through three disciplinary laps at the end of practice). There has to be work. Likewise in business, sometimes it’s a lot of fun. For me, creating the soaps and engaging with customers are what makes running my business most enjoyable. Those are the things that make it fun and that see me through hours of creating content and bookkeeping.
(2) Do your best. There’s an unofficial family motto in my family: “If you’re going to do it, might as well do it right the first time.” Yes, there are times when we make mistakes; that’s not what Grandpa – and probably his Grandpa before him – meant by “doing it right.” We don’t take shortcuts. We invest the time and attention into doing a good job from the start. For example, when building a shelving unit, it’s easy to suspend boards between other boards and screw them into place. However, you’re going to be left with a unit where the boards sag in the middle, the wood splinters around the nails, and the entire thing falls apart. Sure, it may have only taken half an hour to construct, but it won’t be long before you’re having to tear it apart and start over. Alternatively, you could take a little bit more time, adding supports and changing the construction to make it stronger. It might take four hours to build, but it will last through anything but fire.
That’s the same in running my business or any business. I want to invest the extra time and care into making something strong and long-lasting. I could go about it half-assed, but whatever business endeavor I’m tackling won’t last very long at all. It’ll be sloppy and careless, and in addition to being structurally weak, it’ll be unpleasant for people to see. When I’m perusing businesses’ social media offerings or websites and see poor spelling, grammar, and punctuation, I wonder how much care they give their products if their presentation to the world is that sloppy and shows that great a lack in care and proofreading. In this, too, I have the mindset of, “If I’m not doing my best, why bother doing it at all?”
(3) Be good sports. On my teams, good sportsmanship involves how players treat each other and how my players treat opposing players. Even in practice, I don’t allow players to criticize each other or to harp on each other’s mistakes. In play, this means not only watching elbows, pushing, and tripping (all illegal fouls), but also not saying things like, “You suck!” or “You call that a kick?” Taking this a little further, I also encourage them to at least recognize when the other team does something well. Praise such as “Good hustle!” and “Nice save.” demonstrates that they have the best attitude for success on the field and off.
In business – and life – raising others up costs us nothing. In the maker community, we often praise each other’s efforts, and we laugh together on mistakes. It’s nearly impossible not to laugh in commiseration when one’s young child strews black oxide powder all over one’s work space. And kitchen. And powder room. And living room. Then, because they’ve walked through it, they leave little black footprints up the stairs and down the hall. (Can you tell I have firsthand experience with this situation?) It takes more effort to follow a maker in order to point out their mistakes and to slam them publicly than it does to follow that same maker and give them “likes” and affirmations on their work. My business requires all the time and energy I can give it, so finding time to insult another maker is pointless to me. However, seeing their picture on IG or FB and clicking the “heart” or the “thumbs up” takes no discernible time out of my day.
My goal with the kids on the team is not only to give them skills to be tremendous soccer players, but also to give them skills for life. The rules I created and enforce will help them be better students, better workers, and better citizens.
What rules can you think of that would benefit both players in youth-league sports and in life?
