to my team: it's not the critic who counts.

{buren foster photography}

my club coach used to always tell us that he would rather we play well and lose than play poorly and win. he said he would be very proud of us if we played well against a good team even if we came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

that's how i feel tonight, ladies. we coaches are so incredibly proud of you.

you showed up tonight. you came to play, and you played your tails off. you left all of yourselves out there on that field, and we couldn't have asked for anything more than what you gave.

you are a great team, and you proved it tonight. i know that it stinks to end the season with a loss. i hate that we don't have any more practices to talk about all the things we did well, and to keep improving as a team.

so even though i know that many of you will not ever read this, there are a few things i want to tell you.

firstly, you ladies have grown so much this season. you kept your heads up tonight, and you kept fighting until the final whistle. you stayed mentally tough for the entire game. through the ups and downs of the scoreboard. through the physical play. through every second of every minute you showed up, and you stayed focused, and you played your hearts out. the season may be over, but tonight you did everything we could've asked of you.

{via pinterest}

secondly, failing to win this game does not make you failures. too often we think that making one mistake defines everything. tonight we got unlucky. we came out on the wrong end of a 50/50 game. sometimes that happens in life. sometimes things don't work out how you thought they would. sometimes things don't work out how you thought they should. life's not fair, but God is good.

you ladies stepped up and took a risk. cheesy as it sounds you showed incredible courage tonight. we knew it would be a tough game. the last time we played them proved that to us. but you came to play anyway. you knew that you could play with them despite last time. you knew you might lose, but you played to win anyway. and that takes undeniable courage.

you will be better off in life if you get out of your comfort zone and do difficult things. you will be better off if you keep trying anyway even when it seems futile. you may come up short again and again and again, but you only really fail if you stop getting up again.

every day my kids do something at some point to remind me why i love being their mom. today you reminded me why i love being a coach. today you reminded me why i love this game so much.

i love you ladies.
thank you for giving me the chance to coach you.

xo