Mark Twain is known for many things, principally as the creator of the fictional stories about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, but he is also celebrated as a popular humourist, entrepreneur and speaker. He probably has never really been noted to be a sports fan or coach, often famously quoted as declaring that “Golf is a good walk spoiled” as well as commenting that “It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling” – indeed he was not referring to boxing when he stated that “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog”.
Twain is also quoted (though there have been numerous alternatives and variations added) as proclaiming that we should “Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.” Some people have added the advice that we should “Work like you don’t need the money”. It is all helpful advice on how we should approach life and all it holds for us. When it comes to sport, others have come up with their own version of likening how we should approach all aspects of it. “Practise like you’ve never won; compete like you’ve never lost”.
Before we consider how those two pieces of advice can actually assist the players in our care, it may be helpful to consider the opposite, not least as all too often the reverse is in fact the reality. All too often, youngsters practise as if they have never lost while they compete as if they have never won.
Youngsters all too often and easily approach practice with a casual attitude; they take things easily, doing drills half-heartedly at half-speed, laughing and joking their way through the training, cutting corners and holding back from exertion. Their confidence in their ability becomes a conceit and arrogance in their superiority. They practise like they have never lost and never will be near to losing. It is only practice, so it is not too serious, they think.
There are other youngsters though who can be guilty of the reverse, of competing like they have never won before. When an individual or a team goes into a competitive match without any confidence or belief in their ability to win, then they have lost already. They are defeated before they have even started and they consequently are deflated and depleted. They may as well not have bothered to turn up. They see the opposition as giants and experts, out of their league, and they quake in awe of their ability.
In contrast, the strong advice is for youngsters firstly to practise like they have never won. They need to do so even if they have never won and even if they have always won. The mentality is such that the past is behind; they are only as good as their next game and to that end they must give of their best to ensure they can win. They must not think they have done it all before but go back to basics every time; they must be willing to train hard to bring about that desired victory; they must make winning desirable; they must create pressure within the practice session, perhaps by handicapping the stronger players to ensure they train harder against the odds.
In a similar vein, when it comes to fixtures, youngsters should compete as if they have never lost. Equally, they need to do so even if they have always lost and even if they have never lost. They should go on to the field with a confidence, a belief, a knowledge that they have trained hard, practised well, studied the opposition, learned the tactics, considered the conditions – they go onto the field with heads held high, chests puffed out, with the belief that victory is indeed possible.
The legendary college basketball coach, John Wooden, once said: “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” No-one is watching during practice (except the coach) and how we approach practice will determine and have an effect on how we compete; the two go together. It will bode us well if we practise like we have never won and compete like we have never lost. If we do indeed follow such advice then we will be dancing, singing, loving, living our way through practice and competition. Mark these words: practise and compete and ensure the twain shall meet. If not, it is not a good walk that will be spoiled. It will be sport.
