I have made many mistakes in my life as an athlete on and off the pitch. But we haven’t all done it. Now that I’m a retired teacher, coach, and government official, I’ve thought about how athletics and family helped me meet the challenges of living a fulfilling life.
I want to share with athletes in all sports the five principles I learned from participating in sports and gained from a caring family.
∫ Be humble: always take your classes at school and sports seriously, but not yourself. Doing so is the beginning of arrogance. Arrogance offends others and has no redeeming qualities.
As an athlete, respect your opponents. Also, lose with grace and win with class.
The late Coach John Wooden, the highly successful basketball coach at UCLA, put it very simply: “Natural talent is a gift from God, be humble; Fame is man-made, be thankful; Conceit is self-given, be careful.”
∫ Be Prepared: Strive to be a well-rounded student-athlete to prepare for college, the trades, or the military. Plato, the ancient Greek scholar, philosopher, and skillful fighter, wrote: “He who is only an athlete is too coarse, too vulgar, too savage; He who is only a scholar is too soft; The ideal citizen is the scholar-athlete; A man of thought and a man of action.
∫ Persevere: My father was a simple but cunning German father, who gained practical knowledge and experience on the streets, fighting to earn the respect of his teenage peers.
Without a doubt, he taught us perseverance.
I never listened to excuses. Dad told us to set high goals in athletics and in life, and to work hard to achieve them.
He emphasized: “If you fall on your face, get back up and keep going.”
Likewise, my grandmother often emphasized to my brother and me, “No matter how bad things seem, the sun will rise in the morning. A new day to follow your dreams.”
She was a true believer in Norman Vincent Peale’s philosophy of the power of positive thinking.
∫ Be patient: During my early years as a teacher and coach, I was very frustrated that I wasn’t earning more money to support my growing family and that my athletes weren’t performing better in competition.
My wife, Peggy, put me in my place.
“Bill, don’t rush things. Be patient. Anything worthwhile in life doesn’t happen overnight.”
Later, I came across a little-known quote from Mark Twain. I must say it really hit home.
“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born, and with patience, the day you find out why.”
∫ Being able to kneel — As soon as my brother and I were old enough to understand, my mother explained to us the importance of God and prayer in our lives. But she didn’t stop there.
Although she was never an athlete, Mom told us how to pray before our track meet.
“Guys, always pray to do your best and that no one gets hurt.”
She went on to tell us that we shouldn’t pray to win because God doesn’t play favorites. Mom further said that praying to win is a form of arrogance, suggesting that we were “born better” than our opponents in God’s eyes. She emphasized:
“If your athletic abilities are better than your opponent’s, that should be the winning factor.”
To be honest, there were times in my life when I felt God was ignoring my prayers. But then I learned from a person I would never have expected to enlighten me on such unanswered prayers: the late famous actor, Kirk Douglas.
Douglas found God later in life and was an ardent advocate of the power of prayer. He was once confronted by a friend who suggested that God does not answer all prayers.
“Kirk, there were things I prayed for throughout my life, and none of those prayers were answered. How do you explain that?”
“That’s easy, John. God answers all prayers, but sometimes, for your own good, the answer is ‘NO’.”
In closing, I would like to share with all athletic enthusiasts a prayer I wrote, promoting fair play and sportsmanship.
Bless all athletes that they may perform at their best on the field of play, in the classroom, and throughout life;
Bless all coaches that they may emphasize the highest standards of good sportsmanship;
Bless all officials that they may keep the safety of the participants top of mind;
And finally: Bless all athletic parents that they may understand, win or lose, that their child is learning a lot about life through competition in sports.
Author Bio: Welker, a former Pennsylvania state champion in the sport of wrestling, is a prolific writer who has published nearly 600 articles and four athletic guidance books over the years.
He has received the prestigious Jasper N. Deahl Award from West Virginia University for his achievements as an educator. Welker is also a member of five athletic halls of fame, including the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (West Virginia Chapter), the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the OVAC Hall of Fame. .
His email is mattalkwv@hotmail.com.
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