A Coach's Message

We’re in full throttle sports mania. Being a sports fan is all about the expectation of winning, with little grace space for losing. Leave it to our University of Dayton Men’s Basketball Head Coach Anthony Grant to give clarity to the big picture.

Let’s start with a team where winning is second nature. Imagine you follow a team that is used to beginning the season with a top ten rating. Winning is the norm, and the world of celebration becomes a forgone expectation. Imagine you have scarlet and gray apparel you wear each Saturday in support. 

And then the much-anticipated weekend of the “big” game. Our team, expected to win, lost. I was one of those fans who watched, cheered, and felt dejected by unmet expectation. I thought about the coach after a whole year of preparing for this game. I tried to imagine what he said to his team in the post-game locker room. How could he possibly pivot from the determination of winning to the reality of defeat. The role of a good coach is to find some message of empowerment, despite such a painful loss. I’m sure it was tough, but I like the Buckeye coach, and I’m sure he dug deep. Such rising above makes for a good leader.

Let’s continue the conversation with a story about the University of Dayton Men’s Basketball team. Every year, the promise of their basketball season is built with hometown enthusiasm. However, soon into this 2021 season, repeated loss to low ranked teams on home court felt deflating. The first loss was head scratching, the second loss was puzzling, and the third loss was mind-boggling. Really? Could this be our UD Flyer team? 

The UD Flyers then headed off to a Thanksgiving weekend tournament. I listened to the commentators. They were doubtful. Coming off a three-game losing streak at home did not bode well for the Flyers. Yet grit and young player-emerging chemistry worked out their growing pains. One victory lead to the second in a nail biting buzzer win against the #4 team in the country. And then a close game victory in the final. Voila, our home town underperforming underdog won the tournament trophy. 

And there you have it. Within the expanse of one weekend, the agony of defeat and ecstasy of victory are keenly felt. Speaking with proportionate value that sports has in our greater life perspective, I ask, how do we place it all? 

The disparity and vast gap between our two beloved teams was best articulated with the perspective-rich comments by Anthony Grant in his post tournament interview. Given the fact that he’s experienced the spectrum of painful loss and sweetness of victory in a matter of weeks, I thought his words were inspiring. 

Grant said, “We’re the same team that came here, we’re the same group. Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s changed. So, people go to extremes, everything’s either the sky’s falling or everything’s great . . . The reality is, you’ve gotta wake up every day…put your shoes on, put your pants on and you’ve gotta come to work. Every day.”

I love Anthony Grant’s bigger-than-sports message. It might be a tough day, but every tomorrow morning you just have to wake up and put your pants on. Every day. The life lesson in how to navigate tough defeat is the same whether you are a college football player, a teen struggling with where you fit in the world, or someone who’s trying to navigate a new path. No matter what, put your pants on and get to the work of embracing a new day which will surely lead to a new season. Never give up. I love that. And if you have a doubt, just ask Coach Grant.