Palm Beach North Sports - December 2022

D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 | P A L M B E A C H N O R T H SPORTS 15 COMMUNITY CORNER DON'T RUMINATE OVER FAILURES By Dr. Bill Eickhoff | Photo courtesy of Dr. Bill Eickhoff Several months ago, during a group coaching session, one of the managers made an interesting observation. We were discussing mindset, and this manager, who was a former Marine, told us about when he was competing in a sharpshooter competition. He was doing quite well until he made a bad shot and the wheels fell off. The guy who actually came in first approached him afterward and gave him the following advice: “I noticed that after that one bad shot you seemed to be in a distracted mood and your shots were off just a little bit. I know what you were doing, you couldn’t get that bad shot out of your head. You kept going back to that one bad shot and let that become your focus instead of forgetting the shot and focusing on your next shot.” In other words, FORGET THE SHOT AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE. Did you know that Babe Ruth led the league in strikeouts 5 times in his career? And yet he was the first player to hit 60 home runs in a single season. How can that be? To strike out in baseball is a failure and yet Ruth didn’t let that fact keep him from swinging away. He knew there would be a next time. The same is true of golf. In golf, it is said that each shot is a different story, an opportunity for redemption. Everybody comes up short sometimes, but no matter how bad we mess up, there is an opportunity to turn it around. Don’t make the mistake of viewing youth sports as strictly entertainment and a way to keep your kids busy. Sure, you want your kids to have fun playing youth sports, but never forget the life lessons they learn on the playing field. Parents need to realize there is more than meets the eye than just having fun. What better way to prepare your kid for life and have fun at the same time? There are a lot of life lessons that kids will learn when they play youth sports. Can you see how an attitude of moving on from failure could give your kid a leg up as he travels through life? Dr. Bill Eickhoff is a founding member of the Maxwell Leadership Certification Program. He is a coach, trainer, and speaker on leadership development. You may text him at 561-818-0177 or email him at williameickhoff@gmail.com. The FIX is the master reset button for chronic pain and dysfunction to function. START NOW! 561.972.7243