On Any Given Saturday . . .

As our family transitions from Wrestling into Baseball and Track (we never transition OUT of Ballet - it goes all year) and I find myself gathering the notes for the next book, there are certain principles that Wrestling makes clearer than any other sport.

In Football we talk about "On Any Given Sunday" which, for you new fans, means that because of the complexity of the game and the variety of things (from weather to injuries to what the team ate) that can impact the outcome, any team has the chance to beat any other team "On Any Given Sunday".

That principle holds true in Wrestling as well. Any given tournament or dual any wrestler can beat any other wrestler. Sure, there are tactical advantages of Strength vs. Weight, and Skill level should never be discredited, but each wrestler needs to remember that he can beat his opponent, even if he's lost to him many times before.

Perhaps the most physical sport ever, the slightest change in physicality can make the difference. Did he slack in practice this week? Eat too much? Eat too little? Tweak his ankle on the walk over to the mat? Is he catching the latest flu bug?

Wrestling is also a thinking man's game; you're mind has got to be alert, you must have your head in the game or the risk of making a simple but costly mistake goes up exponentially. Did his girlfriend dump him? Are mom and dad angry? Is this guy better than I am?

Those and other issues floating around in an unfocused wrestler's head can force even the most experienced athlete to stick an arm or a leg in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In a sport where the score can turn in a second and a loss measured by increments of an inch, the best wrestlers are those that are both physically and mentally prepared, but even the best guys can get beat On Any Given Saturday.

In business, if we get caught thinking that there is no competition, if we fail to stay mentally alert and in the best shape possible, we're asking to get beat. We need to continuously train to be the best we are at what we do. Classes, Continuing Education Credits, Seminars, and personal study of our chosen vocation should never be brushed aside simply because we're "too busy".

We also need to keep ourselves and our staffs in good physical condition. Literally. Don't overwork your people! No client should be expected to understand poor customer service on the basis that your front line employees and sales people are overfed or under rested. True, you don't have the control over their time away from the workplace, but you can find ways to award those that are timely, well prepared, and have sharp minds and positive attitudes.

If we learn one more lesson from the On Any Given Saturday principle let it be this: just because we lost this match, that doesn't mean that we can't train harder, renew our focus, and win next time.

Too Much at One Time

Little League Baseball Sign ups were this last weekend in my hometown. I missed them because my wife and I were running brackets at a local wrestling tournament. When I went by the sporting goods store to drop the boy's applications off I ran into another "wrestling parent".

"Signing up for baseball?" she asked.

"Yeah, you?"

"No, we've got club wrestling until July, and it's just to much to do both. We tried one year, and it was too hard".

Smart woman.

We want our kids to be happy, healthy, and successful. We try to afford them every opportunity, and all too often convince ourselves that means that we need to schedule their lives as much as we schedule ours.

We're not doing them any favors. Twelve year-olds should not be "burning out"!

I absolutely advocate keeping kids busy. My oldest daughter has dance year-round so she does pretty well, but those few days between sports see my boys climbing the walls, too much sugar and energy to burn just at school and scouts. So every season we require that they sign up for something, anything. However, parents who have their kids in music and karate and swing dancing and soccer and baseball and track and science club all at the same time need to turn off the "living vicariously" button for a while; give your child some opportunities to be a kid. The memories we have of our prowess in one sport or another, our "hoop dreams" of ultimate success, while great for us, may not be the best choice for our children. Pick something that works for them, for their talents and skills. That may mean more than one thing a year, but try to not let it mean "many things at the same time". We need to not let our sentimentality overdrive the decisions for our children.

In these slow economic times, are we over-scheduling ourselves? Particularly with things that aren't that important?

We need to work hard and stay focused on our priorities (I know one father who misses an awful lot of work because his children's activities come before his job). It's tempting to diversify to try and capture a larger market share, something I wholeheartedly endorse, but make sure that the new markets you try and the new business ideas you have fit in with the overall play UNLESS you're ready to dump the old business plan and move on. Closing a bad business is a good idea, but if you're going to do it, do it now. Don't let sentimentality drag on the inevitable until it becomes too late.