That's what it's all about...

That’s what its all about…

This morning I received the following link. Seeing as it was early in the day, not yet into the full swing of the day, I took the time to watch the video:

Touching Them All

At first I simply got caught up in the emotion of it and thought “wow that really brings tears to your eyes”.

But after having thought about it now for a few hours, the LTAD connection has become evident. I’m actually surprised that it took me this long to make the connection. (I’m usually on LTAD mode 24/7).

The story in the video truly reflects what sport is all about. Although the athletes are a bit older in this situation I think this can easily be applied across the board… actually it can serve as a great example. If the older kids are doing it, then surly the younger kids would think the same way.

I talked about athlete centered yesterday. I’ve made references to “what would the kids do”. This is a clear example of this.

in this case, the initial reaction of the coaching staff and officials in the game was “what’s the ruling on this?” (I am not implying that they were not concerned for the athlete’s well being here). The concern being the outcome of the game, the implication this will have, how they are to go about this situation to ensure that the score at the end of the game is in their favor.

However, the initial reaction of the athletes (in this case from the other team) was how can we get the injured athlete to home plate? How can we ensure that she is awarded that home run? How can we ensure that (despite the pain of the injury) she can feel the joy of what it is like to get her first and only Home Run?

They didn’t care about the outcome of the game. They didn’t care what the score was. All they cared about was the best interest of the athlete.

“You hit the ball over the fence you deserve it” was the response from the opposing team when thanked for the gesture.

That’s what sport should always be about.

This is proof that sport only develops great athletic abilities… but it makes better people.

play it. love it. live it.
-FL