Every athlete handles a win and loss differently, but it is how you let it shape you that is important. Practice like you have never won; perform like you have never lost. Many of the athletes at Cabrini have experienced the up’s and down’s of playing a competitive sport, becoming battle tested in the process and learning to deal with each. Finding the motivation to come back better than before, no matter the outcome of the previous game, is essential.
How do Cabrini athletes find their motivation?
Freshman forward on Cabrini’s women’s soccer team Payton Greene takes a loss very seriously.
“I hate losing” Green said. “Losing a game motivates me to do better because I know I don’t want to lose again. Losing a game is one of the worst feelings ever. The best way to avoid losing the next game is to out work the other team and work together with your teammates.”
However, she tries not to let wins go to her head.
“Every team that you play is different. No team is ever the same,” Green said. “You cannot slack off on a team that is a lower seed than you because you think you’re better than them because that’s how they’ll beat you. It doesn’t matter what seed someone is you never sleep on anyone. If you get caught sleeping, that’s how you get beat. The best mindset you have to have for the next game is to not worry about the other team, only focus on your team and how you play together as a team and work hard.”
Deryl Bagwell, junior guard/forward for the men’s basketball team at Cabrini University takes wins and losses each in a different way.
“We just go back and watch film because film doesn’t lie, so it exposes everyone so once we are exposed that motivates us to do better,” Bagwell said. “We move on to the next game and the coaches plant that into our head during practice the day before the game to make sure the win doesn’t get into our heads.”
Tyler Klitchko, sophomore president of the club lacrosse team, tries to grow from game to game, using each previous one as a stepping-stone for improvement.
“Losing causes me to reflect on the game and think what can I do better as a player in practice and in the next game,” Klitchko said. “You have to take one game at a time. Every game has different factors so you let take the momentum from a win and let it push you to do better in the next game.”
How you handle both wins and losses show your growth and maturity as not only an athlete, but a person as a whole. According to Steve Colfer, head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Cabrini, he just wants his players to go out and and focus on each game like it is their most significant game of the season.
“I just tell them that no matter what happens, you need to play each game like it’s the biggest game of the season,” Colfer said. “Don’t let the last game get to your head because this is the one that matters.”
