WIN – What’s It All About?

We live in a world that promotes instant gratification.  Everything from television, to the internet, to fast food restaurants are designed to meet our immediate needs.  Our young people are continually bombarded with messages counter to those promoted by our Christian faith.  As adults, we have a responsibility to shed light on what should be the important priorities in our children’s lives.

As a high school football coach I am well aware that our society measures much of our team’s success by what gets done on the football field.  In short, many people expect us to win and to win now!  As coaches, we must be the best we can be in order to give our athletes the opportunity to be successful on game day.  However, we have been blessed with a mission that goes far beyond the field.

At Covington Catholic High School we talk about winning all the time.  For us, WIN means focusing on What’s Important Now.  This often used acronym has great value in our program.  Our message as coaches is that “the process” is the key to our success.  We hammer home the concept of taking one day, one play, and one game at a time, helping to promote a sense of focus for our kids.  As coaches, our desire is for our players to be their very best each day.   

We want our kids to be great players, but more importantly, we want them to be outstanding Christian young men.  When our athletes focus on getting a WIN in the classroom, a WIN in their prayer life, a WIN with their family , and a WIN on the field, the process takes shape.  A series of WINs in a person’s daily life helps to put priorities in their proper order.  At Covington Catholic we want to win all of our games, but we don’t want our athletes to use a football scoreboard to determine their level of success in life.

As scripture says, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)  Our athletes can win game after game, and not be on the right track in their personal lives.  As coaches we have a profound impact on the message that our young people receive.  Take time this day to explain to your kids the value of “the process” and the risks of short term gratification.  When our players take care of what is truly important, the WIN will take care of itself.

God Bless,

Todd Naumann