Watching the matches on the weekends reminds me how no player (or coach, or family member 😊) has the same Reign experience. Each player varies on where they fall technically, tactically, physically & socio-emotionally. Parents and coaches are also on a different continuum with varying experiences, and what the focus of the day will be based on the game before them. While Reign Academy’s goal is to provide consistency in all the things we can control, the variables we cannot control is what makes the experience fascinating.
I see kids who sprint out of the car to lace up their cleats, see their friends and forget about homework for a bit. I also see kids who are more reserved, and take a while to join the chatter. Some players on the bench are inquiring with coaches, “When can I go in? Can I go in? Now? How about now?” and others explain that they would like to wait a few more minutes before going back in. Some make eye contact when people are talking while others are uncomfortable or learning how to stay focused for longer periods of time. Some parents can be seen involuntarily kicking an imaginary ball as a mini version of themselves is preparing to score a goal. A few parents enter the field grateful to get a couple miles in with their dog or a quick nap in the car. Others discuss the lineup they think might work better than the one we are currently using, or obsess over a referee call. And everyone is simply hoping their child plays well. Some kids are cheering, some are sulking. Some are playing while others are not. Some are stressed about their upcoming final, or that they just got their period with a second half still to play (I remember that being the worst), if they are going to have to play goalkeeper, if they are going to make a mistake or a million other things. At any given moment coaches can be found jumping off the bench encouraging a new idea, quietly observing, questioning a referee, speaking to players on the bench, thinking about the next best substitution, if anyone is going to bring them a coffee or deliberating with another coach. And the next game? An entirely new cocktail of variables tossed into the Cuisinart again.
Every day there are successes, setbacks, fun and exhaustion, poor and perfect passes, referee calls that did or did not go our way, as well as coaching masterpieces and mistakes.The vibrant environment clarifies for me the challenges that unifying a club of 250 families can bring. For me, it is a worthy challenge knowing the closer we come together the more fun it becomes for the players, which makes it more fun for everyone. While we are watching the agony of defeat and the thrill of victories big and small, give the following some thought:
Belgian physicist, lIlya Prigogine, was awarded the Nobel Prize for his theory he calls "Dissipative Structures," part of which contends that friction is a fundamental property of nature and nothing grows without it - not mountains, not pearls, not people. The capacity for being shaken up is ironically the key to growth. Any structure - whether at the molecular, chemical, physical, social, or psychological level - that is insulated from disturbance is also protected from change and growth. It becomes stagnant.
We must therefore be willing to get shaken up, to surrender ourselves to the chaos and be open to things getting messy, to reap the blessings of growth.
“March” On!
