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WELKER: The positive influence of sports and family in life

I have made many mistakes in my life as an athlete on and off the field of play. But haven’t we all. Now that I’m a retired teacher, coach, and official, I have thought about how athletics and family assisted me in coping with the challenges of living a life of personal fulfillment.

I want to share with athletes in all sports the five principles I have learned participating in sports and gleaned from a caring family.

∫ Be Humble — Always take your classes in school and sports seriously, but not yourself. To do so, is the beginning of arrogance. Arrogance offends others and has no redeeming qualities.

As an athlete, respect your adversaries. Likewise, lose with grace and win with class.

The late coach John Wooden, the ultra-successful basketball coach at UCLA, said it quite simply: “Natural Talent is God-given, be humble; Fame is man-given, be grateful; Conceit is self-given, be careful.”

∫ Be Prepared — Strive to be a well-rounded, student-athlete to prepare yourself for college, the trades or the military. Plato, the ancient Greek scholar, philosopher, and formable wrestler, wrote: “He who is only an athlete is too crude, too vulgar, too much of a savage; He who is a scholar only is too soft; The ideal citizen is the scholar-athlete; A man of thought and a man of action.”

∫ Be Perseverant — My father was a simple, but astute German parent, who gained practical knowledge and experience on the streets, fighting to gain respect from his adolescent peers.

Without question, he taught us perseverance.

He never would listen to excuses. Dad would tell us to set high goals in athletics and life, and work hard to reach them.

He emphasized, “If you fall on your face, get right back up and keep moving forward.”

Likewise, my grandmother often stressed with my brother and me: “No matter how bad things seem to be, the sun will come up in the morning. A new day to follow your dreams.”

She was a true believer in Norman Vincent Peale’s Power of Positive Thinking philosophy.

∫ Be Patient — During my initial years as a teacher and coach, I would become very frustrated that I wasn’t making more money to support my growing family, and that my athletes weren’t performing better in competition.

My wife, Peggy, put me in my place.

“Bill, don’t rush things. Be patient. Anything that is worthwhile in life doesn’t happen overnight.”

Later, I came across a little-known quote from Mark Twain. I must say it really hit home.

“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born – and with patience – the day you find out why.”

∫ Be Able to Kneel — As soon as my brother and I were old enough to understand, my mother explained to us the significance of God and prayer in our lives. But she did not stop there.

Though she was never an athlete, herself, mom told us how to pray before our athletic competition.

“Boys, always pray to do your best and that no one gets hurt.”

She went on to tell us that we shouldn’t pray to win because God has no favorites. Mom further stated praying to win is a form of arrogance, suggesting that we were “born better” than our opponents in God’s eyes. She stressed:

“If your athletic abilities are better than your opponent’s, that should be the winning factor.”

To be honest, there were times in my life when I felt my prayers were ignored by God. But then I learned from an individual I never would have expected to enlighten me on such unanswered prayers – the late famous actor, Kirk Douglas.

Douglas found God later in life and was a fervent proponent regarding the power of prayer. He was once confronted by a friend who suggested that God doesn’t answer all prayers.

“Kirk, there were things that I prayed for throughout my life, and none of those prayers were ever answered. How do you explain that?”

“That’s easy, John. God does answer all prayers, but sometimes, for your own good, the answer is ‘NO’.”

In closing, I would like to share with all athletic enthusiasts a prayer I wrote, promoting fair play and sportsmanship.

THE ATHLETIC PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father,

Bless all athletes that they may perform to their fullest on the field of play, in the classroom, and throughout life;

Bless all coaches that they may stress the highest standards of good sportsmanship;

Bless all officials that they may keep participant-safety foremost in their thoughts;

And finally: Bless all athletic parents that they may understand – win or lose – their child is learning much about life through competition in sports.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen

Author’s Biography: A former Pennsylvania State Champion in the sport of wrestling, Welker is a prolific writer, who has published nearly 600 articles and four athletic-oriented books over the years.

He has received the prestigious Jasper N. Deahl Award from West Virginia University for his accomplishments as an educator. Welker is also a member of five athletic halls of fame, including the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (West Virginia Chapter), the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the OVAC Hall of Fame.

His e-mail is mattalkwv@hotmail.com.

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