What getting cut from the team means...
I am about to tell you something that I want you to take to heart and never forget.
Are you ready?
YOU are enough.
Your value is more than your job title.
Your value is more than your salary.
Your value is more than what you do.
Your value is more than whether you made the team or not.
Your value is more than your social media followers.
Your value is more than what the world perceives of you.
This is one of those times of the year that I always want to remind our parents and athletes that they are worth so much more than any of those things that the world says is important.
To all of our athletes who made their high school teams… CONGRATULATIONS! We are so excited for you and can’t wait to watch you shine and compete to be the best you can be! We also want to let you know that your worth is so much greater and not dependent upon making the team. You have a greatness inside of you BEYOND just being an athlete.
To all of our athletes who were cut from their high school teams. WE can empathize with you and know this feeling. It can hurt, but that’s okay. We ALSO want to let you know that your worth is so much greater and not dependent upon making the team. YOU have a greatness inside of you BEYOND just being an athlete.
The message is the same for both.
The message is the same for our parents.
Whether you made or didn’t make the team… it could be the biggest opportunity for you to grow and either could be one of the best things to ever happen to you!
We want to see both groups thrive beyond what they believed to be possible! Both groups have the RESPONSIBILITY to respond with ACTION.
Just because you make the team or don’t make the team… it doesn’t mean the work is done. In BOTH cases… it means the work is just beginning! How do you do that?
By being ALL IN.
By Cherishing the Challenge
By giving your best effort in EVERYTHING you do!
Shagging fly balls during batting practice? Do your best
Training in during the season? Do your best
Being a great teammate while you earn playing time? Do your best.
Leading underclassmen and pulling them up? Do your best.
In 2017, we were cut from the team. Well not technically… We were asked to the leave the facility that we started our business inside of. It certainly felt a lot like being cut!
But we had a responsibility to respond and lead in a Cherish the Challenge way.
We know that the challenges are what grow us.
We know that the adversity gives us opportunities to grow.
We know that settling in the comfort zone is the worst thing we could do…
In the moment it hurt. It was scary. It was uncertain. It was uncomfortable. If we are being 100% honest, it was miserable.
But almost 1 year later, we moved into the facility that we are currently in and we look back at being “Cut” as the BEST thing to ever happen to us.
It lit a fire on the inside… a fire that burned hotter than if we would have been allowed to stay… (in our comfort zone). Now, we are pouring more out and changing more lives than ever before.
To our athletes who got cut from the team… let this light a fire so bright that it focuses you. Let it fuel your actions and your willingness to get uncomfortable and grow! Let it be a defining moment and an inflection point in your life that you look back at and say, “that is where it all turned around for the better”
To our athletes who made the team… refuse to settle and get comfortable. You have a responsibility to those who believe in you. Prove them right. Let this be the inflection point in your life where you look back and say, “I didn’t know I had more levels in me, but I worked hard and found them!”
YOU have greatness inside of you and you have a responsibility to refine it, and pull it out for the benefit of others. There are those who are counting on you that you may not even know yet. Prepare yourself so when that moment comes, you are ready!
You are so much more than JUST an athlete.
You are beautifully and wonderfully made.
You have purpose and you are Loved.
Blessed to be on this journey with you! Here’s to Cherishing the Challenge with you!