The six players could be relied on as basically sound, because of their sound basics.
They all ran onto the field and as the footballs were made available they rushed to get them and get into pairs. Then they would try the last trick they saw on that video they watched online the previous night. The field was full of them showing off just how good they thought they could be.
All except one pairing.
These two just got on with passing the football to each other. Practising to pass it with different parts of both feet to ensure it reached their partner in a psoition for them to easily control it and pass it within two touches. Not for them the spectacular tricks and flicks. They used the passing practice to hone their ball skills and capacity to control and make the pass as they moved around each other.
When all the players were called together by the coaches, the passing pair were highlighted as the example to follow. Many laughed at them because it appeared that what they were doing was boring. Others who didn’t laugh, still thought it would get tedious just doing the same thing over. So despite the encouragement of the coaches the many that gathered, soon thinned out to just three pairings.
The coaches were not downhearted. The inital passing pair shared their enthusiasm about getting the basics right with the other two pairs. Soon all six players were getting into the rhythm of improving their skill, awareness and technique through the variety of passing exercises they did. Not all of them were naturally gifted footballers, but the practise gave them all a chance to raise their level of competence and also stress on personal qualities that were necessary to thrive in the game.
The coaches insisted that it was by getting the fundamentals nailed on that the players could go on to be successful in the game. It was only by getting these basics in as grounded as possible including the right attitude to training as well as playing in competitive matches that they would know how to thrive in the professional world.
The six formed a tight bond of commitment as they pressed each other to improve in the game and aspire for the best they could get. The progress they made in their individual career paths was always noted by how they could trusted to give their all in every game. It was also noted that they could be trusted to play in a way that encouraged others in the team to lift their level. Team-mates, coaches, managers and fans noted how vital they were to the success of the teams primarily because they were fundamentally sound.
Those six players would account that ability down to that first practise where they learnt that to basically sound, each had to commit to the sound basics of the game.
(Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 