Family Grit

There is no doubt you all were gifted.  While God is THE source of all blessings….He truly blessed you with tremendous athleticism, buy like your mom and I, there were people with greater talent.  What really made you all standout were a few things.  First you will recall from your Hansen compulsory reading “Outliers” that we were blessed by the ability for your mother to stay home and work with you.  It was not just that she didn’t have a 9-5, she treated it as a 7 am to 10 pm job of training you up.  By the time you started your organized sports, you were well on your way to your “10,000 hours” that Malcom Gladwell points out and already 50x of your teammates.  That is why you were already 2 grades ahead of your peers.  But the greatest differentiator, I believe, was  your grit and determination.    I believe grit CRUSHES talent every day.   Just read Angela Duckworth’s book on Grit where she studied the talent at West Point for years.                                                                                     Now, as to your kids:  First, they are in a much deeper talent pool than you were.  Roswell has soooo much talent, as does Trussville and Hoover.  But your kids will rise to the top if you continue to invest in them.  While so much of it is practice and repetition…..the grit and determination must be reinforced.  For some, it is innate.  For others, it must be coached and encouraged.  For me, much of my source of Grit was the fear of failure.  I knew I didn’t have a safety net.                                Lastly, whether your kids pursue elite travel sports or not, the greatest contribution they can have is the influence on others for the gospel.  While their platform may be sports, it maybe also be dance or music.  As I have said to you before, we pressed hard on the sports side….probably too hard.  But you all owned it in a big way.  I am SOOOOOO proud of you!