Monday Morning Match is a quick post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.
Begin with the End in Mind
When a mountain climber looks up, she sees her destination above her. Start climbing, keep climbing and don’t stop climbing and you will reach the peak.
This weekend was the Columbus Marathon. All the participants that lined up bright and early knew the route they would follow and the 26.2 miles they would have to run. When it was all done, 3,823 people now can proudly wear their “Finisher” medal.
Two and a half months ago, my daughter finished her golf tryout for the high school team. She was headed into her senior year and would be one of the captains of this year’s squad. Once the team was set, the obligatory goals were set. Winning the OCC’s (their conference) seemed like a reachable goal. Of course, reaching the State Tournament was also a goal but the team hasn’t advanced past the District finals in 8 years so could that really be a realistic goal?
As the season progressed and the girls started playing better, they were bringing home more tournament trophies than any of the last few seasons combined. They claimed the first of 4 OCC tournaments then another. One stroke was all that kept them from winning the 3rd match but after they claimed the top spot in the 4th and final OCC match, they had achieved their goal. They were OCC Champs and headed to the Sectional Finals.
Suddenly the girls and their parents started asking themselves, how far can this team go? Can they advance to Districts? Should we even start to consider the possibility of them making States?
“One step at a time” we kept telling the girls. Just play your best the next time you tee it up and that’s all you can do.
As Riley’s putt dropped on #18 for a 79 they knew they had a chance and when Maddie followed with another long putt for 79 (to add to Sophie’s 76 and Emily’s 78) it was clear they had done enough to advance to Districts. It would be nine of the best girl’s golf teams in Central Ohio competing for just three spots in the State Tournament.
Waiting for the Scores
Last Tuesday was a long day for the girls and their families. They teed off in the middle wave, knowing they had to post some good scores to have a chance to be among the top three. One swing at a time they aimed for the sweet spot of the club. A putt fell here. Another putt just missed there. When the last putt dropped for Sophie’s 78, we knew the girls had posted a score of 331 (78 – 83 – 85 – 85). They were the leaders in the clubhouse (with 6 teams scores posted) but there were still three teams on the course. All we could do was wait.
We started doing math in our heads. What if they shoot this? I wonder if they could score this? Where are the last few girls? Our girls paced in nervous anticipation. They snacked to keep themselves busy. They hugged and laughed and recounted the round they just finished. The question no one wanted to ask was would that be their last round of the year or would it be a good enough effort to propel them to States?
As we watched the faces of the girls who were finishing, we could tell they were exhausted. It was evident that everyone had tried their best. We just needed to be lower than one of the final three teams. As the official scorekeeper posted the first team score, we saw him write a number that was more than 20 strokes higher than our score which made it official. The Golden Bears were headed to the State Championship Tournament. It didn’t really matter that the other two schools in the last wave came in 4 strokes and 1 stroke ahead of us. The girls did what they had to do. They qualified to play for the state title later this week at the Ohio State University Golf Club, a course just 1 mile from the front door of Upper Arlington High School.
The girls hugged. The girls cried.
The parents hugged. The parents cried.
The girls hugged the coach then hugged their parents who also hugged the coach…and we all stood there and cried. Holy moly…these girls were headed to play for States.
Now what for you?
What are you trying to do this week? This month? The rest of the year? Maybe if you start building relationships, solving problems and having fun…you just might get to where you’re going.
Now what for the girls?
Getting to the State Tournament is pretty cool but should we be content with just “getting there”? On Friday morning when our girls take to the tee, we will all know that there are 12 teams playing 36 holes over the next two days. Lowest score wins.
Have fun girls. Just remember…now that we know where we want to go, it’s time to start climbing.