The field of play: create or defend?

One of the most enjoyable periods of my life was when I coached a motley bunch of footballers at a club called The Bloods. The Bloods’ motto was ‘We do it for kicks!’ - which perfectly summed up our fun-loving culture and mostly unserious approach to footy.

We loved winning games, but not at the cost of having a sense of humour or trying to be too macho (which none of us really were!)  

Despite the lack of seriousness, we won multiple premierships, albeit in a lowly amateur grade.

One of the strongest themes while I was coaching the Bloods was: We didn’t fear losing. We enjoyed playing the game without worrying too much about the outcome.

Think of any professional sports coach today. Most coaches have some narrative around being present in the situation. ‘We were in the moment… We went in without fear.' 

Football matches happen at a blinding pace and players make thousands of moment by moment decisions. Each decision offers choice – a choice to contract or expand the field of play.

It's such a great analogy for life!

Great sports people are tuned into it. It's this moment. And in this moment, I have a choice.

A choice to create possibilities or to defend.