Fear in the Unknown
People fear the unknown. That is what is so scary about the first game of the season. How will we handle the pressure? How will we react when there is tension, when we don’t play well, when we do play well? How quickly can we readjust to the newly known? How well can we plunge head first into what we believe to be the right way to win?
So many unknowns, and yet there is strength in facing the unknown. There is team growth in facing those things together and relying on your linemate to bail you out when you need him to. Will I be able to make changes mid game? Will those players who we need to lead, be leaders? Will the underclassman follow?
And this year there are even more unknowns. Everything is new. Yet, it is just lacrosse that we are playing. The kids on the team have been playing for years. And we just need to put them on the field and the unknowns float away.
So here we sit the day before our first game, planning on building on where the team was last year. Fearing the unknown but looking forward to the darkness being filled with light, illuminating what our weaknesses are, and giving us something to work on for the next game.
Pete Stevenson hails from Orem (pronounced ARM), Utah and is now the head coach of the University of Colorado Buffaloes. He was an assistant at Brigham Young, where he learned the value of a good ride, and great hair. You can read more of his ponderings on his very non-lacrosse related blog.
