Who Do You Want to Lose With?

At the first of the summer I recruited a team of young baseball players to start a new competitive baseball team.  I have watched all these boys for a couple of years and knew that they all were pretty good ball players.  On top of that I was able to recruit a couple of top-notch coaches who knew baseball and were good with kids.  As the high school football player in the bunch, my role is to manage the details of the team and the parents and help with the kids.  I have to admit my expectations were pretty high going into the season.  I don’t think that I thought we would win every game but thought we would be competitive.  I wasn’t quite prepared for our 0-17 season.  Nor was I prepared for my own son’s season long batting slump.  I thought I was recruiting a team to win with and yet I find myself very satisfied to be on a losing team.  I am not saying I am satisfied with losing because we are busting our hump trying to figure out how to win.  But, I am learning a big lesson about being on a team this summer.  Specifically, how do I feel about the people I am losing with.  You see everybody is happy, positive and energized when you win.  Losing has a tendency to bring out the worst in people.  I have been on losing campaigns before and to be honest I could not wait for the season to end.  On our little team, I am seeing character tested and character revealed and so far this is a group I don’t mind losing with.  Proverbs 17:17 says it this way, ” A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity”. 

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity

We have two tournaments left and we are still hopeful of turning the corner.  We are learning that there is a big difference between a team with a losing record and a team of losers.  Our boys are winners with a losing record.  Our coaches are winners with a losing record.  Our parents are winners with a losing record.  At the first of the year I was hoping to pull together a group of winners and I did.  A winless baseball team full of winners.  Who do you want to lose with?