Never Lose Your Poise

Never, Ever, Lose Your Poise — Coach Frank Broyles.

One of the many life lessons one learns by playing competitive sports is to never lose one’s poise or cool.  Now there are athletes who do “lose it” on occasion, but the great ones seldom do when the game is on the line. Coach Broyles knew how easy it was to lose your temper when something was said or done that rightfully deserved outrage, but a fifteen yard penalty or an ejection could cost the Razorbacks a game, and putting team and victory ahead of personal anger or outrage was always worth it. Instead our anger needed to be channelled into better play. As he said and we learned, there was never a better comeback than victory.

Throughout the years I noted that people I admired seldom lost their poise when it counted. The more outrageous and insulting someone acted, the true “class acts” responded with poise and calm. If there is any lesson I could teach my grandchildren it would be to respond to “trash talking, dirty play, etc.” with poise and a determined effort never sink to someone else’s level. This applies far beyond sports, but to all aspects of life.

Editors Note: I will be “stove up” for the next few days hopefully recovering from knee surgery. I hope each of you will continue to meditate and pray in my absence. I’ll be back soon. W.

Share this post

• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.